Can I make a soaker hose by drilling holes in a garden hose?

[Stephen Tashiro]

My haphazrd irrigation of a bermuda grass lawn is done by moving a hose or sprinkler around to water the places that are turning brown. I've found that soaker hoses do a good job, but they are not designed to be moved around. If you treat them like a garden hose then they crack open. Things like drip irrigation tubing also requires gentle handling if it is moved. I would like to have a durable soaker hose that I can whip and tug around like a garden hose. Has anyone ever tried to make a garden hose into a soaker hose by perforating it with holes? If so, how well did this work.

[Chris Kennedy]

Stephen,

I can't say that I have done this, but I remember my dad trying something along these lines. You get a "squirter" hose, not a soaker. The benefit of the soaker hose is its permeable material, which is unfortunately delicate. You cannot make enough holes, small enough, to get the same effect.

Cheers,

Chris

[Mitchell Andrus]

My neighbor tried to do this with some 1" pvc, hose, clamps and patience. Lots of holes, didn't work well enough to have bothered. But.... I gave him high marks for the effort.

[Jim Becker]

I kinda agree with Mitchell...you can do it, but the result will not be anything close to the same as a soaker. But as you have ascertained, soakers were designed to put down and leave in place...such as in a garden. Tough call here...

[Al Wasser]

The newer soaker hoses don't seem to crack like the older ones. I have a couple that I move often. The problem that all soaker hoses (at least those that I have tried) have is that the front half yields more water than the back half does. This makes them a poor choice for a garden. You might get one of the newer hoses.

[Tom Veatch]

... I would like to have a durable soaker hose that I can whip and tug around like a garden hose. Has anyone ever tried to make a garden hose into a soaker hose by perforating it with holes? If so, how well did this work.

Personally I don't think it's worth the effort to try to make one when these (http://www.amazon.com/Gilmour-Sprinkler-Soaker-27142-Green/dp/B0002IKU8M)are available.

[Joe Mioux]

Generally speaking.....


The problem is the volume of water at the beginning isn't going to equal the volume of water at the end.

It all revolves around water pressure, water volume the size of your hose. kind of like dust collection only in reverse.

if you have an old hose and wanted to try it, cut the hose in half, add a T and then distribute the water from the T. This way you will sort of equalize the water volume through the hose. Keep the holes really small.

In my greenhouses we use a couple different types of emitters. One is from Netafim. they use pressure compensating discs, known as woodpeckers to equal the pressure.

Other types of emitters are Roberts Spray stakes. However they do not compensate pressure.

To answer your question, yes it can be done. but without the proper calculations, it may not work, but it might.

joe

[David G Baker]

I used the type of hose that Tom described in his post for years. They work great on lawn areas and if taken care of will last a long time. They are not any way near as good for a garden as a drip system that puts the water where it is needed instead of covering everything in the garden with water and fortifying the weeds with lots of moisture. I put in a permanent drip system for a lot of trees when I lived in California. The trees grew great with out any weeds competing for the water. I have also used it in a garden and it worked great but it is not something that is easily moved around and is a pain to take it up in the Fall and store until it is needed in the Spring.

[Don Abele]

...is a pain to take it up in the Fall and store until it is needed in the Spring.

David, I installed a drip system a couple of years ago (it cut our watering cost by over 50%). At the end of the watering season, I have an adapter I made from a piece of hose and an air fitting. I hook my compressor up (set at 30 psi) and blow all the water out. It works like a champ and no problems through two winters here in New England.

Be well,

Doc

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Don,

I installed a sprinkler system over 20 years ago. At the suggestion of a friend, I installed a T and a plug immediately after the shutoff valve. Every fall, I close the valve, hook up an industrial gas powered AC and blow it out 1 circuit at a time. I have had no problems.:D

My friend put automatic drains in his........His froze in the low spots that didn't have an automatic drain valve every winter. Of course, you don't know until you turn it on the next spring and find the hydraulically dug holes in your lawn.......Then you dig it up and repair it. :(

[Dave Lehnert]

Sounds like you want a sprinkler hose. Not a soaker hose. Can get one at any store. They are a flat hose.

I would have customers come into the store mad as hell. They purchased a soaker hose, hooked up to their water bed and went to work for the day:eek:

[Prashun Patel]

IMHO, soakers are best for shrubs, gardens, and trees. They don't broadcast enough to be complete for grass. It'd be more work to move it adequately.

Have you considered a real in-ground irrigation system? It doesn't have to be expensive; if you don't need multiple zones, you can probably even install a simple network of 2-3 impact rotors at the corners of yr property yrself. Just a thought.

[Joe Mioux]

IMHO, soakers are best for shrubs, gardens, and trees. They don't broadcast enough to be complete for grass. It'd be more work to move it adequately.

Have you considered a real in-ground irrigation system? It doesn't have to be expensive; if you don't need multiple zones, you can probably even install a simple network of 2-3 impact rotors at the corners of yr property yrself. Just a thought.


the actual irrigation stuff isn't all that expensive, however the backflow preventer is.

The backflow preventer is mandatory (atleast in Illinois) and that is a $300 plus piece of equipment and it must be inspected by a licensed plumber who has his BFP license every year. It costs me $100 a year for two. I think the going rate for the inspection is closer to $75 per inspection.

I have two of these things at work

[Peter Luch]

Well. well!

My suggestion is to visit dripirrigation dot com.

I started that company many years ago (1996) and it is now owned by a company called DIG Corp. who manufacturers drip irrigation products.

(scroll to the bottom of the main page and click on the "About us" link.)
I don't use my full last name here.

DIG was one of the first two companies many years ago to sell a line of homeowner drip irrigation products.

With that said.

A very short length of hose would work ok but as said before the water will NOT flow out equally. What it has to do with is that water will find the eaisest way out / take the path of least resistance. The holes closest to the water source will put out more water than the holes further away.

Now your best bet would be to use a "Dripperline". This is a black drip tube which has actual drippers in it. It's the best way of doing what you want IF you want all your drippers equally spaced along the entire length.
If not just get a small roll of drip tube and insert drippers where you want them.

There is a ton of stuff I could say about this but one of the things mentioned above is a backflow, yes install one but it does not have to cost $300. That type is for an entire water supply or VERY large irrigation systems. You can purchase one made specifically for a drip system for around $20. Make sure you install it according to the instructions and make sure you use a pressure regulator.

Some of the best advise above in other posts is that if it freezes in your location you need to drain the system before any freeze.
Just remember water expands when it freezes so as long as there are no sections full of water it should be OK.

PM me if you have more specific questions.

Aloha, Pete

[Joe Mioux]

There is a ton of stuff I could say about this but one of the things mentioned above is a backflow, yes install one but it does not have to cost $300. That type is for an entire water supply or VERY large irrigation systems. You can purchase one made specifically for a drip system for around $20. Make sure you install it according to the instructions and make sure you use a pressure regulator.
Pete

Hi pete,

thanks for the correction. I forgot that there are smaller anti-syphon devices available. I actually have a couple on my boilers to prevent irrigation/fertilizer water from backflowing into the boilers.

I do have a question though. Is a homeowner still required to have a yearly inspection on their home lawn irrigation system?

thanks
joe

[Prashun Patel]

I know codes are localized, but in MY town, you don't need an annual inspection. I didn't even get the initial inspection.

I bought a DIY kit from DIG corp and for like $150 you get a backflow preventer, timer, pressure regulator, and about 200ft tube and fittings. I never got around to installing the tube and fittings in my garden, but I've used the 'controller' components on hose and spiked-in impact sprinklers when reseeding an area. Worked great.

[Lee Schierer]

If you have a 1" diameter hose and drill 1/64" dia holes in it you can only drill about 64 holes to equal the size of hose. Any more holes will decrease the pressure significnatly for every few holes drilled. Also drilling a hose to get a clean hole is a bit more challenging than it would appear. Any drill debris left in the hole will affect the flow out of that hole.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

If you're now considering an aboveground irrigation system for your lawn, there are a couple of decent mailorder houses that can provide you with all the parts including the backflow preventer valve as shown below by Watts. The local Lowes by me also carries a pretty complete line of Rainbird products and 100' rolls of poly tubing. Hunter and Toro are some other common brand names.

I installed a system in my front lawn last year which is approximately 3,700 square feet. It costed about $800 to $900 in parts including a rental of a small trench machine Home Depot.

I must admit, it was a lot of work to install. But my lawn is absolutely wonderful this summer.

-Jeff :)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/800M4QT.jpg

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

They all fail unless you have some way to equalize the pressure across the distribution component of the hose.

I've tried to use the soakers available in garden stores and the BORGs and every time I end up with the same result. The water output at the end of the run is non existent.

[Peter Luch]

Hi pete,

thanks for the correction. I forgot that there are smaller anti-syphon devices available. I actually have a couple on my boilers to prevent irrigation/fertilizer water from backflowing into the boilers.

I do have a question though. Is a homeowner still required to have a yearly inspection on their home lawn irrigation system?

thanks
joe

Joe,

I really have no idea if this is required or if so what locations call for it.
I have never heard of this but I do know that many locations require by law a backflow on irrigation systems and almost everywhere a backflow is required on a hookup to a city/county water supply. (the $300 type)

Aloha, Pete

[Stephen Tashiro]

I don't think standard drip line is what I want. I can't see moving drip line around every day like I can move a garden hose. I'm not very worried about uneven flow. I'd put the hose down so it snakes randomly around the area to be irrigated. I emphasize that I'm not trying to do very refined job of irrigation. I don't mind fiddling with it every day. But I want something that I can turn on the the evening, leave on overnight, and turn off in the morning. (i.e. no timers) I can do this with a soaker hose when it is in good condition. They just break too easily when moved around. Here in southern New Mexico, I can leave a garden hose on the hose bib all year round if the nozzle is left open. But I can't leave those water timer do-dads attached to the hose bib during winter. They crack. And I don't want to get up in the middle of the night to turn off the water.

[Prashun Patel]

Man, I wouldn't leave a soaker hose on over night. First, the best time to water is early AM. 2nd, the soakers emit a lot of water; you'd waste the water and it'd only be in a targeted area.

In New Mexico in the summer, you'll need to water a couple times a week at least. You might need an unjustifiably large amount of soaker hose to cover yr area properly in order to be able to repeat areas twice. No?

Timers are easy to set up. You know, you could just daisy chain a couple of cheap metal spike impact sprinklers with above-ground hose. The whole 'system' will cost you under $100 with a timer. You probably won't need a backflow preventer with an above-ground sprinker.

[Rod Sheridan]

If you have a 1" diameter hose and drill 1/64" dia holes in it you can only drill about 64 holes to equal the size of hose. Any more holes will decrease the pressure significnatly for every few holes drilled. Also drilling a hose to get a clean hole is a bit more challenging than it would appear. Any drill debris left in the hole will affect the flow out of that hole.


Actually Lee, it would take 4,096 holes of 1/64" diameter to have the same area as a 1" hose.

Regards, Rod.