# installing whole house filter on outside of house



## MikeInFL (Jun 12, 2010)

I want to install a whole house water filter, and the only the place it can go is on the outside of the house (which is a small 1 bedroom cottage). This small house has 1 bath and there is no place inside to access the main water pipe. The house sits on block foundation with a crawl space, and all the pipe connections are under the house. But that crawl space is very difficult to go in.

With a little digging, I found the main water pipe in the yard, about 10" in the ground, that goes into the crawlspace under the side of the house. The water main appears to be 1" galvanized pipe.

So my plan is not to crawl under the house and drill through the floor to create an inside connection. Instead, I'd be ok with the water filter attached to the outside house wall, right where the main pipe goes under the house from the yard.

I'm handy with tools, but rarely do plumbing jobs. Could I do this? 

What I want is just one water filter, like maybe the Big Blue 10" or Whirlpool from Lowes. And a shutoff valve.

My question as a newbie plumber is making the right connections and using the right type of piping. This plan requires cutting the galvanized main in the ground! Then installing pipe to lead out of the ground and up/down the side outside wall of house to the filter. 

What pipes and connectors to use in this project case? I sure hope the galvanized pipe does not need to be threaded! Can I use a Fernco coupler, and PVC for this project? Another decision I need to make is would it be best to install the filter in the ground inside one of those large sprinkler buckets (that are like meter ground boxes)? This would provide natural insulation from heat/freeze. The water filter would sit horizontal in the underground bucket.

So here are all my questions:

1. better to install the filter on outside wall of house or in the ground in a sprinkler bucket? 

2. what piping to use from the main to the filter? PVC ok?

3. once I cut the galvanized main, how to connect to the new pipe? Fernco coupler ok?


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## Alan (Apr 12, 2006)

What exactly do you mean by fernco coupler? :huh:

What kind of piping do you have under the house?

I also wouldn't put that filter housing in the horizontal if I were you. Even with the bracket, thats a lot of weight. I'm not sure if they are even designed to be mounted that way at all...

We did something similar to this a while back, except meter side was pvc and house side was copper. It took a few hours working in a little pit like that. I would be hesitant to mess with an old piece of galvanized in the ground, personally.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Where are you located ?
Somewhere it will not freeze ?
You would need heat tape or something else on it most places

---hmmm Mike in Florida ? 
so maybe not a huge concern


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## MikeInFL (Jun 12, 2010)

thanks for reply.

by "fernco coupler" I meant "Fernco coupling"

I looked again under the house and I might be able to crawl around on my back. I can see the main galvanized pipe under the house which changes to PVC in two directions. 

There are two places I could install the filter inside the house, in a very small water heater room, or on the wall in a small hallway. So I'm now reconsidering installing it outside and instead install it inside on the wall in the hallway. 

Inside plan would require drilling two holes in the floor and feed pipe down to the underside crawl space. I would like it inside much better than outside. So in this case, I would crawl under the house, and cut the galvanized main. I could use PVC for all the piping now to/from the filter, correct? My question is how to connect PVC to 1" galvanized pipe?


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