That is an option.
Something, I don't know what, seems to me that I'd prefer the permanence of the PVC shutoff and *then* the less-permanent stuff, such as a garden-hose thread which is then attached to the rather flimsy tubing.
But thanks for the idea as I hadn't thought of the shut-off valve, which is just what I need.
I was afraid of that. Thanks for the warning.
I'll try this procedure:
a. I'll try to pull the green part out of the 3/4" PVC pipe b. If that fails, I'll cut the elbow off and replumb with a new PVC coupling, elbow, & valve c. Then I'll add the pipe-to-hose thread so it can be disconnected when not in use (like when it's my compost heap again!)
Do not tell my wife that!
She'll kill me.
Sounds like a plan! One thing I probably should mention is those glued pvc sections come apart after being exposed to the weather elements day after day. You might think it is fine and you have the water pressure on the pipe, but the valve is shut off and come home from running errand with the pipes blown apart. We've had to re-glue every section of pvc pipe that we've ran throughout the yard so we could get a main water line to the back yard garden and set up the drip irrigation.
Got a call from my neighbor today that one of those sections had come apart and was producing a geyser in our back yard. He was kind enough to turn off the water from the source vs me rushing home to turn it off myself.
OK mums the word! :-x
You guys were right.
That green stuff is there to stay.
I'll probably cut off the elbow and start fresh, as there's no sense in restricting the water flow from the start.
You were totally right; the green thing would not budge.
They should make the garden hose nozzles out of that green stuff!
Hmmm... they're not supposed to.
On a.h.r, we researched what destroys the PVS, and if you paint them, the UV light doesn't bother them, and there's not much else that will.
Of course, earthquakes and trucks driving on the lawn would break them - as do lawn mowers and weed whackers, but they are supposed to last longer that we will.
Still, it's a good idea to paint them. Here's a shot of my recently repaired pool equipment, for example, where I haven't painted the new sections I put on last month to fix the leaks.
More information on PVC which is supposed to last 100 years...
UniBell FAQ on Studies of PVC Pipe Performance Over Time:
The Effects of Sunlight Exposure on PVC Pipe:
Painting of PVC Piping for Ultraviolet Protection:
How to Use Acrylic or Latex Paint on PVC:
These tubes are popping up out of the ground near a buried sprinkler box. I'm sure they go to the sprinkler system, but I haven't dug it all up yet to figure out what's not working.
I have a lot of that poly stuff and none of them are working.
I'm pretty sure they're busted and old, and in some cases the sprinkler system isn't working.
Personally, I think the stuff is too fragile - but I don't have any experience other than I do have a garden hose hooked to the one feeding the Oleanders and the water only goes about 100 feet or so, because the tubing is so badly cut up.
Anyway, maybe I shouldn't deprecate it so much, but I just think it's too flimsy for my world. Of course, it would be a LOT more work for me to bury pvc for a few hundred feet of the Oleanders, so, I guess I should just hunker down and buy a roll of the poly stuff and replace all the bad parts.
That sounds like a good plan! I'm too lazy when it's hot and will patch everything unless it just won't work! LOL
I don't like patching mainly because I won't understand how it's set up.
Of course, I don't like digging up buried lines either ... so that's why I have this 300' long run that hasn't been fixed yet.
If you're starting over, just leave it buried and start it all new from the source. :)
hmmm paint the pvc pipe where it's connected or all of it? I've never heard of that before.
I've never deliberately buried any of my tubing because every fall the leaves get used as mulch which eventually composts. I'm no expert at this by far, either. Just learned to do it based on what I needed at the time and what I could find to make it work. I know there is one old dripper hose that got buried from mulch and roots that I couldn't pull out if I paid the hulk to do it. LOL I just cut that line off and ran new line that I could get to. I guess that's a females solution, but I don't have the strength to pull and tug at those things very well. They get the best of me.
Hi Natural, smoking-gun, girl,
I'm was pretty sure the 3/4" and 1/2" drip tubes along the entire
300 feet or so of oleander bushes used to be tied to the irrigation system - and I do see a 3/4" hose going into the ground at an irrigation box:To follow through on your suggestion, I took a look by turning the irrigation valve on, and this started spurting out of the tube end:
There were only a few leaks, some of which look chewed, others holed:
But, the drip attachment thing seemed to be working fine nonetheless:
The problem is this 20 (or so) foot length couldn't possibly feed the entire length of the oleander bushes:
So I rooted about and found a 3/4" and a 1/2" broken tube under the oleander canopy, so I put a garden hose connection onto each of those:
An audible waterfall-like hiss came out of the larger tubing, so, I was able to ascertain it was badly mauled only about 15 feet from where the garden hose fed it:
But, nothing came out of the smaller hose, that I could find:
QUESTION: Do you think animals chewed up these tubes? (Are they susceptible to animals chewing on them?)
I had done that, a while ago, and this is what had resulted:
But, by digging perpendicular to the bushes, I was able to uncover two lines, one big and one small, which only had one open chewed up end. So I put a garden hose connection on them:
It's a LOT of work to replace them, so, I am beginning to think I will connect the bigger one to the irrigation valve which seems to be feeding the missing end:
For that, I'll need to patch a few holes in the existing tube already connected to the irrigation line:
So, how does this sound for the 'easiest' plan of action:
a) Take the existing 3/4" tubing which is already tied to the sprinkler system and connect it to the 3/4" tubing that is under the oleander canopy.
b) One by one, patch the leaks, starting at the first, and moving onward as they show themselves.
c) Then, figure out why there is a 1/2" tubing, which must have connected somehow to the irrigation system; but I don't know how yet.
That may be the simplest answer, but, I still need to tie (somehow) to the irrigation valves.
BTW, my tubes look like they were chewed on by an animal.
Do they hold up to animal teeth?
We have lots of coyote, quail, bunnies, deer, bobcats, squirrels, mice, etc.
It's amazing how the glue lubricates it so that the pipe fits on perfectly, and, yet it wants to pop back out - so I agree with holding it for a quarter minute or so.
Yeah, but we need *that* stuff for fixing holes with just two couplings and a center-pipe!
Or ... you use it in the four 90s method (which seems like overkill):
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