Hi,

I got a drip tape kit from Ebay a couple of years ago - came with everything that I needed. The kit included a filter/pressure reducer (10 psi), fittings, and 750 feet of the drip tape. The spacing was 1 foot between holes. I used it to water my okra plants and blackeyed peas- I set up the system, turned in on, and planted the seed where wet spots were. All worked fine, no problems. Each of the slits drip 1/2 gallon per hour, so a couple of hours a week is about all you need.

After the plants got up, I mulched with a pretty good layer of leaves. The way the tape is made, it is kind of oval with a 'ridge' that runs down the top of the oval - it never touches the ground, so I don't think there is any backsuction. I never had a problem with it.

What I won't know until this season is whether or not the sections work okay after having taken it up in the fall. It tended to kink up and pinch instead of rolling up. It might leak at the pinch point.

Try dripworksusa.com, irrigation-mart.com. There's lots of information available from a google search.

Good luck!!!

Yes, there are differences between manufacturers' tapes and some of those differences are huge. The main difference is the type of emitter. They are generally welded into the tape or they are molded into the type such as dirtmecnanic mentioned. We sell both types and have good success with both.

Most bad experiences with drip tape are caused by not enough filtration. The majority of manufacturers recommend atleast a 150mesh filter.

8mil tape, our most popular, will generally last about 1 year. This will depend on how much sunlight hits the tape and if you cover it, bury it or leave it ontop of the ground.

For peppers and tomatoes, 8mil 12" spacing .45 gpm/100' would be fine. Being in a home garden your water supply shouldn't be a huge problem.

You shouldn't have to worry to much about back-suction as long as you install auto-flush end caps at the end of each row. The autoflush caps will actually open at low pressure and help flush out any debris that does get in the line. Most auto-flush caps will close somewhere around 6-8psi. The tape should be ran somewhere between 8-12psi this is done by pressure regulators.