Why Should I Use Drip Irrigation?
Drip irrigation is the most e cient means of watering everything in your garden. A drip system can deliver water directly to the plant’s root zone. Sprinkler systems tend to waste water through run-o . Drip irrigation convertsa high-pressure stream to a slow emission of droplets that can be placed exactly where water is needed, at the base of each plant.
There is no evaporation loss in drip irrigation and the amount of water can be tailored to each plant.
Do I need to replace my entire irrigation system?
No. Conversion of a sprinkler system to drip irritation at the spray head allows you to use the existing time, control wire, valve and pipes. It’s a simple way to convert spray systems to drip systems. The unneeded sprays can be sealed o with a simple universal cap o device.
How do I Start?
Full drip conversion
One or more zones of an existing sprinkler system can be completely con- vertedto a conventional drip system. The rst step is to insert a lter and pressure regulator near the beginning of the system. The best place is often right after the control valve, and you can usually use a “Slip-Fix” expanding coupling to simplify the installation. The existing underground pipe contin- ues to distribute the water, and saves a lot of digging. Sprinkler heads are removed and replaced with parts, including a PVC (white plastic) tting, and special compression adapters. Flexible, black polyethylene (PE) tubing, attached in place of the sprinkler heads, allows the use of standard drip irri- gation devices to deliver water to your various plants. Add emitters, misters and micro sprays as needed. Remove and cap sprinkler heads not needed for drip. Using this method, one lter and pressure regulator can serve hundreds of emitters. Drip lines can be left on the surface, or covered by a layer of soil or mulch to become invisible.
Partial Drip conversion
For partial conversion applications, Rain Bird provides a sprinkler body replacement, which contains a filter and pressure regulator. Just unscrew the old sprinkler body and screw on the retrofit body.
