Trickle Irrigation

Putting trickle irrigation into the "serious" orchard has been on my bucket list.

$40 for 500 feet of poly tubing.

An additional $60 bucks for assorted doo-dads.

$25 of the sixty dollars went into the filter and hardware to adapt it to incoming garden hose (left side) and two 1/2" poly outlets (right side).

Then it was a matter of stretching poly pipe, putting flushable end-pieces on the dead ends and pressing in emitters.  I found it easier to insert the emitters when the line was under pressure.

 

This is what the flow out of a two gallon-per-hour emitter looks like.   Now, instead holding a hose over each tree for a minute, I can hook the hose to the filter and run it for three hours which will free me up to do other things.

These are a "pressure compensating design".  Presumably, the white disk acts like the diaphragm in a pressure regulator and interacts with the labyrinth molded into the bottom of the red cap to modulate flow from 10psi-to-45psi.

Second vertical line is 15psi.  Sixth vertical line is 45psi.  Data from HERE

It took me about 90 minutes to run 450 feet of poly pipe, assemble hardware and to insert fifty emitters.  The hose from the house runs about 300 gallons per hour when there is no back-pressure.  Fifty emitters should pull about 100 gallons per hour.  I will add a few more as I fill in "holes" in the planting.

I am pretty happy about how it went.  I still have 40 emitters left and am thinking about doing the same for the pears planted out front.  I will be able to save about $20 if I move the filter assembly to whichever area I am irrigating.

Bill of Material
500 feet, 1/2" black poly irrigation tubing (about $40)
90, Rainbird, 2 gallon/hour emitters (3 packages of 30 at $7.11 each)
One Rainbird emitter installation tool (about $5)
One package of two, 1/2" compression Tee fittings ($3.99 for two)
One 3/4" "hose" female to 3/4" NPF female fitting, brass ($8)
One 200 mesh filter, 3/4" NPF male both ends ($10)
One 3/4" NPF female-to-3/4" "hose" male fitting ($1.55)
One 3/4" "hose" female, to two 1/2" female compression fittings ($5)
Four Universal 1/2" flush caps ($3.59 each)