Soaker system Vs Drip pipes....


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Old 07-31-15, 12:42 PM
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Soaker system Vs Drip pipes....

I have a few flower/plant beds around the house that have sprinklers on them that have never worked well in the past 8 years. They can't get all the plants, and what ever water is there the sun (Central Florida Heat!) will evaporate it. Basically after changing many heads and trying every suggestion I have had enough, I want to go with a system under the mulch.

I was going to go with a buried soaker hose hooked into my system as a simple solution, but I saw some posts on them bursting, and you can't repair them easily, and they may only last a year or two......Basically I want a better more permanent solution. I thought about a drip system, but heard if you have problems with calcification it will clog the drip heads and such.

So now I was thinking can I just run some PVC, or HDPE pipe, with 1/16" holes drilled in it around the plants, and bury it under the mulch. Will this work?
 
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Old 07-31-15, 12:47 PM
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I have several friends that use the soaker hoses with excellent results. I only recall one burst/splitting problem and then he just used a plastic splicer fitting and it was fine again.

The problem with putting holes in a PVC pipe and burying it is that the holes will become plugged.
 
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Old 07-31-15, 01:25 PM
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I think a lot depends on the quality of your water. Soaker hoses have extremely tiny pores for the water to pass through. When the water is very clear and without sediment and minerals they work well. If your water is less than perfect it can clog the pores over time. I would take a look at your current irrigation system and see what's causing it's problems. If mineral buildup or particulate in the water is clogging your emitters or causing them to spray erratically I'd think hard about trying soakers. Soakers can work and maybe you just plan on replacing the tubing every few years if it becomes a issue. Often they are just lying on the surface under a layer of mulch so they are easy to access and replace.
 
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Old 07-31-15, 02:30 PM
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Thanks, there is nothing wrong with my current system, functionally it is fine, effectively not so much. The heads are blocked by the plants so only parts of the bed get watered, and the rest is burnt up as soon as the sun rises. tried watering earlier, but all that did was get me mushrooms. I may still try the soaker hose, I just didn't know if there was a better solution out there.
 
 

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