Hey guys, starting about 4 months ago, I have been constantly battling leaks in my 1/2 inch drip lines. After I fix one, a couple days later another point in the line has cracked and starts spraying water. My house is about
9 yrs old (also live in the Phoenix area where it gets a bit warm) - is it possible the line is just so old that the whole darn thing needs replacing? Do pressure regulators go bad - if so, could increased pressure cause this? Any ideas?Thanks,
Bob
No responses yet? Ok Bob, I'll give it a shot. These regulators do go bad- I had one in the house do that, allowing excess pressure into the system. You might try just adjusting it first. Is there (should be) some place to attach pressure tester? eg, near backflow preventer? Next, replacing it. Be a drag if you have to replace lines, though it may come to that.
If you mean the pressure regulator that regulates house pressure to the 15 psi or so the drip system wants, I'm sure they do go bad. But more likely is that the problem lines have been exposed to the sun for too many years. Plastic exposed to the sun tends to get brittle.
You should be able to tell something about the pressure in the system be how hard you need to press over a leak to stop water flow. 15 psi will stop easily. Unregulated pressure will not.
Bob
I have had an ongoing issue with leaks in my 1/2 inch pipe due to squirrels. During dry spells here in NC, they puncture the lines to get water.
jim
Bob wrote:
Ditto that, lived in AZ since 1980, and the UV just kills plastic, all of my drip lines are buried.
Jerry
Hey Jerry - Mine are buried also - In your opinion, would buried drip lines fail after ~10 yrs in AZ?
Bob
Hello jerry snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com,
My house is 8 years old, let you know in 2 years ;-).
Seriously, this is the first house in AZ that I have had drip. Builder did the front landscaping, I did the back, no problem with either so far, be interesting to see which lasts longer. I would think, if the pressure isn't too high, that buried drip lines should last quite a while.
Jerry
Perhaps this would be a good time to consider going back to a conventional irrigation system. Plant leaves need to have the dust washed off of them for optimal photosynthesis anyway.
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