how to

[kentucky gardener]

how deep to bury a hose that I'm gonna run to my garden without it freezing.


beckham

 

[Mule Meat]

Here in the Southwest part of WV we bury water lines between 16 and 24".

You said a hose. I hope that you did not mean a garden hose. For they are not made to be buried and will get mashed flat by the weight of the dirt.

You have choices. Metal water line, copper, PVC, CPVC, PEX. Out of those choices PEX is the best and most likely the cheapest. With it you will not ever have to worry about glued connectors and it can survive freezing and thawing cycles better than anything else you can get.

 

[old]

how deep to bury a hose that I'm gonna run to my garden without it freezing.


beckham

Check with one of your local plumbing places and they should know what is the frost level so you want ot go deeper then the frost level.

 

[Destroked 450]

I’m a little west of Louisville but Mule Meat has it right for our area too
I try to bury 18-24 and haven’t had one freeze yet. Had some lines run a few years ago for cattle waters through a State program and they required 32
When we built our poultry barns the equipment installer buried the outside lines and hydrant at 42”, we replaced one hydrant a couple years ago, I hope that guys ears are still burning

 

[rrlund]

Why don't you bury a two inch black plastic pipe and run the hose through it? That way you can pull it out to replace it or take it in for the winter.

 

[cjunrau]

how deep to bury a hose that I'm gonna run to my garden without it freezing.


beckham

We go 6ft or more. If you drive over the area all winter it better be close to 8
But I’m in Manitoba where it gets below freezing before usually by hallowe’en and stays till April

 

[m16ty]

All depends on how cold it gets where you live. Here in middle TN the rule of thumb is 18" for water lines, although in my life of 51 years I've never seen the ground frozen 12".

I tend to bury my water lines, or any lines for that matter, around 36". That is just to have less of a chance of hitting it.

 

[NDIHC]

In ND we were required to bury our water line from the supplier's shut off to the house a minimum of 8 feet deep to prevent freezing.

 

[Mcrafty1]

Here in Maine the long standing minimum to bury water line is 4 feet, if that isn't possible 2 inches of styrofoam on top of water line is as good as one foot of gravel. I can honestly say in all my years I have never seen frost (where the ground isn't traveled on, and usually snow covered during the coldest part of the winter season) anywhere near 4 feet deep. However, I always bury the minimum depth or use styrofoam to avoid any chance of it bothering.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I believe we are about 4 foot to be frost free on buried water lines. And Randy has a good point with a larger plastic line you could feed the hose through and pull it out for winter and not have to worry about it freezing. If you could not push it through tie a rope to it when you pull it out and use it to pull it back in the next spring. Sort of like fishing a wire.

 

[kentucky gardener]

Why don't you bury a two inch black plastic pipe and run the hose through it? That way you can pull it out to replace it or take it in for the winter.

because I will need to feed and water animals all winter.

 

[Jim.ME]

because I will need to feed and water animals all winter.

You asked about a hose to your garden, now it sounds like you want to go to a barn or shelter area for animals that will be needed year-round, so don't blow off someone who gave you a solution to the question you actually asked.

 

[kentucky gardener]

sorry.

beckham

 

[kentucky gardener]

Here in the Southwest part of WV we bury water lines between 16 and 24".

You said a hose. I hope that you did not mean a garden hose. For they are not made to be buried and will get mashed flat by the weight of the dirt.

You have choices. Metal water line, copper, PVC, CPVC, PEX. Out of those choices PEX is the best and most likely the cheapest. With it you will not ever have to worry about glued connectors and it can survive freezing and thawing cycles better than anything else you can get.

I thought I could bury a garden hose.

beckham

 

[casecollectorsc]

We go 6ft or more. If you drive over the area all winter it better be close to 8
But I’m in Manitoba where it gets below freezing before usually by hallowe’en and stays till April

Same here.

 

[jon f mn]

Here in mn if you dont want it to freeze it needs to be 8' if its under where you drive. 6' will do if nothing crosses over it.

 

[kentucky gardener]

I wont bury it. I thought I could bury a hose.


beckham

 

[ss55]

how deep to bury a hose that I'm gonna run to my garden without it freezing.


beckham

Hose will not stand up to constant water pressure, or to being buried. You could bury a conduit and fish a new hose through it every couple of years when the hose fails, but it would be nearly the same cost to run plastic waterline rated for the job. Installation is more expensive than the materials.

If freezing is a problem bury it below your frost line or install a drain pit at the lowest point(s). For shallow lines drain or blow it out with compressed air before the off season - like a lawn irrigation system.

 

[DoubleO7]

I wont bury it. I thought I could bury a hose.


beckham

I buried a 1 inch line of the black poly pipe you buy in a coil for cheap. I got some even cheaper off FBM.
It is only about 12 inches deep and has been driven over hundreds of times without issue.

The tricky part will be how to keep each exposed end from freezing.

 

[rrlund]

I buried a 1 inch line of the black poly pipe you buy in a coil for cheap. I got some even cheaper off FBM.
It is only about 12 inches deep and has been driven over hundreds of times without issue.

The tricky part will be how to keep each exposed end from freezing.

We finally wised up and started running one inch black poly inside of two inch. That way of it does leak, you can just pull it out and put a new one in without digging up the whole thing, It insulates it too by creating an air space. Think of it like burying wire inside of conduit.