porous hose

[bill]

Can someone please tell me the proper water pressure for using the "leaky hose" made from old tires.

Thanks in advance. Bill

[dps]

I believe they're designed for full household water pressure, which probably is in the range 30-60 psi.

If you leave them out in the garden continuously, they do get holes (larger than designed), probably caused by insects or rodents. You can cut out the bad spot and splice them with regular hose splices, available at your hardware store (around $1 apiece). At some point it's probably cheaper to buy a new one (and re-use the splices on another hose).

[dr-solo]

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[Pam - gardengal]

The maximum water pressure for use with a soaker hose is 30 psi. Ideally, you want the hose to only sweat, with water just oozing out of the pores - no spray. Too high a water pressure is most likely the cause of holes, although I wouldn't necessarily rule out creatures entirely. At any rate, the intention of these devices is to deliver water at a very slow rate over an extended period of time so that the water is able to percolate well down into the root zone. I don't believe I have particularly high water pressure, but I run my soakers with only a quarter turn or so of the faucet - certainly not anywhere close to full volume. To determine how long these types of hoses should be run, test the soil in 20 minute increments. When the water has penetrated to a depth of 6-8 inches, you have accomplished your goal. This could be anywhere from 45 minutes to several hours, depending on the soil type.

pam - gardengal

[Richard Cline]

I use my porous hose at full pressure. It sprays in many places butt that does not bother me. It waters the ground. I have been using the same hose for several years without problem. I find it a very effective way to water much of the yard. I do use one of the longer length hoses so there is add surface area.

Dick

[bill]

Thanks for the info.

Could have sworn I read a couple of years ago that 2psi was about right to make the hose sweat instead of spray. I hooked a fairly short length up to my rain barrel (4 ft drop, around 2psi) but didn't get very much water at all. Guess I'll have to borrow or buy a pressure guage and measure the pressure from the garden hose that gives me the right output.

effective