Burying RO tubing outside

[bg2311]

Looking to setup a salt mixing station in the laundry room on the other side of the house. Just purchased 2 75 gallon vertical storage tanks. With no basement/attic the shortest and most direct path is outside, under the cement walkway and in through the wall on either side. Has anyone here run their RO tubing for water changes/ATO outside underground? Perhaps through conduit to add an extra layer of insulation from the cold? Routing the tubing through the inside of the house would not be pretty (it would not go through the walls) and would make the run about 3 times farther with multiple turns. Line of sight it's maybe a 25' run if we put a conduit through either exterior wall. My main concern is the possibility of the ATO line freezing. The waste & new salt water lines should have lower freezing temps with the increased salinity. Thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[Primereddime]

As long as your below the frost line should be fine inside of something. I wouldn't think ro tube would stand up well long run for underground use so I would definitely run it through say a 1 inch pvc it would be cheap insurance from critters as well. And with 1 inch you could run everything inside one tube. So one set of pass throughs on each wall as well.

Edit: Went and looked frost line in Georgia is 12 inches

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[bg2311]

As long as your below the frost line should be fine inside of something. I wouldn't think ro tube would stand up well long run for underground use so I would definitely run it through say a 1 inch pvc it would be cheap insurance from critters as well. And with 1 inch you could run everything inside one tube. So one set of pass throughs on each wall as well.

Edit: Went and looked frost line in Georgia is 12 inches

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Was thinking maybe 1.5-2" pvc conduit to give enough room for bends vs. murlok 90 degree corner fittings. Want to avoid any breaks in the lines anywhere in the portion that's outside/underground and just do solid runs of tubing from one end of the pipe to the other. We did something similar recently to add an electrical circuit across the same area underground from the panel. Don't have to worry about wires freezing though.

 

[jmcdona6]

I run RO tubing above and below ground outside due to my RODI water source being outside.

The tubing frequently deteriorates and requires replacement/repair. Running it through pvc should help, but I would run a pull through line in it as well planning for eventual failure and replacement.

 

[Adam]

I run RO tubing above and below ground outside due to my RODI water source being outside.

The tubing frequently deteriorates and requires replacement/repair. Running it through pvc should help, but I would run a pull through line in it as well planning for eventual failure and replacement.

Does it deteriorate underground? I can see how it would above ground because of the UV. Underground I thought it would be fine, not even using a conduit.

In a conduit at 6" underground I'd think air getting into the pipe would cause it to freeze faster than just running the line by itself.
Its been a long time since the ground has froze more than an inch or two around here. Not to say that it won't happen again but I would only worry about where the lines are above ground.

 

[sharis100]

Our thin walled lines for irrigation are all in pvc conduit with pull lines. But we don’t use the system in cold freezing weather. And everything is 16 inches below grade. Learned our lesson the hard way.

A burst water pipe in weather below freezing looks like a scene from the apocalypse.

 

[jmcdona6]

Does it deteriorate underground? I can see how it would above ground because of the UV. Underground I thought it would be fine, not even using a conduit.

In a conduit at 6" underground I'd think air getting into the pipe would cause it to freeze faster than just running the line by itself.
Its been a long time since the ground has froze more than an inch or two around here. Not to say that it won't happen again but I would only worry about where the lines are above ground.

I am less confident it is being done while actually protected but rather at the parts the pipe that is above ground on each side. Exposure to temperatures extremes which eventually gets pulled through into the pipe itself. But who knows, it could also be getting exposed to moisture which could also rot the lines over time. Not all tubing is created equal either, as you might have also noticed some sources seem more brittle out of the box than others.

All I know is I end up replacing the line once a year. I am sure it is setup error on my part, also not sure it is worth saving $25 a year to mitigate. Sure you can do better, just make sure to leave options for replacement if failure occurs.