OT: Drip irrigation help needed

[drphil69]

I decided to set up drip irrigation on a timer for my figs, mainly so I can water 2x a day when its really hot out. So I bought an inexpensive kit from wally world to try it out. Every thing went together nicely. The kit included everything needed to hook up to a spigot, including backflow preventer, pressure reducer, and filter. I flushed the 1/2" line out after everything was hooked up, and when closed the end of the 1/2" tube, every single dripper leaked where it was connected to the 1/2" tube. On top of that, a few drippers I bought separately were supposed to be 1/2 gph but they were squirting like a fire engine.

The drip valves that came with the kit can only be inserted into the 1/2" from one side, the ones I bought separately can be connected in either direction.

The hole punch they supplied seemed easy enough to use, I'm not sure if I did something wrong or if I got what I paid for... any advice appreciated!

[AscPete]

Sounds like your drip system water pressure is too high, try reducing the water flow from the spigot. Check the pressure reducer and the recommended operating system pressure. Good Luck

BTW, this is the inexpensive Harbor Freight irrigation kit that I've used...http://www.harborfreight.com/irrigat...kit-46095.html http://manuals.harborfreight.com/man...6999/46095.pdf . The only thing missing to make it fully automatic is a Hose End Irrigation Timer which can be purchased at the home improvement stores. The "pressure regulator" is simply an inline restrictor, the flow to the pressure regulator still has to be controlled by the Faucet...

[hoosierbanana]

I use pot spray stakes and just stick the 1/8" or 3/16" spaghetti lines they are on into the hole punched in the 1/2" orchard tubing.

[Rafaelissimmo]

I set up a Raintree system last year and without fail, every 2 or 3 way barbed connector leaked big time, making the system useless. I bought connectors from a different company at my hydroponic shop, and they worked air-tight, much better than Raintree's proprietary cr_p.

[drphil69]

Thanks. I was thinking maybe the pressure reducer is an issue, but I think the damage is done. Even with spigot set real low they all leak now. I might try plugging the holes and making new holes and see what happens.

[Snaglpus]

Make sure you have a complete circle in your design and a flow reducer.

[drphil69]

Hmmm... why a complete circle? I've not seen that as a requirement in any of my searching. In addition, it would not work well for my set up. But thank you for the advice.

[greenfig]

This item is not cheap but works very well for me:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YJLAIK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can change the pressure between 15-65 psi with a screwdriver and find out what pressure works best for you.

[drphil69]

Thanks. I've ordered what is hopefully a better "regulator," and its supposed to be 19 psi instead of 25, recommended for drip emitters.