Disconnecting Buried Drip Lines

obxcape · Jul 9, 2018

I have a lawn irrigation system that was put together using those connections that are simply pushed together and buried in the ground. I've found that, over a period of time, as the bushes grew and the root system expanded, the connections on the drip lines between the "T's" and the feeder lines are getting separated. When this happens, water blows out of the line and the pressure on the line that feeds the drip lines drops drastically. This is causing problems getting the grass watered.

My question: is there a general rule of thumb as to where these "T's" that feed the drip lines would be/should be located?

I have 7 different areas (flower/bush beds) that are watered with buried drip lines and I want to disconnect all of them to avoid this problem going forward. I have four zones, and I have located all four of the valves that were buried at the time of installation. I don't know of a way to find the drip line feeds off the mail line of each zone.

Thanks,
Joe Murphy
Nags Head, North Carolina

chrismar · Jul 9, 2018

Hi Joe, welcome to TLF!

Are the drip lines and lawn irrigation lines on the same zone?

I don't think there's any rhyme or reason to how drip gets installed. I've seen installers run lines around individual plants or run a series of parallel lines that cover a whole bed. Each method puts Ts in different spots. The first way puts them literally all over the place.

When working on drip I usually do one of two things:

1) Start the zone to identify any problems. Leaks and breaks are quite obvious and show themselves relatively quickly. I mark those spots with utility flags, stakes, etc. I then know where to start digging for repairs when the system is off.

2) If I know there's a trouble spot I just start digging in that area until I find the line. In NJ I sometimes have to go down an inch or four into the "dirt" to find them (freeze thaw cycle, years of mulch, etc). Once I locate the line I can start tracing it in either direction until I find what I'm looking for.

obxcape · Jul 9, 2018

Yes, the drip lines and irrigation heads are on the same zones. So, when the zone comes on, I'm getting about 50%-60% flow to the heads because of the faulty drip line T's. I've found three of the T's that had separated by luck! The good thing is it's sandy soil (beach area) so I guess I just need to keep digging on the drip lines until I find the source.

Ouch!

Thanks for your input.

g-man · Jul 9, 2018

^that might be the problem. It is too much pressure for the drip to hold. I believe the drips need a pressure regulator (I've not done a drip before).

Disconnecting Buried Drip Lines

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities