EP#11 How to Unroll Huge 500' Rolls of 2" Poly Pipe for Water! "Modern Mountain Man Max" 3.20.22

[@michaeljoncour4903]

doing it that way is a nightmare, my wife gets on one side me on the other and we roll it out, good video on what not to do.

[@Traxxion]

You've never tried to roll out 2". What an idiot.

[@SeeLifeBro]

I'm in the process of doing the same exact thing researching what type of pipe to use. I think im sold on this HDPE. I have 1000ft run of corroded galvanized pipe that is having a ton of problems and needs to be replaced. So far I have been digging by hand and haven't made it very far. It is severely overgrown with 15ft tall blackberries and manzanita. This video is a huge help. Guess im going to need to figure out how to get some heavy equipment. Thank you

[@Traxxion]

You'll need to bushhog it to the ground and run a trencher through there. 1000ft by hand would take a year! You can hire or rent a Bobcat track loader, and it will do both jobs. You can use a Brush Cat deck to mow the land clean and flat, and then get a 48" trencher, and you can cut 1000 feet in less than a day. You should be able to do it all in one dawn to dusk day and return the equipment the next morning.

[@SeeLifeBro]

@@Traxxion thank you very much for this! Knowing exactly the equipment I need is a huge help! So far I was able to temporarily fix the line with a hundred feet of PVC and the trench I dug by hand but I know I really need to replace the entire thing because the old galvanized pipe is almost rusted shut from the inside. Where did you order the HDPE and what is the exact type? I want to make sure I get the right stuff as I've heard some types are very thin and can end up leaking. Thank you very much for getting back to me, God bless!

[@Traxxion]

@@SeeLifeBro you want the "Blue Stripe" pipe, which is specifically safe for drinking water. I bought mine from Consolidated Pipe in Chattanooga, but you'll be able to find it wherever you live. You will have to have a "Fusion Welder" come out and link the sections and attach the end fittings. That part is a little expensive, but worth it. One other trick I did, I put a cut off ball valve in between every section, since it had to be welded anyway. Now, if the line ever gets damaged, I have about 5 or 6 cut off points to stop the leak until the line can be repaired. Then I put a plastic hand box over the top of the valve to make it easy to get to.

[@SeeLifeBro]

@@Traxxionyou've been very helpful, thank you so much!

[@rickscott2568]

Having fun and saving money..Good for you and Tammy..

[@Traxxion]

Blood sweat tears and elbow grease can double your investment!

[@kaceywilson2482]

Do you have any videos of you hooking up to the meter or joining the two pipes together?

[@Traxxion]

Hi Kacey, I would not do this type of work DIY just for one job though... it's too important. A pro will come out and do it right and you won't have any troubles. In my case, they guys building my road dug and hit it, and later I dug and hit it adding a culvert. I have watched the equipment being used so many times now, that I feel I could do it! As far as connections, they sell pieces that terminate your pipe. So mine was a 2" piece of fusion weld pipe about 8" long with a 2" NPT end cap on it. They sell them in all increments from 3/4" I believe up to 2". So when they are done with the welding, it's just a normal plumbing job. You would add a "union" between your fill line and your well pump in case you needed to remove the pump for service.

[@apriliajo5030]

Cool update using the rite equipment for the job again 👌😎. Reminded me on a mega-scale of the micro-wire pull on my Wing last nite 🙆‍♂️

[@Traxxion]

Thanks 👍

[@Earningpe]

hey how many dollar for pipes and how many distance

[@Traxxion]

We bought 7 500 foot rolls, for 3500 feet. We had to go about 3300 feet. That pipe was around $9,000.00!

[@erikmeldahl1587]

Where did you get that logging skidder?

[@Traxxion]

From Norwood Sawmills.

[@davem5333]

Have to untwist the hose. Look at that stripe. It should be straight. The pipe will lie flat once the twist is out. Like your garden hose .

[@Traxxion]

That must take a special machine!

[@georgegriffith7599]

Where did you buy your pipe? I am going to need about 1500' and haven't found a good source near north alabama

[@Traxxion]

Consolidated Pipe in Chattanooga. They also have a travelling crew that does the fusion welding.

[@georgegriffith7599]

@@Traxxion Thanks. What type of trenching are you planning? I was looking at thermal expansion/contraction and HDPE is almost 2.5 times worste than PVC. You said you were going 3300'. I am only doing 1500'. With PVC and a 20 degree F variation in temp (about what you would see with the variation over a year at 3' deep), there would be about 10" change in length. So, for HDPE, that would be about 24" and for 3300', slightly more than double again. That's like 55" length variation. The recommendations are to snake the pipe back and forth in the trench, but the amount to snake it depends on the length of the cycle. Left to right and back of 20' would require at least 3" offset from centerline. You can't really do that in a 6" trench with 2" pipe. Close but also probably difficult to get it to snake like that in 20'. A trench with an excavator 12" wide or so would make it easier. Is this something you've considered or gotten guidance from Consolidated on?

[@Traxxion]

@@georgegriffith7599 From my experience, there's no comparision between PVC and the pipe I used. It is LDPE by the way. It is so strong you can run over it with a truck and nothing happens to it. It is made for this purpose, whereas PVC is not. There is an entire industry around burying and welding this type of pipe now. The techs who came to my house worked on pipe with diameters from 1" to 48"!!! They have a giant fusion welding truck with a crane on it. They told me about a main line they ran in Alabama, which was 6000 feet of 24" pipe. The truck was stationary and they welded a piece in, and then a giant dozer and excavator pull it up a winding road going up a hill before it was buried. I am CERTAIN, no one was trying to snake that pipe, and whatever "expansion" you are concerned about would be 100X greater on a pipe that size. For reference, I've had my line in now from temperatures from 95 degrees down to 12 degrees, and it is connected to an inline well pump at the end of the line. It hasn't budged a quarter of an inch, and doesn't leak a drop of water...and I didn't do anything but lay it in the ditch and cover it.

[@mikediangelis9565]

Those aren't mountains. They are hills.

[@Traxxion]

That's true. Now go buy your own and see what you call it.

[@Chris-iy3do]

pipe should be unwound not pulled apart like a slinky... worst advice here people.. UNWIND YOUR PIPE.

[@Traxxion]

Homeowners aren't going to buy a commercial large diameter pipe unwinder to use on time in their life. This worked great, and the guys I bought it from said this was fine. I find it funny a pipe expert is watching my "How To" video...

[@melmartin7158]

@@Traxxion By securing the end of the coil, then setting the coil on the outer rim like a tire, the coil can be unwound by pushing it forward leaving the pipe straight. The coil will get progressively smaller as it's unwound. Doing this on a hot day will help relax the pipe.

[@Traxxion]

@@melmartin7158 Unfortunately, it doesn't come on a spool... and regardless, there is no human strong enough to straighten 2" HDPE by hand. You are right the sun does help it relax, but getting to the point it's straight enough to relax is the problem. 1" pipe is hard enough to deal with... 2" is another world.

[@showalteradj]

Another standard way is to have your trench already excavated, then uncoil as you lay into the trench, cover w/ piles of dirt every 25-ft or so with a excavator bucket load or by hand shoveling, and continue on down until it's laying completely in the trench. Then fuse pipe, then continue on w/ the next pipe bundle. But if you shorthanded, then this is a challenge. Great job guys!