# Maximum length of soaker hose?



## steve-in-kville (Nov 12, 2005)

How long a stretch of soaker hose can be used at once? 100'? 200'? I guess it would also depend on how long I leave the water run, too...


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## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

I've used 200+ ft without any problems. Mine ran off of portable rain barrels so I made sure they ran down hill on a grade.


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## steve-in-kville (Nov 12, 2005)

farmrbrown said:


> I've used 200+ ft without any problems. Mine ran off of portable rain barrels so I made sure they ran down hill on a grade.


Oh wow. I was just poking around online a bit. I read that 100' is the most you should go. Also read these things require a pressure regulator. Now I'm really confused!


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## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

steve-in-kville said:


> Oh wow. I was just poking around online a bit. I read that 100' is the most you should go. Also read these things require a pressure regulator. Now I'm really confused!


That may be when using it with a hose off your water supply, but I haven't experienced that when I used them that way before switching to rain barrels.
As a matter of fact, I've seen a similar method used in the apple orchards around here, watering the whole orchard. They probably use an industrial quality system for theirs, but water and gravity will take care of itself.


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## steve-in-kville (Nov 12, 2005)

Yeah, this is greenhouse/nursery supply type sites. Regulators set at 12 -15 PSI. Sounds too complicated for what its worth, to be honest.


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## oldasrocks (Oct 27, 2006)

I have 800 ft of soaker (drip) hose one one line. It has emiters every 2 ft that put on 1/2 gallon per hour each. Runs down thefence line and around the corner to the front gate on our blackberries.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

oldasrocks said:


> I have 800 ft of soaker (drip) hose one one line. It has emiters every 2 ft that put on 1/2 gallon per hour each. Runs down thefence line and around the corner to the front gate on our blackberries.


That is not really a soaker hose. It is a drip system. Much like a gated pipe, system in farm irrigation systems

IF a soaker hose uses more water than can move through it or the pressure drops any, there IS less water applied at the end of the hose than at the start.

One way to help that on a long run is to feed both ends.

Also as stated above about the orchard system, it is a whole different system than a "soaker" hose. They are an engineered system. The mainlines, drop lines and emitters are made to supply the same amount of water for the entire length.

When using a pressure regulator the pressure remains the same for the length of the hose, thus the same amount of water is applied for it's entire length. More length causes a drop in pressure at the end, less water applied. There are different "soaker hoses" for different applications, each engineered for that application. One way to check is to T off the faucet for a "working" pressure guage and one at the end, pressure needs to be the same at both ends when "working"....James


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

One way to overcome some of it is to lay the soaker hose backwards of the first time. More water at the far end but still less in the middle....James


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

steve-in-kville said:


> Oh wow. I was just poking around online a bit. I read that 100' is the most you should go. Also read these things require a pressure regulator. Now I'm really confused!


I gave up on the recycled rubber ones for the same reason as mentioned--blowouts. My daughter gave me a Melnor soaker for Father's Day and I really like it. It is made of woven fabric, sort of like a fire hose, and stitched together. You can get the Melnor in lengths of 25', 50', or 75', and I'd have to look to see if they can be coupled together. In my case, I have fifty foot rows, so I can use a manifold to the main pressure hose and several short garden hose trunk lines to reach to each soaker hose. I usually leave the soakers permanently alongside each row--and hook them up whenever needed. If I only have one or two soakers, I use 99 cent plastic hose end hose shutoff valves for pressure regulation. You have to fool with the valves anyway in order to balance out the water flow and the amount of weep. 

A weeper hose will saturate the soil for about a foot wide, and about as deep as you want to go. I push the hoe handle into the mud to check the depth. They run silent, so you'll need a reminder to turn them off in the evening.

I think it's optional for each person, but some applications that use a home water supply for irrigation will need backflow preventers at the outlet---again, your choice....

geo


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## steve-in-kville (Nov 12, 2005)

This is getting complicated. Think I'm gonna stick with a sprinkler...


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## oldasrocks (Oct 27, 2006)

geo in mi said:


> I gave up on the recycled rubber ones for the same reason as mentioned--blowouts. My daughter gave me a Melnor soaker for Father's Day and I really like it. It is made of woven fabric, sort of like a fire hose, and stitched together. You can get the Melnor in lengths of 25', 50', or 75', and I'd have to look to see if they can be coupled together. In my case, I have fifty foot rows, so I can use a manifold to the main pressure hose and several short garden hose trunk lines to reach to each soaker hose. I usually leave the soakers permanently alongside each row--and hook them up whenever needed. If I only have one or two soakers, I use 99 cent plastic hose end hose shutoff valves for pressure regulation. You have to fool with the valves anyway in order to balance out the water flow and the amount of weep.
> 
> A weeper hose will saturate the soil for about a foot wide, and about as deep as you want to go. I push the hoe handle into the mud to check the depth. They run silent, so you'll need a reminder to turn them off in the evening.
> 
> ...


I thought these were ideal at first too till they started wearing out and blowing non repairable holes. They only last a couple years and expensive to replace.


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## Solar Geek (Mar 14, 2014)

We water our orchard with "gator bags" we first saw used in Chicago on new trees. Fills to 30 gallons and slowly trickles out over 2 days.

We run regular hoses (but only USA made as the Chinese ones blow out fast) 550-600ft to our orchard. There we split the line between one of those "sprinkler" long hoses which waters 49 blueberry bushes and the hose which I use to fill the gator bags 1x per week usually. 24 fruit trees, about 2-3 minutes to move hose and fill the next bag. I say a Rosary or 2 and am done for the week.

We did not pay this much per bag but here is a link. 
https://www.zoro.com/tree-gator-tre...9A-jcqLtMWq7WcMU1NWfSRoCEuXw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds


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## Texan (Nov 17, 2016)

steve-in-kville said:


> This is getting complicated. Think I'm gonna stick with a sprinkler...


It's not as complicated as it feels. There are just many choices available and that can make it an overwhelming experience. I will try to explain the reason some of the more common devices are used. Note: I am talking about drip tape as those recycled tires things are just a neat way to get you to pay for someone elses trash, literally. 

*Filter*

You do not want your emitters to plug up with trash. Some small particle gets in the line, plugs an emitter, and you notice right after your best tomato plant bites the dust. A filter helps control this problem. 

*Backflow Preventer*

It just rained 5 inches, the garden has standing water in it, and the house water supply just went offline and you have no water pressure. The drip lines start to siphon water backwards, pulling water from the garden and filling the water supply lines. Nasty at best. Dangerous at it's worst. Make this investment. 

*Pressure Regulater*

This drops the mainline pressure to match the engineered specifications of your drip tape. The emitter sized are fixed, but under higher pressure will emit more water than rated. Also prevents premature ruptures as lines age. You would not inflate a 32 psi tire with 60 psi. Same idea for drip tape. 

*Optional Timer Device*

This just automates a part of the system just like a yard watering system. Some will allow you to create zones. 15 minutes on tomatoes. 8 minutes on beans. If it costs you $60, how many times do you have to leave a sprinkler on an extra hour to spend $60 in water, much less the damage to plants and soil fertility. 

*Emitter Tape Lines*

You now have clean properly pressurized water ready to flow through your drip tape lines. How you get that water from your supply to your drip tape lines is up to you. Most people build a header line across the garden with a tee fitting at each row which will connect one drip tape line. If you created zones, take that into account. Its not rocket science, and unless your garden is very small, you will never do it any other way once you bite the bullet. 

Personally, I love the relaxation of hand watering with a water wand. I got over it. Good luck with your garden. 

P.s. If your head is still spinning, tell me a little about your garden shape and layout and I will share my purely amateur advice complete with links.


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## Curler365 (10 mo ago)

farmrbrown said:


> I've used 200+ ft without any problems. Mine ran off of portable rain barrels so I made sure they ran down hill on a grade.


Good to know. I’m going to set up a rain barrel soaker hose for a 280 sqft garden using about 250 feet of rain barrel soaker hose with a barrel that has 5 to 10 feet of head depending on how full it is. I haven’t decided if I’m going to build it in 2 sections or just 1 yet. I wish they made a 0 pressure valve timer with more than 1 output…


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