So you know my experience level, I'm a somewhat rookie gardener and even more of a rookie at drip irrigation. But, I'm smarter than a clod of dried south Alabama red clay so there's hope for me...I think. ;)

I'm setting up a vegetable garden this year, roughly a 24'x54' tilled area that will host eight wide rows of 3'x25'. This is the first garden we've had in years. Being in south Alabama and experiencing the heat and droughts that we have down here I'm planning on setting up a drip irrigation system using drip-tape...I have sandy soil and I'm (hope I'm correct in doing so) looking at 8" emitter spacing.

What I'm having trouble deciding on is the thickness of the tape. At first I had thought that the heavier 15mil tape would be what I wanted...durability, longevity, etc.,. In kits you can get something like 1000' of 15mil or several thousand feet of 8mil for the same money. The 15mil being a multi-year reusable tape whereas the 8mil is a one-year one-time use tape. The 15mil seemed more appealing for it's longer lifespan. But then I got thinking about emitters getting blocked over time, nicks needing repair. The length of 8mil tape included with the kits would allow the tape to be replaced each year with fresh emitters and no repaired nicks/cuts. The longer lengths of 8mil tape included in the kits will allow it to be changed out yearly for several years down the road.

I understand that there would be more labor involved yearly in setting up the 8mil tape, but there would be maintenance on the 15mil, too. Would the thinner/lighter 8mil tape be more aggravating to work with...more "delicate" or whatever? What are the pros and cons of either of these that you've experienced in working with them?

Any thoughts on this 15mil 2-3 year tape versus 8mil single-year tape?

Thanks for any feedback. This will be a substantial investment for me and will hopefully carry me along for several years.

Ed

Hi Ed,

I have never used drip tape because its expensive. Building drip systems is easy - like playing with tinker toys. And cheap.

You could use 1/2 inch drip hose to build a grid. Then poke holes and insert emitters where you want each plant. The only repair/replace you would have to do down the line is if you changed you mind about where you wanted a plant (goof plugs) or if a squirrel eats your drip line.

All the parts are available at your nearest big box store or on the internet. The kits tend to have pieces you don't need and not enough of the ones you do need. I suspect you could build your entire systems for $35 or less.

BTW, if you decide on drip parts instead of drip kits, skip the new brown hose. It tends to get brittle and its hard as a rock making it hard to use.

Thanks for the feedback, Daisy. I'm looking at probably running 400' of irrigation line and just don't see how I'll be able to do it with $35. For some reason I had it in my mind that drip tape was a bit cheaper than drip hose...??? I guess I need to go back and do some more research. I'll keep in mind to watch for stuff I don't need. I've been looking at Berryhill's kits and they see to be pretty basic setups. Thanks for the warning about the brown hose...I'll definitely keep away from it as our south Alabama sun can be a bit intense at times, too.

Ed

Wow, I kinda got shot down tonight. I started to order two irrigation kits and a few other small items from Berryhill and the freight came up to over $70!!! I checked Dripworks and put two kits with twice the amount of tape in each one in the shopping cart and the shipping was only half of what Berryhill was going to charge. That kind of weirds me out a bit with Berryhill. Now I've got to re-study the kits at Dripworks.

So far, I've liked everything I got from Dripworks. Higher quality than Home Depot, more variety, and cheaper.

Thanks for the feedback, Rick. The fittings, etc., from Dripworks should last a long time, I presume...I'm wanting to buy once and be done with it. I understand the t-tape will need replacing at times, but I'm hoping the foundation of the system will be long-lived. It looks like each vendor carries about the same brands of t-tapes, so that's not an issue. I just missed the Mother's Day sale at Dripworks, though,...maybe I'll try to wait it out till another sale comes along...every penny counts with me. We'll see...

Again, thanks for the feedback!
Ed

You're very welcome! I do like Dripworks. But Antelco has a much wider assortment of sprayer types, if you can find a local vendor. And Antelco has the Australian-style "quick-threads that "grip" much better than 10/32" threads.

BTW, I started out using the "compression" fittings because they don't restrict the flow of water at all. They are great if your fingers and arms are as strong as a gorilla's! You can make them a little easier to assemble by dipping JUST the last inch or less of the mainline into very hot water for several seconds, just before you force it into the compression fitting. I use a "Mr. Coffee" pot which the warmer keeps hot. And I can carry the pot outside to where the mainline is.

Now I use the screw-on fittings (? EZ-LOC ?) because they are much easier to assemble. AND you can take them apart again easily, as opposed to getting surgical with an X-Acto blade to recover the compression fittings.

compression: https://www.dripworks.com/drip...
EZ-LOC: https://www.dripworks.com/drip...

Also: get a few cheap, plastic hose caps with female garden-hose threads. That will PROTECT a male hose-end as you drag it over gravel and rocks. It keeps grit out and keeps the O-ring or gasket from falling out: https://www.dripworks.com/hose...
35 cents, and your hose threads will never be damaged again!

I used to go crazy, trying to drag hoses around without destroying plants. Now I always have a spigot and a hose sprayer within a few yards of exactly where I want them.

I like gadgets!

Thanks for all of the information, Rick! What I'm looking interested in, for now, is a t-tape system for my vegetable garden (work in progress). Basically the only poly tubing I'll be working with is the header pipe. The EZ-LOC type of fittings are what I've been looking at. I will definitely keep the hot water close by!!! Thanks for the tip!!! Of course, if it's as hot as it was yesterday here when I'm working with the poly header I'll need to keep it in the shade so it doesn't melt. ;)

I contacted Berryhill and they responded and asked for my order so they could do a manual calculation for freight charges. I got the impression from their email that they think the estimated freight charges were too high. We'll see what they come back with. I've heard mostly good things about them, as I have heard about Dripworks. The kits from Dripworks were too "big"...more t-tape than I needed which resulted in a higher cost. I wonder if they will substitute tape amounts...???

I like gadgets, too....it's a curse...I think.<grin>
Ed

>> The EZ-LOC type of fittings are what I've been looking at.

I think that's smart. That way, you can avoid the "compression" fittings completely, and not need the hot water.

(Though hot water does make it easier to force "barb" fittings into 1/4" tubing. But probably, with T-tape and EZ-LOC, you don't need barbs or 1/4" tubing.)

This afternoon, looking at a bed full of weeds and a tangle of dripline, I was reminded: "don't do that". I haven't figured out how to weed easily around dripline. I think mulch is more necessary than ever. And straight lines like you get with irrigation tape must help.

Well, I opted for the Berryhill kit. I got a coupon that amounted to knocking about 2/3's of the freight cost off. I'm getting 8" spaced 15mil tape in hopes that it will last at least 2-3 years for me (maybe longer). I should get two applications out of the amount of tape that comes with the kit, so that will cover me for 4-6 years. Now I've just got to finish up my fence and get some things planted. It's kind of late to get started...but, not too late. :)

I'm looking at this year as a "settlin' in" year.

Ed

duplicate

Berryhill contacted me today to inform me that they were out of the 8"/15mil tape. I had ordered two of the same kits, one for me and one for a friend. As it so happens, we've just gotten a couple of inches of rain and more in the future so no hurry on getting the kits in. He said they could ship the 12mil on out to me but I told them to hold up until they got the 8"/15mil tape in, that I was in no big hurry (they were expecting some within a few days). They responded that they would backorder the kits for me. A little while later they emailed me and said that for $15 they'd go ahead and ship me a full-size roll of t-tape....that doubled the amount of tape of both kits! So, me and my friend will just have to share a single roll, but we'll have *plenty* of tape for the future! That's pretty dog-gone good customer service/relations/whatever. I'm a happy camper and my hat's off to Berryhill!!!

That's really great, Ed!

If you can put some mulch OVER the tape, it might last longer. Less UV.

I don't know if it would last longer being left in the field over winter, or carefully picked back up, cleaned and stored.

It sounds as if you have enough to try it both ways.

From what I understand, mulching definitely increases the life of the tape. I've been toying with some ideas of taking it for the winter. One idea is to roll each run of tape up and tie it in a coil at the header pipe, then store the whole header pipe/t-tape assembly in the garage. From what I've read (zero experience here) the timer, filter, pressure regulator, etc., are the items that need protecting from freezing...the tape and poly tubing handle freezing "ok". Here in south Alabama it's unusually cold if it stays below freezing for more than a day or two...or even getting below freezing for more than 2-3 nights in a row. We dip into the teens maybe once or twice a winter and on *very rare* occasions we may see sub-teen temps. We really never have anything continuously frozen for more than a few days.

Now to get the fence finished, neat the garden, and get some plants growing!!!

>> From what I've read (zero experience here) the timer, filter, pressure regulator, etc., are the items that need protecting from freezing...the tape and poly tubing handle freezing "ok".

I read the same claims, but it must REALLY matter how cold it gets. Or maybe I was lucky in getting all the water out. But I forgot and left my timer outside and hooked up to the spigot and hose through several hard frosts. When I remembered and brought it back inside, I thought that I had probably killed it. Nope. Not even a leak.

I've left my entiore system outside for a few winters now (bringing in only timer and pressure regulators) . I leave many rigid connectors and mini-jet sprayers outside, without even being very careful about draining the lines. No problem, surprisingly!

But we have very mild winters, allegedly Zone 8b (15F to 20F average lowest winter temp). Lately, going below 25F has been rare (but I wouldn't notice if one night dipped briefly to 15F).

Anyway, it sounds as if your winters are warmer than mine. I would still bring anything expensive and easily removed, inside! But if you drain the lines carefully and maybe let them evaporate a little before sealing the ends against bugs & tiny critters, I doubt if anything else would crack. (Unless funny weather gave you a very unusual cold spell.)

According to my weather station (http://www.beeweather.com/wxno... ) , we are ran between 25 and 35 below-freezing days annually for the last 3-4 years...with a noted warming trend. January and February being the colder months. Looks like the coldest night was a 13.5F one.

Yes, I think the basic fittings and pipe are pretty durable. I think the fittings and appliances that have valves, springs, and o-rings are the items that need protecting....small volumes of water captive inside some fittings, possibly a "harder" plastic to retain springs and o-rings that won't "stretch"(?), who knows? I know that in the past if we forgot to leave water running in a waterhose or drain the hose and nozzle that the nozzle might bust open from the freeze while the hose itself would survive. Poly pipe and drip-tape seem "stretchable" enough to handle ice expansion. But, there again leaving it out gives the mice and squirrels something to mess up and if not covered with mulch then there's more UV degradation. It seems it can only help the tape and pipe's longevity to take it up and store it, but how much more life that will give to it I have no idea...that might depend on the whims of a mouse. ;)

Yeah, as to freezing I think the header pipe and t-tape will be ok in our winter weather (and probably in most people's winter weather?). The rest of the plumbing will need protection.

Ed

For someone stumbling upon this thread, I set the drip tape system up about a week ago...and it's been raining ever since then! I've still got some leaks to figure out....one at the header pipe where a fitting hole might have gotten a little too out of round when I punched the hole and the others at the end plugs. But, I don't need it right now....I'm needing some sunshine...which it looks like we will be getting today.

I bought pvc pipe last night at Lowe's. Got 200' of 3/4" sch40 for a bit under $45 tax inc. Still gotta add the cost of glue to that, but seemed like a cheap enough price. I know a guy with a trencher that works on the cheap...he's coming Saturday evening to lay the pipe in...if I don't feel froggy and decide to do it with a sharp-shooter before then (~160' of trench...probably not! ) .

Ed

An interesting thing happened today. Since I set the irrigation system up it has been rainy and cloudy everyday. I don't know if the heat on the black T-tape did it or what, but all the lines in the beds were "kinked up" as if drawing in to itself and making an elevated crimp or either the line moved over to one side, in some cases laying on a seedling!<groan> I actually straightened a line only to come back later and find it flopped back over on a seedling...having moved a good 3 inches or so to the side. I've got a few staples (4) along the length of the lines to hold them in place, but it looks like I'll have to anchor them at the ends to keep them stretched out. Here's a shot of one row....odd.

>> ... I set the drip tape system up about a week ago...and it's been raining ever since then!

Just like carrying an umbrella assures a sunny day!

Interesting that the drip tape "curls" even after lying in the sun for a while. You finally got a big roll of the 15 mil tape, right? The sturdiest?

Does it also twist, or do the emitters stay pointing up if that's how they started?
I agree that tugging on the ends SHOULD keep it straight.

Nice to have permanent, underground PVC pipe!

>> Got 200' of 3/4" sch40 for a bit under $45 tax inc.

Hmm, nominal 3/4" Schedule 40 has:
an OD around 1.050"
Wall thickness around 0.133"
So ID is around 0.784"

According to this calculator, you MIGHT be able to push 8 GPM through that 0.784" ID (480 GPM) and only have a pressure drop of 6.4 psi per 100 feet.
http://www.calctool.org/CALC/e...

But usually, people quote "240 GPH" for nominal 1/2" polyethylene pipe, 0.600" ID .
and 480 GPH for nominal 3/4" mainline, 0.830" ID .

So you might get somewhat fewer than 480 GPH due to turbulent flow and pressure drop.


>> Installation requires the use of primer and solvent cement.
I don't know if this is true, but I saw it here:
http://www.charlottepipe.com/p...

Rick, the tape doesn't twist, but rather seems to rise up off of the ground and then fall over on it's side....naturally when it falls to the side the emitters are pointing sideways. When it has risen but not yet fallen it forms a creased "peak" that is probably 3-4 inches off of the ground (maybe an inch or two higher than that sometimes(?)). It's odd how it does it. I slipped the loose end of a tape over the wire of an orange marking flag, insuring that the tape was pulled snug and that it was at ground level. That evening it had pulled the flag over and the end of the tape was probably pulled six inches down the wire. It's really interesting.

I'm glad you brought the matter of flow through the pvc up. I need to get my measuring bucket and measure my flow-rate at the new faucet. I believe I detect a reduction in the flow-rate from the faucet at which we tied into and the one now at the garden. The 1-1/2 hours that I ran the irrigation system after I had set it up (the only time it's been ran ) was 200' of 5/8" garden hose and it seemed to wet the ground very nicely. The total run of T-tape is a little over 400'...so, not a long run at all. I've still got to fix some leaks and away we go...but we've got rain predicted for another week!!!

One thing I need to do is run the water for a while and get rid of some of the glue smell/taste.