Sandi, I plead guilty. You can blame me for all of it.
I do that with my cat. When I can't find something around the house, I accuse him of taking it and hiding it.
He MUST be guilty. He never says a word in his own defense.
P.S. I used to use compression fittings on the "spine" of my system so I would not restrict the flow. That's a waste of effort: I never use the whole 480 GPH at once.
Screw-on or "EZ-Loc fittings are mush easier to set up, and INFINITELY easier to remove so you can re-arrange lines.
Easiest of all are lines that diverge using hose threads. You can move those around freely even with pressure on the system (if you have enough valves.
P.P.S. I wish I had more valves in my mainline so I could turn whole zones on and off independently
P.P.P.S. I like having 45 PSI water for washing pots and hand-watering and for blasting grass clippings off the sidewalk.
But I like 30 PSI or even 20 PSI for sprayers and drippers, so I can use 10/32 screw threads and some vinyl 1/4" tubing without having things blow apart. Also, "mini-jet sprayers" turn into misters at 45 PSI and the water blows everywhere and more evaporates before reaching the ground.
At 30 PSI, they spray smaller droplets that are more efficient and go farther than mist.
At 20 PSI, the droplets are bigger and slower ... this approaches the sprayers that shoot "fingers" of water droplets with near zero evaporation. Like an Antelco 10-hole spray cap, or an Antelco "Shrubler".
Before laying down your mainlines, think about which ones need low pressure and/or filtration. Plan the valves and Tee fittings and Y fittings so that you can put pressure regulators where you need them,. and have full pressure where you want it.
I screwed a good Y fitting with two valves onto the "real" spigot built into my house. My plan was to run two lines, on at 45 PSI and the other with a pressure regulator, timer and filter. I haven't gotten around to that yet!
P.P.P.P.S. Truth in advertising: I am a gadget-lover and there is ALWAYS a simpler way to do anything than my favorite way!
