Converting to PEX

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Cedarcreekstables

Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2021
Messages
20
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Location
Sandy Oregon
12 minutes ago
Good Afternoon, I joined this forum because I can’t get a straight answer from the professional plumbers that I contacted. They want to give me estimates on a project that I can do myself and all I want is a straight answer. So my dilemma is this: I am tired of broken water pipes in my barn so I have decided to re-plum my whole facility. I currently have CPVC which was installed when I had the barn built in 2006. I want to change to PEX. My question is I currently have the main feed line at 2 inches reduced to 1 1/4. I have 1/2 lines from that to the auto waterers in each stall. Can I go from the 2 inch main to 1 inch feed line with PEX. Are there any problems I should be aware of. My barn is 120 x 75 with 20 stalls. I also will be re-plumbing my arena which is 130x80 with 1 inch. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This farm Girl is a DIY die hard..
 
What do you use the water for in the arena ?

How many feet of 1” pipe will you be using from the 2” main ?

What’s your water pressure and how is it supplied, well or city ? If it’s city does it have a pressure reducing valve ?

save a horse ride a cowboy. 🤭😬✌️
 
Last edited:
Twowaxhack said:
What do you use the water for in the arena ?

How many feet of 1” pipe will you be using from the 2” main ?

What’s your water pressure and how is it supplied, well or city ? If it’s city does it have a pressure reducing valve ?

save a horse ride a cowboy. 🤭😬✌
Click to expand...
For the 1 inch pipe, I need to run 2 lines of 120 feet for each stall isle. 2 lines of 45 feet for cross over and approximately 420 feet total to do the arena. There will be a few additional feet for the wash rack, for hot and cold water, approx 60ft. I figured I would need around 950 ft of 1in to complete the job. That includes any mistakes I may make and so I make sure I have enough. I have an overhead watering system for dust control in my arena. My water is from a well with an 8 hp pump. The barn is the only thing on the well. I will be running 4 ft of 1/2” pipe from the 1” to each of the 20 stalls. I hope I explained this well enough. Thank you
 
Cedarcreekstables said:
For the 1 inch pipe, I need to run 2 lines of 120 feet for each stall isle. 2 lines of 45 feet for cross over and approximately 420 feet total to do the arena. There will be a few additional feet for the wash rack, for hot and cold water, approx 60ft. I figured I would need around 950 ft of 1in to complete the job. That includes any mistakes I may make and so I make sure I have enough. I have an overhead watering system for dust control in my arena. My water is from a well with an 8 hp pump. The barn is the only thing on the well. I will be running 4 ft of 1/2” pipe from the 1” to each of the 20 stalls. I hope I explained this well enough. Thank you
Click to expand...
What’s the water pressure ?
 
Be aware:
NO PEX where sun/UV light can ever come in long term contact.
Must be supported every 32".
 
Cedarcreekstables said:
I am not sure, I have to contact the company that installed my well. I will get back to you..
Click to expand...

Your well will start snd stop at specific pressures. I need those numbers.

I also need to know the pressure at the far end of the piping away from the well.

Screw on pressure gauges are available that screw onto a hose bibb faucet. They cost about $15

I’m assuming you’re not using very much water at once. How much water does your arena sprinkler system use ? You need to find out how many gallons per minute it uses....
 
1” pex is rated for 7.5 gallons per minute.

You probably need more than that....
 
Twowaxhack said:
Your well will start snd stop at specific pressures. I need those numbers.

I also need to know the pressure at the far end of the piping away from the well.

Screw on pressure gauges are available that screw onto a hose bibb faucet. They cost about $15

I’m assuming you’re not using very much water at once. How much water does your arena sprinkler system use ? You need to find out how many gallons per minute it uses....
Click to expand...
Currently I have my arena with 3 separate sprinkler runs. I run one at a time. The pressure isn’t strong enough to run the whole system at once. I will purchase a pressure gauge and get the furthest reading. Running to well house now to get pressure reading from the gauge.
 
Twowaxhack said:
Your well will start snd stop at specific pressures. I need those numbers.

I also need to know the pressure at the far end of the piping away from the well.

Screw on pressure gauges are available that screw onto a hose bibb faucet. They cost about $15

I’m assuming you’re not using very much water at once. How much water does your arena sprinkler system use ? You need to find out how many gallons per minute it uses....
Click to expand...
So, bought the gauge and checked the pressure at the pump, it was 60 psi. Check the pressure at the farthest hose bib from the well and it was at 60 PSI. I tried to open the little gray box that shows my on and off pressure at the tank, but the dumb thing won’t open up and i did not want to break it. So frustrating
 
Cedarcreekstables said:
So, bought the gauge and checked the pressure at the pump, it was 60 psi. Check the pressure at the farthest hose bib from the well and it was at 60 PSI. I tried to open the little gray box that shows my on and off pressure at the tank, but the dumb thing won’t open up and i did not want to break it. So frustrating
Click to expand...
No problem, do you know how many gallons a minute you need when one zone of the arena opens for the dust control ?

40/60 pressure switches are common.
 
You more than likely need more that 8 gal a minute and that’s all that 1” pex is rated for.
 
https://www.dultmeier.com
Have you heard of this firm? I remember from my car wash ownership days that they sold a lot of products used in barns and other agricultural type applications. They may be a good resource.

Also curious, you mentioned sprinklers for dust control but not fire control. Is this a consideration?

https://equinewellnessmagazine.com/sprinkler-system/
Have you figured out why the existing CPVC is cracking frequently enough to warrant a change? Is it thermal related to temperature changes or mechanical (being accidentally hit or shifts in foundation or building)?

Is freezing a consideration in your climate?
 
Mitchell-DIY-Guy said:
https://www.dultmeier.com
Have you heard of this firm? I remember from my car wash ownership days that they sold a lot of products used in barns and other agricultural type applications. They may be a good resource.

Also curious, you mentioned sprinklers for dust control but not fire control. Is this a consideration?

https://equinewellnessmagazine.com/sprinkler-system/
Have you figured out why the existing CPVC is cracking frequently enough to warrant a change? Is it thermal related to temperature changes or mechanical (being accidentally hit or shifts in foundation or building)?

Is freezing a consideration in your climate?
Click to expand...
The CPVC breakage is from freezing. As with all systems you can’t always get it drained completely. When I spoke to the plumber that installed it in 2006, he told me that with age it can get brittle. This is pretty evident with the freezing and breakage over the last two years. The arena sprinkler system does double for fire control if needed. I will look into the company you suggested and see if they have some options. Thank you
 
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