Wow, great minds think alike. I have several underground hoses, because I hate rolling up the hose for my DH to mow. So --we rented a trencher for another project for a 12 volt elect line, and used it dig the 4" deep trench from the house to the first bed 90 feet away. At the house there is a 'Y' splitter. I installed a regular garden hose in the soil. There I have it connect to a above ground hose to water that 80 bed (just coil that hose on the ground). If I want to water the annuals, there is a 50 foot soaker hose just under the mulch, but remember it only wets the soil for about 8" wide, I use a quick connect to attach the soaker hose. At the end of that bed is another underground hose of 50 feet, with a 'quick connect' to the second bed. In that bed, I used a box hose reel and use it as a chair when I'm tired over there. The 150 feet of hose on that reel, waters that whole bed and then must go over the grass to reach another bed in the yard installed recently (very seldom water it though). I don't even blow out the hose before winter, and they are dong fine after 4 years, I just disconnect it from the faucet and let gravity drain it. I have a similar set up up the other side of the house, but only have one bed to reach over there. We are on a well, and pushing that much water uphill gives me low pressure, but the system works great and the old hoses were free--salvaged and needed to just fix the ends. Yes I have cut the hoses in a different project and used the hose repair kits, even used those kits on soaker hoses too. I wish I had done this at other houses. By the way, the end of the underground hoses are 2 feet from the bed edge with a rock/board over that area (or ran it through a salvaged piece of downspout-to protect it from the shovel and lawn mower.

I sholuld add that the pipe does not go straight down, so i cannot drop anything straight down to look for water. It goes down about 6 inches or so and makes a 90 degree bend and heads straight under a fench off my property and onto county property that I cannot go onto. I always thought that was kind of strange and wondered why it was that way.

I'm pretty much the same way. It's a bit off topic, that's why I asked but hey it's your topic, so let me see if I can summarize. Here goes.... Oh, if you are interested in the irrigating part of this thread, scroll down, as this is longer than I expected & off topic. Last year, I drove to Biloxi, MS in a car a friend gave me. An 87 Chev Celebrity. With gas prices on the rise my thought was two fold. This got better gas mileage than my F150 plus if any thing happens to it, I could just leave it, rent a car and keep going. If I had the F150, I would feel obligated to pay inflated, out-of-state roadside repairs. Well the car ran fine on the way down. My return trip began on Fri. May 13th at 00:45. I am not superstitious (good thing). After about an hour & half of driving, I began to hear a noise pulled off the highway to check it & the oil. At an idle the knock didn't seem too bad, the oil was good (had it changed before I left). Asked a local for directions, she mentioned go over the "Dolly Parton bridge". So at some point after I crossed the "Dolly Parton bridge" the vehicle emitted a severe knocking noise and lost power. After pulling off to the shoulder in a rural area of I-65 in Alabama (with no street lights), I investigated and found a puddle of oil under the engine. I was happy this did not happen a few miles back in the middle of a long bridge with no breakdown lanes. While I have never had an experience like this before, I knew that the engine was beyond repair. This is when you get that nauseating, sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. Pitch black out, somewhere after 2 am, and you just have NO idea where the hey you are. No street lights, no signs to read to tell someone. I grabbed my Cingular cell, happy to have a signal. I dialed 911, The local police transferred me to the Alabama Highway Patrol who informed me if I had AAA, I would have to call them myself. The dispatcher hung up without giving me the local number. I could not locate my AAA card to find a number but checked my cell phone to find a number to the office in CT which luckily had menu options for roadside assistance. After finding out I was in AL, I was transferred to another number. While this dispatcher was trying to determine where I was located (I had absolutely no idea) I saw headlights pull up behind me. Thinking, oh good it is the highway patrol, it turned out to be a well meaning civilian (who appeared to be under the influence) offering me a ride to Montgomery, some 3 hours north. Afraid to admit I did not know where I was, I told him the police wanted to know what mile marker I was at. He informed me I was approx. 6 miles north of the Bay Minette exit. After a few more minutes he insisted if I did not get in his car, he would have to get going. I felt it unwise to get into a car with a strange man in an altered mental status. I thanked him and off he went. The AAA dispatcher contacted a local towing company who called me some time later requesting a mile marker, informing me AAA would only pay him to search for 3 miles and if I was not in that area he would have to stop looking. Despite my best efforts to describe where I was, the tow operator could not determine where I was located. Approximately 10 miles north of the bridge is all I knew but that didnt seem to help. A desolate part of I-65 in Alabama, without lights but plenty of trees and absolutely no other signs or markers. Apparently the entire stretch between Bay Minette and Montgomery is pretty desolate. This would have been a good test for OnStar. During further conversation with the tow operator, he informed me there is one highway patrolman who works 200 miles of the interstate. With fog limiting visibility as time went on, we agreed that if I wanted assistance, I would have to start walking to find a mile marker and call him back. I grabbed a flashlight and began walking north on this lonely unmarked stretch of I-65. Thinking someone might stop if they saw a disabled vehicle with emergency flashers followed by someone walking, I decide to walk in the direction of travel. I flashed my light while walking, hoping someone would stop, maybe a truck driver with a CB radio. Making use of the headlights on the southbound vehicles I checked both sides of the highway, I continued as the flashing lights of my car faded from view. After walking for about 2 miles in the pitch dark with trucks and cars whizzing by at 75-80 mph I happened upon another motorist on the southbound side experiencing car problems with an air conditioning belt. After assisting him with my light, I was able to convince him to give me a ride to the next mile marker. He appeared to be hesitant since my flashing lights were not visible from where we were. It turns out that I was north of the 141 mile marker and the 142 mile marker was missing on both sides of the highway. What are the odds? When tow operator arrived, he agreed the car would need another motor. But said "no one will give you any money for this". I asked about the availability of a used car. After telling me he did not have anything, he advised me that if I was to buy something locally, I would again have problems within 100 miles (no warranty). He said "they do it all the time to people in your situation". I again contacted the local AAA. Their first referral was to Enterprise Rent A Car, who insisted I would have to return the car to Alabama, NOT. I again called the local AAA dispatcher who had to research and call back with a 3 way conference to National Car Rental agent, located in Charleston, SC., who insisted the nearest one-way rentals were only available at the Mobile Airport. The tow operator told me it would be at least an hour drive to the Mobile Airport. I had no idea how I could get to the airport at this time of the morning and began inquiring about rooms in the local area. Hearing my discussion with AAA the tow operator informed me that I have AAA-plus and he could take me up to 100 miles. He said this was within range of the airport. After pulling off to the side of the road and discussing it further, we decided the airport would likely be my best option. It was 4AM and the National counter did not open until 6:30 AM. He agreed to wait so I could unload my luggage. The fun did not stop there but continued with airport police threatening TSA would confiscate my luggage or the vehicle if either were left unattended. Meaning, I could not leave my luggage on the sidewalk while going to the rental counter. I remember saying "hmmm then 'I' won't have to worry about it". Well he didn't think that was funny. If you are the tow operator reading this, I want to Thank You, you were a complete gentleman and a huge help in my time of need. I continued on to visit with my daughter in Orangeburg, SC and a long time friend in Princeton, NC. I had the worst experience of my life at the Sun Moon Inn, Orangeburg, SC but that is a whole story in itself. I would NOT recommend the Sun Moon Inn to anyone. After my daughterÂs friend suddenly passed on in October, I returned to Orangeburg. This time in the F150 with trailer in tow. I am happy to say this trip was w/o incident. Now folks, back to gardening. Ed, it is raining here again today & now again tonight. In fact, there are reports of a tornado touching down in Westchester County, NY and in Fairfield County, CT (Greenwich). Gumby_CT

First. find someone certified. I'd start here: http://www.irrigation.org/default.aspx ... Get a few quotes from a few companies. ask questions if they suggest an overhaul. sometimes there's a valid reason for overhauling, not all systems are easy to change to a new spec. Most companies will do small jobs too, but they are going to have the most dramatic jobs on their websites of course!