sfhc, My 2 cents it to get a regulator on your house because your faucets, shower and water appliances are not designed to withstand high pressure over time. Nor is your irrigation system. High pressure systems are prone to water-hammer problems and noisy pipes. You shouldn't be looking for the govt agency to install something a home builder should have done and usually does. The water agency sets its limit very high so it isn't required and doesn't have to pay the cost of giving everyone a house pressure regulator. Normal house pressure should be 45 to 60 psi. If you had your house at 55 psi, your in-line pressure regulators for drip would work. You want a 15-30 psi limit for drip. JMHO Aloha

Well, so far only one problem. I installed a timer, backflow, filter, regulator and splitter, and 2 garden hoses to get the water from side of house to front and back faucets I rigged on stakes. I turned on the water at that point to test for leaks and opened and closed all the faucets and no problems. After I installed the back 100 feet of hose, I turned on the water again and I have a very loud squeal in the pipes in the house, and you can also hear it at the outside bibb. It starts shortly after I turn on the side faucet, and doesn't stop unless faucet is turned off ALL THE WAY. Squealing also stops when I remove the end cap from drip hose. Not sure what do to about that, we've never had ANY water hammering or anything like that in this house (after flushing the toilet, for example). I'm going to install the hose in the front and see if that helps. My thinking is it's a pressure thing, so maybe more water flow will help. I'm putting in 200 more feet. Or maybe I got a bad pressure regulator? Anyone have this problem and a solution? And just fyi for anyone reading this thread after the fact... If I had it to do over again I might spring for the punch that grabs the hose, but I'm getting the hang of punching holes. Finished the back yard with 100 feet of hose and about 40 - 50 emitters and it took about 2-3 hours (includes figuring out the winding route for the hose). I was a little surprised that I used all 100 feet of the backyard hose, but I did need to snake it around alot. Get more hose than you think you need. If you're debating between soaker hose and drip, I would definitely go with the drip. I've never done anything like this before, but as twolips said, it is that easy. At least once you get the hang of it. Just put the hose in the sun for awhile, attach it to the faucet, unroll (trick is to hold upright so it unrolls straight, don't just let it drop from the side), snake, stake as you go, and punch and install emitters. Now I have water exactly where I want it. Thanks to twolips for the great advice!

Well, I kind of lucked out. I found a very good price on adjustable bubble emitters ($0.25 each). They adjust from 0 GPH - 10 GPH. So I took all the guesswork out of it and will play around with different flow rates until I figure it out....trial and error as you stated! I'll report back bc I saw that this question has been asked, but never answered several times. My emitters will be installed 12" apart and are in clay soil that is annually being amended. If you can get adjustable emitters, I'd say go for it (got mine from irrigationdirect.com). This will allow you to have different flow rates for different veggies (like celery or squash that need more water than potatoes). So, I'll update this post as I learn how long I have to water at the different flow rates to get adequate coverage...will include other conditions like soil, air temp, veggies, etc...as I go.

Brian, A larger line doesn't give you more pressure, only more volume. Your faucet coming out of your house is probably a 1/2" line operating at 60 PSI which is pretty common. Plastic pressure regulators aren't needed, IMHO, as you can effectively regulate the pressure with the faucet handle. Just another plastic part to degrade and fail in the hot sun. If you're setting up sprayers, go ahead and crack the sprayer adjustment enough so when you blow through it, some air escapes, then hook everything up and crank the faucet half way open and see how they're covering. The only advantage to high pressure is that the line pressurizes completely sooner than later. As an example, on one run I have eight sprayers, and about two dozen 1-10 gal emitters, and I run full pressure on the faucet, which is coming through a 3/4" galvanized nipple from a 1" PVC water line. The only time you run out of pressure is when you have a lot of large sprayers operating at max output, then they'll drop the pressure downstream quite a bit. Don't forget a vacuum breaker.