Drip Irrigation Question (I'm entirely new to this)
drumz1
13 years ago
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taz6122
13 years agolast modified: 9 years agocalifornian
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Drip Irrigation - Really Basic Question
Comments (5)Aloha Chris, First welcome. Please clarify what you mean by semi-automatic irrigation. Usually a system is set up so that you don't have too worry about remembering to water your plants. You do have to adjust the automatic settings for the growth stages of your plants and time of year every so often. Your system has a controller(Timer) to set areas or zones that you want to water. A controller can take care of a various number of zones depending on the controller you buy. It also lets you select the time of day and the duration of the watering you want to do. The amount of water is determined by the size of the emitter you use and how long you run your system(duration)per cycle. You then figure out how many cycles you run per week, by how much water your plants need per week. You shut your system down when it rains manually or pay more for an automatic rain sensor wired to your controller. You can run your system manually to give more water than the system provides. You can buy a controller that fits on your hose faucet and is battery operated. That is the basics. I hope I answered your question without much confusion. Just ask more questions to clarify what is confusing. Aloha...See MoreQuestion for Mike about drip irrigation system
Comments (15)Ewww, thanks for the tip, because that is exactly what I was going to try, bathroom silicone. Although I'm starting to see a workaround. The tubing kit came with connectors that attach to a hose, which I was having a hard time figuring out how to use at first. But the spout fits almost snugly into the tip that is made to attach to the tubing. Since I have a version that connects to the end of a hose and caps it, and a version that connects to both a hose and the tubing, I find that both these parts attach to each other. So I can connect the spout to the end cap version, unscrew the cap, connect that to the hose/tube connector, and attach the tube. This probably doesn't make all that much sense without pics, though, huh? I'll try and put some up once my brain is less tired. The thing that would make this perfect is if the spout could attach just a smidge more snugly without requiring silicone. This way, when it is time to refill, I can turn off the spout, detach the connector so that the whole assembly can remain in place, and just take the container down for refilling. Maybe I will take the spout and the connector to the hardware store to see if I can find a bit of tubing that can serve as an intermediary, as the connector is designed to lock over tubing to be secure. Right now the spout fits within the connector, not over the connector, and therefore cannot be locked into place. Or see if I still have a spare hose clamp around somewhere. I know I got some to repair a dishwasher leak, I just don't know if I got extras. Thanks for the ideas. One of these is bound to work!...See MoreQuestions about irrigation drip kits?
Comments (5)I use the irrigation drip and love it. From time to time a dripper will get clogged, all you have to do is take it off and let the water rush through the opening and then put it back on. I have learned the hard way not to use any of the spray nozzels, just go with the 1 gallon per hour pressure compensating drippers. I wouldn't actually use a kit, just get the 1/2" main line tubing, the 1/8" tubing that reaches to each individual shrub, and the 1/8" soaker tubing for perennials. Then get enough 1 gallon PC drippers to reach all of the shrubs and you are set. I've got them everywhere, the oldest set is 4 years old and still working. The most used ones are in the rose gardens, one is 3 years old, the other is 1 year old. I turn them on once a week for a few hours or so during the heat of the summer. The roses love it. Many other shrubs don't need that much water. The only big problem I've had is that every once and a while some critter will knaw on the 1/2" line trying to get to the moisture. This results in a fine mist being shot out of the line every time the water is turned on. It's easily fixable, just cut the line and take out the knawed part and put a 1/2" connector in to connect the hose. M...See MoreDrip Irrigation set up question
Comments (4)You don't have to use a low flow valve. Bigger is better because you do not want to restrict flow from the source and distribution lines. More flow means you can have more emitters. You do have to worry about pressure. Drip systems work on lower pressure than sprinkler systems. Standard household water pressure is usually too high for drip. The cheaper pressure reducers restrict flow as a way to reduce pressure. Depending on the source water pressure and the drip system you install you will probably have to install a pressure reducer and that reducer may decrease flow. However the objective isn't to reduce flow. Flow is controlled at the emitter....See Morethisisme
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jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)