Take my advice with a grain of salt. I have been using hoses only for 3-4 years and these are my experiences with using them.
Lizzipa said:1) there are areas of the hose that don't seem to seep water - ie. they're totally dry?
Get one of these to regulate the pressure to 15-20 psi on the hose:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/...
The regulators work alright. They are kind of a nuisance when you want to use the same supply for hand water with a regular garden hose. They get in the way.
Otherwise, get or make a resistor to put on the water supply side. It is a disk that fits inside the hose with a tiny hole in the center. They work wonders for soaker hoses. You will be able to get high flow at lower pressure.
Lizzipa said:2) we repaired two leaks (yes, I got too enthusiastic while trimming), with hose repair splicers & the water flows through the hose, but definitely spews out the area where we performed the repair, so we end up with a puddle under the repaired spot. Is there something we can do to minimize the amount of water coming from the repaired areas? I'm not sure that the splicers are intended for flat hoses...
Try the hose nipples with pipe clamps:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/...
Wrench down on the worm drive clamps and you should have a leak free splice.
Lizzipa said:3) one of the hoses runs UP to a planter box - no water seems to come out of this hose. Do soaker hoses only work in areas where they're draining down - ie. is gravity a requirement?
They are not pressure compensating so this may be the case. Otherwise, turn your water supply higher. This may be the reason for not getting enough flow to the end of the hose.
I will take a picture of the 'Blue Plastic Thingy' (water resistor) on my soaker hoses. This is a key piece in the system and if you forget it, it causes alot of problems. I am able to turn the water supply 100% and not blow out my soaker hoses. These came with the hose but can be easily a DIY project.
I love soaker hoses for the yard. Use them all the time to get extra water to the dry areas in my lawn.
