Drip Tape w/ High Dissolved Solids Water?

emulkahi1 · #1 02/12/10, 10:18 AM

Hi there--I was wondering if any of you might have had experience using drip tape (like T-Tape) w/ water that is fairly high in dissolved solids? If so, does it clog quickly? I wondered if I buried the tape under mulch after I placed it next to the plants, if that might help (wherever the water evaporates quickly and dries, it leaves a crust of white behind. Maybe the mulch would keep it moist where it exits the tape, and it wouldn't crust up at the emitter? Dunno....). I have a drip works catalog here, and I'm ready to order the parts I need but I'm hesitant to invest a chunk of money if it will all be for naught after it clogs in a couple weeks. That is what happened w/ the soaker hoses I had in my smaller garden. I thought it might not be exactly the same story w/ the tape because the emitter holes would be larger than the soaker hoses'...which just allowed water to seep by.

Anyway, any thoughts/input would be appreciated. Thank you!

Erin

fishhead · #2 02/12/10, 10:23 AM

I think your theory is sound but I would contact the dealer. They should be able to tell you solutions to hard water clogging the holes.

arcticow · #3 02/12/10, 01:18 PM

Probably vinegar in a proportioner to take care of the problem.

rockhound · #4 02/12/10, 03:20 PM

Yup vinegar will dissolve lime....vinegar is a great herbicide too. So maybe the vinegar treatment would be once a year at the end of the season when you pull up the hoses and move them to a safe place to clean them. If you have a way of catching some rainwater, that would at least dilute the lime in the other (well?)water.

T-Bone 369 · #5 02/12/10, 06:07 PM

We have not found disolved solids to be too much of a problem but larger particulates are (sand, undisolved fertilizer, dirt and the like). We now run a filter in the circut just below the Dosatron and that seems to make a big difference. We use Chapin tape and the only real items that we can not get locally are the line to tape fittings - using 1 1/4" black poly pipe for the mains and adapt to regular hose fittings on the end. Be sure that you cap off the mains when they are not in use as they make a tempting place for things to get into.

emulkahi1 · #6 02/13/10, 10:15 AM

Thank you, everyone, for your helpful replies! I was also thinking that maybe vinegar would provide at least a partial solution. The system will have a filter on it, but unfortunately it wouldn't help w/ the stuff that is dissolved in the water. I am glad to hear that nobody said "Nope, don't use it! It'll clog in 2 hrs!" lol. Last year we used sprinklers and there were all sorts of problems w/ that. So I was really hoping the drip tape would work out. Thanks again!

Erin