Juli Lawrence – Rakish Gardening

August 26th, 2007

I’m still waiting on a mail order pressure regulator. In fact, I’m worried that the order is lost because it should have been here days ago. Maybe tomorrow, but I’m getting ticked off.

If you’re using soaker hoses, it’s really important to make sure your pressure is low enough, or your hoses will start springing leaks. In my case, it looks like someone sliced them with razor blades. To their credit, Orbit has been more than generous and has replaced the bulk hose TWICE.

Shop Orbit, shop Orbit.

However, it took my own detective work and lots of Googling to figure out the problem wasn’t defective hose, but too high water pressure.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would suggest buying a cheap water pressure gauge, or better: borrow one from a friend. The bad news is that the installation booklets don’t stress how important water pressure is. And I think most places will have “normal” pressure, which is apparently 30-60 PSI. Mine clocked in at about 100. The cheap little regulators you buy at Wal Mart or Home Depot just aren’t built for that, and I had to search the net to find one that would handle such pressure, and take it down to an acceptable level. A level that won’t blow up my soaker hose.

This regulator I’ve ordered was about seven dollars, so still cheap, but I don’t think you can buy them in a store unless you happen to have an irrigation store nearby.

I also suggest buying the backflow valve, which is about three bucks. (At Wal Mart, which carries Orbit brand, and I think that brand is just fine.) You don’t want water backing up into your home supply; it’s worth the three bucks.

For an average garden, here’s your shopping list:

• a roll of bulk hose (I got 100 feet and that exactly fit my vegetable garden; then I got another roll for flower gardens) This was 11 dollars and change
• a connector that slips onto the bulk hose and will connect to your garden hose. This was about a dollar and a quarter
• an end cap for the end of your soaker hose. This was 94 cents.
• a few odd and end connectors. I got an elbow to go around a corner, and a t connector to send hose left and right. These are all about a buck a piece. Because I had exploding hose, I also ended up buying several simple connectors. They’re good to have for leaks: cut out the leaky part, connect the ends. But these hoses shouldn’t leak for years.
• I also suggest buying a doodad that makes hose connection easier by turning. I don’t know what these things are called, but it was about three or four dollars

To get started, you could really get buy with a roll of hose, backflow valve, pressure regulator (I think this is a must!) a connector and an end cap, and then buy more crap as you need it. That’s what I did, but I keep buying doodads.

Next year, I’m going to buy a roll of rubber tubing (this is all half inch stuff) and lay some lines under the surface of the yard so that everything is connected, yet out of the way of the mower boy. They sell rolls of the tubing for under ten dollars, though shipping is almost as high. I’ve looked at Lowe’s and they have it for over 25 dollars in the pond kits! Surely it’s cheaper somewhere else. But I learn as I go.

Most important lesson: water pressure. That’s been a real headache.

• Soaker hose is erupting

Tags: soaker hoses
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