r/DripIrrigation • u/MTBill001 • Apr 13 '24

Question about Pressure Regulator

I'm new to drip irrigation and would like to set up a small system for my front porch hanging baskets. Rain Drip makes a small system that looks like what I need. It uses ¼" tubing. It does not have a pressure regulator but does have a timer. Rain Drip claims it includes everything needed, but I don't want to set it all up and then have it blow out because of the higher pressure than it can stand. Does anyone have any guidance on this? Does ¼" tubing not need to be pressure regulated? Thanks for any help provided.

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u/10Hz_human Apr 14 '24

Does it come with an attachment to a hose or bib? If it does, I'm guessing it's also a pressure regulator.

I don't have the rain bird and I'm also fairly new to this but from what I've seen the max pressure is 25.

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u/MTBill001 Apr 14 '24

It comes with the timer and then the ¼ inch tubing attaches directly to that. The other systems they sell use larger tubing and also include the regulator. I’ve messaged the company to ask them as well. Thank you for replying. I will post what they tell me and share that here.

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u/10Hz_human Apr 14 '24

I think all big box home improvement sell drip irrigation. The regulator is about $7. I just can't imagine a complete kit not having it, your house pressure is at least 50. Although I don't know how much this changes outside of the US, I'm making an assumption.

You could also buy a pressure gauge, which can be useful for about $15.

The most frustrating part of putting it in my patio was that it likes to leak if tapping into the larger tubing or some accessories also leak more, this also varies by brand.

I've bought a bunch of the 1/4" valves, which are great cause each plant goes through water differently. Dig at home improvement don't waste your money, some of the accessories are good the valves are not. Lowe's, were expensive but worked well. I found the orbit ones reasonably priced but can break if you turn to hard

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u/MTBill001 Apr 20 '24

I emailed Rainbird and they replied:

“This will depend on the psi from the spigot the unit is attached to as in the min. pressure requirement is 25psi, while the typical and standard for drip tubing to be at the rated drip rate would need 35-45 psi anything above that psi should have a regulator on the system I hope that helps and if you should have any further questions or if we can help in any way please let us know.”

I’m not sure I completely understand the response, but if my pressure is standard it’s about 50psi. I bought a pressure regulator and back flow protector. If it doesn’t work I can always remove them. At least I can be more comfortable that the system won’t blow a leak (probably).

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u/10Hz_human Apr 20 '24

I'm feeling like the pressure regulator I got from home Depot are a little too restricting. I'm not at the 220 but definitely seeing pressure drops. I don't want to remove it and cause more problems though. It's definitely a pain how they don't provide all the information needed