Tubing
PE tube, silicone tube and ball valves for groundwater sampling lines and pump connections. Tubing is the least expensive part of a sampling setup and one of the easiest ways to compromise a result, so it is worth specifying properly. Genuine Eijkelkamp equipment supplied direct from our UK operation.
What is in stock
- PE Tube — stiffer walled tube that holds its shape and resists kinking, which makes it the easier choice for the run down a monitoring well.
- Silicone Tube — flexible tube suited to peristaltic pump heads, where the material has to be compressed repeatedly by the rollers without failing.
- Ball Valve — controls flow at the surface without stopping the pump, and isolates the line while changing containers.
Choosing between PE and silicone
The two are not interchangeable, and most sampling setups end up using both. PE is the workhorse for the vertical run: it is stiff enough to feed down a well without folding on itself and it resists kinking when the line is under its own weight. Silicone is what goes through a peristaltic pump head, because it survives repeated compression by the rollers where a stiffer tube would crack or flatten permanently.
A common arrangement is PE down the well and a short silicone section at the pump. If you are running a submersible pump instead, PE for the whole run is usually the simpler answer, with a ball valve at the surface for flow control.
Tubing and cross-contamination
Tubing is the component most likely to carry contamination between wells, and the one most often reused because it looks clean. Surfaces retain traces of what has passed through them, and on a contaminated land site that is enough to put a detection in a well that does not have one. The defensible approach is to dedicate a length to each well, or to fit fresh tubing between wells. At the price of tubing against the cost of a disputed dataset, this is not a close call.
Getting the length right
Order from depth to water, plus the drawing depth, plus enough surface run to reach your containers and field instruments without stretching the line. Then add margin. A tubing shortfall at the well head turns into an awkward, contorted setup or a wasted visit, and it is among the cheapest things in the kit to over-order slightly.
Related equipment
Tubing connects to the pump: see Water Sampling for submersible pumps and Groundwater Pumps for the wider range including peristaltic units. For the wells themselves see Monitoring Wells, and for measuring before you sample, Water Level Meters. Where the method calls for a discrete depth sample rather than a pumped one, see Liquid Samplers.
Tubing FAQs
Ordering and support
All tubing listed here is genuine Eijkelkamp equipment supplied direct from our UK operation. If you are working to a specified sampling method, tell us which one and we will confirm the tubing material and diameter it requires before you order.