DIG Patio/Container Drip Irrigation Watering Kit

This kit is great having all the basic parts for watering my plants . My plants are doing much better now.

No other drip kit can compare with all the accessories and parts that are included with this that I have looked at. Works great, easy install, and good directions. It really helps if you heat tubing with hair dryer before before connecting to the barbs.

All you have to do to make it easy to plug the fittings into the tube is to heat the tube. You can use hot water, but I use a lighter (trigger kind) and just wave the end of the tube in the flame for 2-3 seconds. That softens and expands the tube and makes it easy to plug in the fitting. Push the tubing all the way onto the fitting until it stops. When the tubing cools it shrinks and gives you a leak-proof seal. It will only take you one or two tries before you figure out how long to heat the tubing (i.e., if it melts, you held it there way too long; if it is so soft you can't get enough resistance to push the fitting into the tube, you held it there slightly too long).

Pros: Inexpensive system; Works GREAT once fully assembled with a daily battery-operated hose timer; Saves time; Uses less water; Plants aren't beaten up by hose spray; No splashing; Waters plants when you are out of town. I didn't use all of the connectors in this kit, but that is ok. I'd rather have too many parts than not enough. Cons: Insufficient Assembly Instructions – Assembly instructions tell you WHAT to do, but not HOW to do it. Layout - Buy a battery-operated hose timer (Orbit 1-Outlet Hose Timer) and Y Shut-Off 2-Way Metal Hose Connector (e.g., Melnor brand) or similar METAL hose connector with built-in shut offs, so that you can still have access to your faucet for additional hand watering once the timer and irrigation systems are installed. Lay out your “Supply Line” along the planters you intend to water. Cut off the remaining line. This remaining line will become your “Laterals” or “Drip Lines”. Cut this into the number of Drip Lines you need (generally, one per container). For my layout, I had about 8 Laterals and each was about 24 in. long. Connections - There is no information about HOW to connect the Ts and drip emitters to the plastic tubing. After much struggling and many attempts to find out what worked, this is the method I used: (a) Cut tubing at a SLIGHT angle (10-20 degrees; not 45 degrees, as this interferes with proper seating of the part on the tubing); (b) Coat T or drip emitter with silicone lubricant (I used a hair product!); (c) Double over about 3 inches of tubing (don't worry, it won't crack) and seat the fold in the palm of your right hand (this reduces slippage); Hold the part (T or emitter) firmly in your left hand; (d) Wiggle back and forth in the x- and y- direction approximately 20 times before even looking to see if the part is seated in the tubing; (e) Repeat as necessary. Stakes - All connections in this kit are held together with “A Hope and A Prayer” – the “stakes” in this kit are a joke. They just sort of snap over the drip tubing with a “C”-shaped connection. The tubing and the tiny stakes did not stay in place at all. You might be better to buy some Orbit 1/4 in. Loop Stakes (10-pack) or some plastic tent stakes to hold tubing in place. Time – It took about an hour to set up the system and then maybe 30 minutes to adjust it the next day.

The dripper system works well, although 2 little regulator valves (droppers) did not work - they were clogged, thus the 4 stars; otherwise it would be 5. I ordered plenty of extras as I ordered 3 complete sets event hough I needed only 2 for 20 bushes. I just connected them yesterday, so time will tell if they will last. One tip: dip the end of 1/4" hoses in hot water before connecting, it will go much easier onto the connections once the hose softens a bit as otherwise it is stiff.

Great package, except was shorted one stake, received 9, promised 10 !

I bought this kit to get my 8 or so containers irrigated on a timer so I don't have to worry about having someone else do it on vacation! I have no real complaints about the kit, but it does leak at a few of the junctions. I like stuff to be RIGHT, so this alone knocks a star off the rating, since there's nothing I can do to make it NOT leak! The other thing that really SHOULD be a 'standard item' in a kit like this is MORE REGULATORS!! Are you listening DIG?? If you've ever set up an irrigation system, you'll know what I mean when I say the separate branches require balancing sometimes----that's what the little regulators are for. Also the flow rate changes depending on how far down the line each emitter is. There should be a regulator for EACH emitter! This kit doesn't have to do much----just carry a regulated trickle of water to each pot without leaking------and it ALMOST does it.

cannot handle pressure. tubing keeps coming off..nozzles get jammed after sometime...you have to keep checking them from time to time otherwise they leak a lot of water.

A zillion pieces and vague, skimpy instructions. No way to figure out how to put together.

There were not T’s in the box. There is supoosed to be 9 and you can not use it with out them