Garden hose for semi-permanent installation?

TheWaterbug · Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:34 pm

I have drip watering system running off of two timers from a hose bib that's ~50' from the garden. So I have a 50' length of garden hose running from the bib to the garden, and then a couple of hose splitters and three 12" lengths of hose from the splitters to the timers. All the hose segments are regular garden hose from The Home Depot.

Since the timers are at the end of the chain, all the hose segments are under pressure, all the time, and sitting in the hot sun.

Last year one of my 12" segments burst while I was out of town, and the water ran for a few hours before a nice neighbor came up from the trail and turned it off for us. And I went ahead and replaced the burst segment with another of the same exact type.</stupid>

I just turned the system on again for this season, and I'm wondering if I need to replace all the hose segments with something designed for constant pressure.

For the short segments I'm seeing [url=https://www.dripworks.com/product/HPSAV]this product from DripWorks[/url]:
[img]https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3552590/hpsav.gif[/img]

described as "8 inch spring wound hose." The "spring wound" part seems like it would do the trick.

For the 50' section that closest thing I could find was this [url=https://www.amazon.com/Gilmour-10-58100-Flexogen-8-Inch---100-Foot/dp/B00002N8K3/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1331575216&sr=8-18]8-ply garden hose from Flexogen[/url].

Or is there a better solution?

I don't want to run PVC (yet) because we're going to tear up the entire yard next year anyway. And whatever solution I use for this year needs to be removable, because when we entertain 3-4 times a year I remove that 50' section so people don't trip over it.

Yellowsnow · Mon Mar 12, 2012 8:03 pm

It may be easier to just use timers at teh beginning of the system. My timers connect right to the spigot, then the hose connects to the timer, then to the drip line. Keeps pressure off of the lines and works great.

TheWaterbug · Mon Mar 12, 2012 8:52 pm

Yellowsnow wrote:It may be easier to just use timers at teh beginning of the system. My timers connect right to the spigot, then the hose connects to the timer, then to the drip line. Keeps pressure off of the lines and works great.

I'd rather not do that, because then I would have 4 runs of 50' hose just to get to the garden.

applestar · Mon Mar 12, 2012 10:55 pm

Maybe you could have another timer at the bib to turn off the water when the other timers won't be using the water?

DoubleDogFarm · Mon Mar 12, 2012 11:51 pm

PVC can be removable. Install unions every 10ft or 20ft.
https://flexpvc.com/indexUnions.shtml

Eric

SOB · Tue Mar 13, 2012 7:49 am

I don't think the pressure is as much a problem as the hose material dry rotting in the sun. I would look into either a different material like pvc Eric mentioned or simply try to cover the hose with something to help block the sun. This may not be a permanent solution but could at least prlong the life of the hose.

Yellowsnow · Tue Mar 13, 2012 9:36 am

A plumbing or irrigation store should have black plastic pipe. It comes in rolls of different diameters. Standard well pipe is 1 1/8" I believe. There are many push in fittings that will connect to just about anything. You can bury it for permanent usage or run it across the top of the ground. It is pretty resilient stuff and is what we use for all of our irrigation needs for our berries. Only worries with this pipe is Mower Blades.

sheckylovejoy · Thu Aug 15, 2013 8:05 pm

Hey Waterbug, I'm a little late here, but I'm trying to do something similar. I had a microspray going in my veggie patch and I replaced it with drip, but I also have a motion sensor sprinkler for keeping critters away at night, so I'm splitting at the end of a 50' hose with one going to drip and the other to the motion sensor sprinkler.

Did you ever decide on anything? I went for the Gatorhyde hose, but I was wondering where you came down.

PVC next spring, for sure. I have nightmares about being away from home and coming back to a flood.

imafan26 · Thu Aug 15, 2013 8:33 pm

Why not use drip tubing from the faucet to the garden. They are designed to last a few years and if you can bury them out of the sun it will last a bit longer. My distribution lines are twenty years old. When they break, they are difficult to repair now, so when they break, I install a new line from the last connector. Most of the time they break because I hit them with my pick. The good thing about using the tubing is that they come in 50 and 100 ft lengths. From the irrigation supplier, I can buy it by the foot. Connect it to a faucet timer then the tubing will not be under constant pressure. The tubing is more rigid than garden hoses so you will not have as much expansion when the tubing is under pressure. Fittings are available at the drip store to connect to the faucet as well as tee off at the ends.

It actually is not that hard to put a faucet in the garden. PVC is the most economical, but you can run copper or the the newer plastic flexible lines to the garden and install a faucet nearer to the garden. If you use PVC install a gate valve, the PVC cannot handle excessive pressure.

DoubleDogFarm · Thu Aug 15, 2013 8:43 pm

Sch 40 PVC (600PSI) No problem with 40 - 60 PSI house pressure.

Eric