soaker hose

13 years ago

I recently bought a turf king soaker hose, but it leaks like a sieve where it is connected to the garden hose, and it drips so unevenly that it's almost useless.

Can anyone recommend a high quality soaker hose?

My last resort is to do what I did at my last house, get the 1/4 inch black tubing and set up a drip system with the drippers and the 1/8 inch tubing. A lot of work, and expensive, but it works.

Mac

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Comments (8)

Embothrium
13 years ago
They have this reddish brown soaker hose at HD that is currently laid out to water my new moso bamboo hedge. On my pressure it takes about 40 minutes to get the job done.
jean001a
13 years ago
Do you have a washer inside the hose at the connection? If so, try replacing it.

Soaker hose will only leak evenly if it "sweats." If it sprays, the water pressure is too high.
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garrai81
Original Author
13 years ago
The end of the story is that there is no place for a washer there.

I replaced this piece of junk with an American-made sprayer hose that works much like the soaker hose.

Only this one does not leak like crazy at the junction.

Thanks for your comments.

Mac
jean001a
13 years ago
Every hose comes with a washer in the female end. In some instances, the washer fell out before you bought it. Some are plastic, others rubber. I prefer those made of rubber.

The washer fits inside the female end of the hose so that the connection with another hose (or spigot) is drip-free.

This post was edited by jean001a on Fri, Jul 5, 13 at 13:47
jean001a
13 years ago
Saw a stack of Turf King soaker hoses today in a local retail store. Each one I checked had a washer in both ends.

On the far end, the black cap had a black washer shaped like a ring.

On the hose connector end, the washer was a kind I hadn't seen previously. It was a flat green disk with a small hole in the center which I suspect was a means to restrict the flow.

If you removed the green disk, yes, the connection would certainly leak all over the place.

If you still have the green disk, reinsert it and try the soaker again. Bet it will work just fine.
ian_wa
13 years ago
Tony Avent has said that Flexon makes high quality soaker hoses that do not rupture.
laurell
13 years ago
I got a cheap soaker at lowes and it has a huge washer /fitting inside the end that connects to my hose that has about a 1/4" opening. Only the first 1/3 of the hose even waters appreciably, the rest stays dry. Will drilling out this restrictor plate help?
jean001a
13 years ago
Soakers work best at very low pressure.
You should turn on the faucet only enough that the hose sweats. (At my place, that's less than a quarter turn.)

If the soaker hose sprays, output is guaranteed to be uneven. Most times, the plants at the far end receive little to no water.

Instead of drilling out the flow restricter, back off the water at the spigot.