I’m converting several of my shrub spray heads to drip irrigation and am having a problem. I bought several two and four port conversion heads by Orbit, and keep blowing out the ports.
I just got an email from their Tech Support that said that I need to install a pressure reducer to get the pressure down to ~25#. (A minor fact that somehow isn’t mentioned in any of their literature.)
It’s a little late in the game for that, so I’m looking for something that will let me make the conversion – and work with a city water system at ~50#.
Replies
Pressure reducers are only a coupla bucks...
Realizing how fun it is to crack into the system you've built, you still have a couple of options.
First, I don't know of any residential drip systems that are designed to run higher that 25# psi so I think you're going to have a hard time finding the port expansion kits that would run at 50#.
Putting in a pressure reducer is definitely the easiest thing to do. You can either install up-stream near the valve or down by the individual heads. I would imagine that by the valve means more digging but less regulators to purchase, and that by the heads you'll have more regulators but less digging.
I believe you can install the regulator either before or after the valve, but check the documentation (and maybe product support, too) to be certain.
If there are other heads on the line that need to stay at 50#, then you'll need to dig and install near the converted heads.
Glen
Not sure how the ports connect to the hose in our particual case, but is there a way to wrap it with wire with a litle tension to help the hose grip the ports?
regulators for hose end connections can be had at lowes.
John -
My problem isn't blowing off the 1/4" tubing. It stays put when I push it over the barbs on the ports. I'm blowing the entire port out of the riser head. They're a press fit that "snaps" over a shoulder inside the head. They rise straight out of the top of the head and make a hard 90* turn to horizontal. There is a small threaded cap on each port which is removed to attach the tubing. I'm terminating the tubing at each plant with a 1 or 2 gph pressure compensating dripper.
If the ports don't blow out, it works just fine. Unfortunately, three of the six four port heads I bought have blown a port and they don't snap back in place. I also bought several of their two port heads. None of them have blown completely out (so far), but a couple of them are trying to. They're spraying water around the base of the port where it enters the head.
Today, I found an eight port manifold by Raindrip that may give me a better setup. It has adjustable flow ports, fits on a standard 1/2" riser, and is rated to 80 psi. The box says that pressure regulation isn't required under 60 psi.
Forget the fancy head.
Get yerself a 1/2" female threaded tee with 1/2" barb fittings on the long side. Screw this onto your riser and hook up 1/2" black poly pipe in a circle big enoough to go around your bushes. 2' or 20' - you choose. Tighten with hose clamps.
Now at each bush punch a hole and insert those 1/4" barbed hoses running to those cute 6" high adjustable emitters staked about your bush. I use two on each on my rose bushes, each turned down low. These things will run drops up to (I believe) 20 gallons per hour - in a circlular spray up to 3 to 4.' You get them at Home Desperate in bags of 3 for about $2.69 per bag. They're black. Then cover up the piping with multch. Nothing will blow off then and you can precisely place your emitter.
Pete -
That's Plan B. I was hoping to do this with a minimal amount of cost and converting the shrub spray heads sure seemed like a good plan. Swap out the old spray heads with the conversion heads, run some 1/4" tubing, cover the whole thing with mulch and call it good.
Now, it's beginning to look like I need to get some of that 1/2" flex plastic tubing, connect it to one of the risers in each area, and cap the others off. Probably not much more costly or difficult, but.............. - lol
I think I'm mostly annoyed that Orbit doesn't mention a 25# pressure limit in any of their packaging or literature. If I had known that going in, I wouldn't have wasted my time.
Edited 6/26/2007 9:00 pm by Dave45
If you go with Plan B I use the drip system from Lowes on my little tree nursery. Other than time consuming it's pretty easy. They claim to have a pressue limit too so I'm bumping well pressure down to 50# and haven't had issues.
It's alwyas a disappointment to use plans other than Plan A.
I have had the same drip system for over 15 years. My pressure is 60 to 80 pounds. Just get a different dripper or spray or just change brands. The problems i have had is the sun would eat up the plastic heads. The original Drip-Mist kits lasted the longest.