# subsurface turf irrigation - HELP!!



## gopher (Jun 23, 2018)

I have been very interested in subsurface drip for turf for some time now. I have a strip of turf on the street measuring 350 square feet. This weekend I finally dug up the whole thing and started on this project. 2 days later and some leaky fittings, I'm waaay over my head. I had a zone of spray heads fed by a 1" pipe. The valve is up from the zone about 5 feet. It is about 15 feet total from the zone. I placed a pressure reducer (50 psi) right after the valve, then used one of the 1/2" elbow fittings from an 1800 body to connect to the 1" pipe. This was then connected to 1/2" blank tubing, then spliced into a 1/2" header that fed the field. I finally capped it off with an exhaust header of the same diameter. Flush valve installed at lowest elevation.

The concept works in terms of the drip providing moisture to the field, but I don't like the connection from the 1" pipe to the drip. Going from 1" to 1/2" is a big step and it is leaking at the barb fitting onto the system. I also am not sure the pressure reducer should be so far away from the field ( it is spliced just after the valve). I'm thinking the 1" pipe (15 feet of it before it reaches the zone, and 5 foot elevation) negates any pressure decrease.

I know this really doesn't make any sense the way I posted it, but no contractor has any time to come over and troubleshoot this. I'm on my own.

I will post pictures also.

If anybody has thoughts, I would really appreciate it.


----------



## gopher (Jun 23, 2018)

Here are some images of the valve and connections.


----------



## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

If it's working, be happy. It's leaking at the 1/2" barb fitting because 1/2" drip tubing has a larger inside diameter than the 1/2" swing pipe the fitting was designed for (yeah, I know, 1/2" isn't 1/2" doesn't make sense, but drip tubing is different). You need to get ahold of a barb fitting made for drip. What I've done in the past in a pinch is get a garden hose fitting to drip adapter, a 1/2" boiler drain valve or hose bib, screw the boiler drain into the gray adapter fitting you have there, and then you have a garden hose thread to screw the hose to drip adapter onto. Bonus is it also can act as an isolation valve.

If it's working, leave it alone but I'd be inclined to place the pressure regulator closer to the drip area so friction loss in the distribution pipe generally won't effect the working pressure in the drip field.


----------



## gopher (Jun 23, 2018)

Thanks @Delmarva Keith . Ugh. Never thought about that. Inside diameter matters I guess. I will find the proper barb fitting, and , yeah, I really need to move the pressure reducer. Even though it works, I will be obsessing over it forever if I don't move it.

Plan on spreading 5" black dirt over the entire area and seeding with KBG in the next weeks. I've read to initially hand water along with the drip until it is established. More updates and pics to come!


----------



## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

Very interesting system. I've read about subsurface for turf but never seen it done. Keep us updated on how well it works.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I saw pictures of turf using subsurface last year. It was bermuda (I think), but it was not pretty. It was green lines of healthy grass (subsruface lines) and dry grass around it. Water/moisture doesnt flow horizontal that much.


----------



## gopher (Jun 23, 2018)

I have seen those green stripes also. Netafim has a handy guide and tables for gph emitter rate, spacing and depth of drip line depending on soil type. The potential water savings was enough for me to try it out. Interesting, though, the system is supposed to be used every day or every other day to keep a constant LOW moisture content (since water is not on the actual plant leaves, mold and disease is less of an issue). Kinda cool to calculate in gallons per HOUR instead of gallons per MINUTE.

Will be finishing up this weekend...hopefully...will update subsequently.


----------



## rotolow (May 13, 2020)

Quick plug here for Blu-lock which has saved me HOURS when fixing irrigation issues on poly pipe/drip pipe.

https://www.dripdepot.com/category/lawn-irrigation-fittings-blu-lock

Understandably a little more expensive but the time savings is amazing.


----------



## gopher (Jun 23, 2018)

So its been awhile since an update because we were in a drought and couldn't get seed down. Then, when the rain came, it completely washed out the bed into the street. After shoveling it all off of the street, I decided to just lay sod down to prevent runoff for now. It has rained a total of 2 times since 9 days ago. The rest has been handled by the drip. So far I'm impressed with how the sod is rooting, and only a couple of dry spots.

Time will tell, of course, but I'm optimisitc. No more water in the street from the system!


----------



## gopher (Jun 23, 2018)

forgot some progress pics before sod.


----------



## gopher (Jun 23, 2018)

Quick update:

Overall I'm very happy not seeing water running down the street anymore. Also don't notice any striping. There is a dry patch that is close to the driveway and street. This area is driven over or close to by cars getting the mail on the way home. (I'm lazy). I may have to splice another small stub of pipe to supplement. Also, probably could have set the manifold closer to the driveway.


----------



## Tx_Ag19 (Dec 13, 2020)

There is a farmer in my neighborhood who is one of the largest netaffim customers in the US and has them in his yard. They worked well for a few years until the emitters got clogged up and now he uses a hose end sprinkler to water.... I think its an excellent idea for row crops but grass has roots under the entire surface and drip wasn't designed for that...

Not to mention that drip zones in flower beds are typically expected to be replaced more regularly.....
I hate the tubing for drip as it seems like an impossible task to prevent leaks.

Please provide updates though as if it is a success, would be helpful for others considering it!


----------



## gopher (Jun 23, 2018)

So I took some soil cores from the brown patch and it is definitely wet under there. That area is getting plenty of water. So...is it from road salt? Maybe accidental herbicide spray? (my wife denies this) Don't quite know, but I'll probably just overseed and see what happens. It is absolutely brown and dead just a week after the above photo, so I'm almost completely convinced it is not for lack of water.

@Tx_Ag19 - these subsurface drip lines (both netafim and rain bird) contend they have either valves or copper coating to prevent root intrusion. Would be interested to know if your neighbor used subsurface specific tubing...But yes, I plan on periodically updating as the season goes on.


----------



## Tx_Ag19 (Dec 13, 2020)

I'd have to ask him. For some reason I want to say the tubing he installed look identical to the brown tubing used in flower beds. Our well water is hard though and it wouldn't surprise me if the emitters were clogged.


----------



## TampaBayFL (Jul 24, 2020)

Tx_Ag19 said:


> There is a farmer in my neighborhood who is one of the largest netaffim customers in the US and has them in his yard. They worked well for a few years until the emitters got clogged up and now he uses a hose end sprinkler to water.... I think its an excellent idea for row crops but grass has roots under the entire surface and drip wasn't designed for that...
> 
> Not to mention that drip zones in flower beds are typically expected to be replaced more regularly.....
> I hate the tubing for drip as it seems like an impossible task to prevent leaks.
> ...


I hate to say it, but I have to echo the same experience. I have underground drip around the perimeter of my house and also between the sidewalk and street. Ive kept everything that's in the shrub areas because precision doesn't matter all that much there it seems, but the area I had by the street which was feeding low growing jasmine minima I ended up having to rip completely out. Too many of the emitters became clogged and the watering was insufficient after a few years. It could probably be minimized with the appropriate filtration on the irrigation water. I have a 100 micron filter on the system but that may not be sufficient.

The other thing I didn't like about underground drip was that it's impossible to really tell what's going on. Above ground at least gives a visual of the performance, albeit can be more wasteful


----------

