More Spigots Equal Easier Watering

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Posted by @RickCorey on
Tired of dragging hoses around? Add a spigot every 50 feet! Once you've run 1/2" tubing around your house, you can add as many spigots as you want for less than $5 each.

Thumb of 2013-03-20/RickCorey/aa45b3

1) Buy some 1/2" and/or 3/4" tubing designed for drip irrigation.
Heavy-duty black polyethylene 1/2" mainline costs $14 per 100 feet.
(3/4" mainline costs $20 per 100 feet if you find a bargain.)

2) Run it from your existing spigot around your house or past each bed, burying it or adding a screw-disconnect where you have to mow.

3) Then insert Tees with male hose threads anywhere you want a hose spigot.
(Dripworks part numbers ELMT or ELMT34, $1.60 or $2.24 for the more convenient "Easy Loc" fittings.)

To each of those Tees, optionally screw on a cheap plastic two-valve Y.
(E.g. Dripworks part numbers HYV - $2.50. The brass Y with valves is $10.)

4) Screw one short section of garden hose onto each spigot. For this, cut up a long, cheap garden hose and add male and female hose ends (brass) with hose clamps from Home Depot. Or use the cheaper plastic hose ends / hose menders.

5) Sometimes you won't need the extra shutoff valve, but you can add short branches of 1/2" mainline with sprinklers, sprayers, misters, drippers, drip-line or T-Tape. Being able to shut off a zone of high-volume sprinklers (but leave the drip-lines dripping on a timer) is really handy. You can slowly drip-irrigate pots or large beds for hours that way, and still spot-water by hand anywhere in the yard.

Single-valve fittings for garden hoses were not much cheaper than 2-valve Ys, so I "splurged" and put two valves everywhere.

Black PE mainline is too stiff to use as a garden hose. That's why you need short lengths of regular garden hose at the ends, so hand sprayers and wands are easy to handle.

Dripworks sells ½" PE mainline for $14 / 100 feet. That will deliver 6 GPM = 240 GPH.
Steubers Distributing (local to me) sells ¾" PE mainline for $20 / 100 feet. That will deliver 8 GPM = 480 GPH.
Their wall thickness is 0.050 - 0.055 inch.

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Gallery of plans for large beds: http://www.dripworks.com/categ...


"Compression Tee" with Male hose thread (capped)
Thumb of 2013-03-20/RickCorey/4bc3ea



Mainline END (compression fitting 3/4" to Male garden hose thread)
+ 2-Valve Pot-Metal Y (with unused valve capped)
+ cut garden hose with brass Female hose end & hose clamp
Thumb of 2013-03-20/RickCorey/bb0a0e


Closeup of Compression Tee with Male hose thread
+ Brass 2-Valve Y ($10)
+ EZ-Loc connector (Female garden hose thread to ½" mainline)
+ cut garden hose with brass Female Hose End from Home Depot
Thumb of 2013-03-20/RickCorey/7e9d36

 
Comments and Discussion
Thread Title Last Reply Replies
Thank you! by GuptaGarden Jan 15, 2023 12:10 AM 0
Good Idea! by CarolineScott Aug 29, 2014 2:44 PM 17

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