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Running new water line

John F Dean

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I would like to get water to my back pasture. It is only used in warm weather. The pasture sits maybe 150 yards from the nearest water line. Due to the challenges of the soil, I do not want to do a lot of digging.

My first thought was to run a shallow water line to the pasture. This raises the challenge of how to drain the line for winter freezes.

My second thought was to purchase a few hundred gallon water tank and fill it in the spring and as needed afterward. I suspect the tank would cost not much more than the water line.

I do not want an above ground hose.

Any thoughts and ideas?

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Dave Pennington

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John F Dean wrote:I would like to get water to my back pasture. It is only used in warm weather. The pasture sits maybe 150 yards from the nearest water line. Due to the challenges of the soil, I do not want to do a lot of digging.

My first thought was to run a shallow water line to the pasture. This raises the challenge of how to drain the line for winter freezes.

My second thought was to purchase a few hundred gallon water tank and fill it in the spring and as needed afterward. I suspect the tank would cost not much more than the water line.

I do not want an above ground hose.

Any thoughts and ideas?

If you need pressurized water there, just run a shallow line and blast it out with air before freeze time.
If not, the tank sounds like the better solution. Less digging!

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posted 3 years ago

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I like the idea of a shallow ditch for piping, pex piping that can do around 5gpm, is a nice solution.
You can even run a seperate line from the house to each paddock. Due to the reasonable pricing.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/SharkBite-1-2-in-x-1000-ft-Coil-Blue-PEX-B-Pipe-U860B1000/314798996

Let me know what you think of it?

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thomas rubino

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posted 3 years ago

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Hi John;
Is this a livestock pasture?
What are you wanting the water for?

A tank sounds better and easier to drain.
I envision it needing a stand to elevate for filing stock tanks by gravity.

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John F Dean

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Hi Thomas,

The pasture and water is for pigs and goats.

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Eric Hanson

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John,

My first thought is to go rent a trencher and trench in a line, even if it is only a shallow trench.

I have several thousand feet of buried drip line running across my property. It is only buried 6” at most. Freezing has never been a problem.

If you don’t like running a line, I would use your tractor. I was thinking about making a 3pt carryall and stack a 55 gallon barrel in it and just carry the water with your tractor. I think that your 3pt should have adequate lift capacity to haul the full 55 gallons. If not, just empty a little bit.

Eric

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John F Dean

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Hi Eric,

Your experience with the drip line is interesting. A 6 inch bury is possible.

I did not provide the needed detail. The line would have to run through a heavily wooded area. The tractor will not go there due to the density of the trees. A trencher might have problems getting through the trees. Worse yet, mine is not the original homesteading this property. I am sure there were at least two previous ones. I am constantly running into buried pipes, bricks, concrete blocks, and buried pieces of equipment where there shouldn’t be any. How bad is it? I have lived here about 23 years. Every year I have taken out a minimum of ten 55 gal trash bags of metal, glass, and plastic.

For example, I put in a new paddock for my pigs last fall. I carefully examined the paddock to make sure it was free of trash. I now have to move those pigs. They have uncovered thousands of beer and soft drinks cans as well has more than a few glass bottles. It will take me a week to clear the area. This year I will be hauling out probably in excess of 50 bags.

Therefore, a waterline will have to be put in by hand. But your drip line experience is worth noting. I suspect it had not froze because it is a drip line and self drains.

And yes, I am aware there may be a hidden well or two. I am ultra careful when taking a new path.

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Eric Hanson

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So if I read that correctly, all water transport is out. To me, that leaves digging a well. I have never dug a well before, so this is new to me as well.

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Eric Hanson

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Unless you laid a line down and covered with earth? Probably not what you had in mind.

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John F Dean

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I am favoring an above ground 300 gallon tank that I fill up in the spring and later as needed. Running a hose a few times a year is a headache but not as big of one as other approaches.

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John F Dean

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If I ran a line, it would be a shallow trench ….so it would be close to your idea of above ground. My issue ten becomes how to drain it for the winter.

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R Scott

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Do you need a tank to haul water for other purposes? We used a tank all the time to help get trees established.

The most versatile cheapest option I found was a food grade IBC tote in a harbor freight trailer. Be careful, a full tote weighs more than most little trailers are rated for.

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Eric Hanson

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John, I never had to drain my drip line. I did build a little downhill extension to do just this but one year I simply forgot. I went to check on it in spring certain that the line had burst, only to find that the line was just fine. I don’t know what our frost depth is but I am pretty sure that it is less than 6 inches. It’s probably less than an inch. But if leaving it over winter bothers you, I like the idea of using compressed air to blast the water out.

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John F Dean

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Actually, the tractor could haul water on the 3 point. It would have to take a longer route than the water line.

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Eric Hanson

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That would save you the trenching. How would you get the water out of the barrel and into the 350 gallon container? I was thinking this little 18 volt battery powered water pump made by Ryobi might work. Or am I missing something much simpler?

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John F Dean

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Hi Eric,

You give me another option.

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Eric Hanson

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Might think about this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-ONE-18V-Hybrid-Transfer-Pump-P750/300258095?mtc=SEM-BF-CDP-GGL-D26P-026_005_PUMPS-NA-NA-NA-DSA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NEW-NA&cm_mmc=SEM-BF-CDP-GGL-D26P-026_005_PUMPS-NA-NA-NA-DSA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NEW-NA-71700000079969745-58700006730373630-39700060973914201&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UdIfnegHpGTPnsT9qCdMnUkh&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UdIfnegHpGTPnsT9qCdMnUkh&gclid=CjwKCAjwg5uZBhATEiwAhhRLHugfaqjX9Bzywxr1cSyIepWGB7Vwn2UsKQOOuZ-pqCUIWjKqVE28rhoCBxkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

For $129, I thought it was not too bad, and it transfers 350 gallons per charge.

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Eric Hanson

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OR, I suppose you could simply lift the 3pt to raise up the barrel and let gravity pull the water to the tank.

But this might get difficult as the tank fills up. With this in mind, I have 2 ideas, both a bit far-fetched (the way I like my ideas!).

Option #1. Build a ramp up to the side of the water tank so you can simply back up to raise up the barrel. This would be doable but take a lot of earth.

Option #2. Devise your barrel in such a way that you can unload it from the 3pt while still full of water at the water tank (probably needs some type of forklift receiving point for this) and lift up with the loader, probably using forks. This also would use gravity, but I would get a bit nervous about lifting all that mass.

My thoughts after these two ideas is that the little water pump is a whole lot cheaper, easier, safer, so why not just do that?

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John F Dean

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Yeah, I would rather my days not be so exciting. The pump sounds better.

Speaking of such, under another thread, you mention wanting a backpack sprayer for fire control. I have a 26 gallon Harbor Freight or Northern sprayer I can tow behind my tractor or mower. It cost in the $200 range.

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John F Dean

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Hi Eric,

I re read your post. Our frostline is between 18 and 24 inches.

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John C Daley

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JFD, can you run your pipe along a fence line and leave it on the surface.
Since the pigs seem pretty good at finding things, will they damage your pipe?
I can say, moving water drums full of water causes me to think of broken legs!
My attitudes in life prevent me from doing the same thing twice, so I would run a good pipe, fit a good pump and tank in place once.

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J. Graham

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Eric Hanson wrote:That would save you the trenching. How would you get the water out of the barrel and into the 350 gallon container? I was thinking this little 18 volt battery powered water pump made by Ryobi might work. Or am I missing something much simpler?

What kind of tractor? Does it not have a PTO?

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al aric

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Hi there,

I've been in the same spot and I used to live in a cold climate so I can relate. My solution that worked well was renting a trencher, running the line underground, make sure your line is at a slight downward grade from your source of water, install a valve at the point that you will have an elbow for your riser/hydrant/valve/faucet, open the valve so the water can just use gravity to drain your line in the fall, the water from your source and your standing faucet will drain from that simple ball valve. No blowing out your lines (a slight hassel), no bursting pipes. I'd also consider black poly pipe instead of galvanized, pvc, or other pipes for it's forgiving nature in freezes. I hope this helps.

Eric Hanson

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I remember that when I put the water line to my house back when it was under construction. My contractor told me the appropriate depth for the water line was 18”. I rented a 24” trencher, trenched the length, then went back and dug out all the crumbs that fell back in. I would guess that it is at least 20” deep.

But that is really overkill. The little drip line I have is perfectly happy sitting at an approximate 6” depth. It has been there for well over a decade but never frozen up on me.

But even then, you could always blast some compressed air through the line to rid it of enough water to make freezing not an issue. Drip line will also expand just a bit. I am sure that a hard freeze across the entire line would still rupture the tubing, but a little pocket someplace probably wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Just my experience.

Some places need to be wild

Arthur Angaran

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Hi John, A big wooden hose reel, one you can build from scrap wood, holds five fifty foot hoses. It works really well. Just stand up and push the reel and slide the hose with the foot. After some time the hoses wear from the sun and other such things, then another set needs to be bought. Storage on the property could be an issue. Hanging the hoses every fall to drain gets to be a pain the older I get. It's possible to dig a trench with the disc behind the tractor. Frost line is 4-6 feet up here. If you cannot run the line downhill you might need an air compressor. I really do not see a water tank as an option as rye grass or whatever may need 45 minutes of watering in the summer. The water needs to go deep into the soil so the roots grow deep for whatever the goats need to feed on.

John F Dean

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I Authur,

My interest in water is for the livestock. We currently get 46 inches of rain each year.

If there is one thing the Wizard of Oz has taught me, it is not to trust school teachers on bicycles.

John F Dean

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Hi Jordan and others, I have a small JD 2210 with a PTO. Actually running a hose once or twice a year that distance would be possible. It would sure beat carrying buckets every day.

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Eric Hanson

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John, I assume that the straight shot takes you through the dense woods, is that correct? I would think that a temporary ground-level hose would be a viable solution to moving that much water. It seems like the other options are burying the line in an uncertain ground or hauling it with the tractor. Before I laid my dripline I was about to construct a tractor-water drum, but considered dripline at the last minute. I have not looked back.

Eric

Some places need to be wild

John F Dean

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I have decided to run with John Daleys idea…or a modification of it. A 300 gal tank would still have to be filled 4x a year assuming a minimal use of 5 gal a day. By running the water line through the woods above ground I will take the shortest route and the cost of line will be less than the water tank.

I am concerned about potential damage, but repairs would be easy.

By elevating the line a few feet off the ground, I will have the height needed to easily drain it in the late fall. The elevation will also keep it safer from, pigs, deer, being walked on, and driven over. The line, if I select the route carefully, will also allow me to supply added paddocks with minimal modification should I choose to do so.

I may encounter a minor challenge if the line has to cross one of the paths that I use to walk or take the tractor, but an adjustment in elevation should deal with that. At worse, I could run it through a larger pipe and keep it on the ground at those points.

Thanks to all.

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Eric Hanson

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I actually did not read the first post carefully and thought that you were permanently installing the tank and looking for a way to fill it. I see that you just really need a tap.

I like the raised water line idea. Let us know how it works.

Some places need to be wild

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