i've watching almost every youtube video on this subject and i want to say thank you. Its amazing how many videos are pushing a product , dont get to the point, have biases , etc....this is great - straight to the point and super informative!
Thanks for watching! I do have some product reviews and some more coming, but I try to make sure that I differentiate between those and the educational stuff.
Well done! You even got into a little bit of chemistry with the explanation about the properties of the poly being altered by the application of substantial heat. I had never heard anything as thorough on every aspect of dealing the this tubing. Thank you!
Great video. Very detailed and informative. I’ve never used poly pipe before. The guy at the home center said I could use a heat gun to warm the pipe and slide in the fitting. Unfortunately, I’m now learning that was terrible advice. He said nothing about using a clamp either.
Ya know, it's probably ok to a small extent. It doesn't take a lot of assistance to get the fittings in. But the more you heat pretty much anything, it changes the elasticity and so forth. I prefer to use a rubber mallet. Just make sure you flush out your zones before you put the nozzles on, the rubber mallets leave little chunks of rubber. And definitely use clamps.
Splendid video. I am in the Ryobi ONE+ 18V ecosystem and I found a use for the weak ONE+ heat gun system Ryobi makes. Heating one-half-inch or one-fourth-inch tubing to shove on a fitting. 10:42 the recommend against WD-40 - been there and done it. I thought I was smart as a whip, a little spritz of WD-40 and we were off to the races. A few weeks later I was repairing a leaking connector I had treated with the solvent. I was less impressed with myself. WD-40 fixes "ALMOST" everything.
Yes sir, no doubt. I absolutely love WD-40, its just not for every situation. And I've been hearing a good bit lately from people using heat guns. My only advice is be careful and don't overheat anything.
3:42 Inner diameter controlled = pipe, not tubing; correct? 8:50 Not 30 to 60 foot pounds; but rather 30 to 60 inch pounds, which is 2.5 to 5 foot pounds. 30 to 60 foot pounds is an order of magnitude too high! 60 foot pounds is getting to small lug nut torque, guaranteed to strip a worm drive clamp. The way you are holding your 1/4 socket wrench, with your leverage maybe 3 or 4 " from the screw axis, you would have to put 90 pounds of force at 4" to generate just 30 foot pounds of torque. So you hold the wrench like you have it, then put about 8 to 10 pounds of force and you'll have about 3 to 3.5 foot pounds of torque, a reasonable amount. You are correct when you say to put "just enough". And BTW, thank you for the video. I did learn a lot, and specifically I was interested in using the pinch clamps and how much force they would put on the plastic fittings. Also how secure they were versus the worm drive, and how they hold up over time. I have some old poly piping water delivery systems that are starting to leak after decades using dual or single worm-drive clamps.
Would you like less broken heads? A Marlex fitting, combined with the SBE, allows for better placement and overall maneuverability for the sprinkler head. It’s been basic protocol for all my 19 years installing residential and commercial systems. Perdy solid video otherwise. 6:58 A rubber mallet is a must for us folks up north. Using a torch is asinine.
Thank you! There was so much information that was wonderfully put together. I've taken many notes from this video for my own project. I'd like to suggest something to help you reach and help more and that is a playlist once you are done. The videos are a great tutorial for us DIY'ers and all are very valuable.
Thank you so much for commenting! I do actually have several playlists put together. Is there a better way of doing that? I ask because I may know a bit about irrigation but much less about RU-vid. I'm learning though!
@@Eastbaypisces You may have to solder in a tee adapter fitting that will change to pipe threads. then you can screw on a PVC female adapter and start your irrigation system. Definitely consider putting a Backflow Preventer at that point to prevent any water in the irrigation pipes from being sucked back into your drinking water.
Hi Robert! Thanks for watching. It's difficult to get a barbed fitting out of tubing without loosening the pipe up. It's best to cut that out and put a new coupling in or whatever your repair needs. Sometimes you don't have enough room to cut it out, and a heat gun used carefully can help you work the fitting out, but push a new one back in while the tubing is still warm. Would love to hear what other techs are doing in this case, we don't see a ton of poly in my area.
@Proirrigationtraining - Hi! Couls you please share where is the ideal location to crimp on a barbed fitting, on the barb, or right behind the last barb nearest the center, or both? I see so many styles here on RU-vid. Jist Like to know whats the correct way from a pro or manufacturers recommendation.
That's a good question. I usually crimp on the barbs, but I wonder if right behind the barbs would be better? I always thought that the tubing would possibly fold a little behind the barbs and possibly leak a little, but to be honest I don't know if that's the case.
Fantastic video. Quite an help. (I just feel sad about the use of imperial measurements instead of metric.) As always, thank you so very mch and greetings from Portugal.
Greetings to Portugal! I definitely want to start adding metric measurements to my videos. I know it would be simple enough for psi/bar and pipe sizes, but I'm confused about some products that are used in other countries. It seems that some things have metric sizes and some things use imperial. I need a conversation with a distributor in Europe to get it straight.
Great video on working with poly pipe. I notice that you fasten your stainless steel clamps about 1/4 inch from the end of the pipe. I have always wondered about the correct distance but, unlike pex (1/8 to 1/4 inch away from end), no one has ever told me exactly where they should be fastened. With poly pipe, I have been placing them 1/16 inch away. What distance do you recommend? My guess from your pic is 1/4 inch. Thanks 🙏.
Ya know, I'm not sure what the correct answer really is, but I'll tell you what works for me. Each barbed fitting has 3 barbs. Usually when you insert the fitting into the pipe, you can tell where the first and last barb are. I recommend centering the clamp on those ridges so that it makes good, even contact with the barbs.
I am connecting a garden hose as a supply line to a remote spigot. The connection requires a transition from the hose to a short piece of 1/2" PEX. I don't know what my outside water pressure is but do you think a clamp would be required at the transition fitting?
Sorry Paul, thought I had already answered this for you. I would use a clamp on the PEX. I'm not 100% sure, but I think all PEX connections should have one. I certainly do no matter what the pressure is, but I don't deal with it much.
This was a great video, thank you for your instruction! One question, what diameter poly tubing do I need to connect to a friction barb 5/8" ID outlet?
Hi Lucas, thanks for watching! Is 5/8" the actual size (you measured it) or is that the nominal size of the fitting, as in you bought it as a 5/8" fitting? Poly tubing sold to the irrigation trade is usually 1/2", 3/4", or 1". There are other sizes of tubing on the market for different uses. Go to a Home Depot or Lowe's, and there's an isle that has several types of tubing. Take the fitting there and see what it matches up with.
I've seen a lot of comments about don't use it in the heat, or don't use it in the cold, but its pretty durable. Just bury it deep enough and winterize every year. Thanks for watching!
My PVC pipe that is under my sidewalk has a leak. As a fix, could I run the swing pipe through the PVC to connect the sprinkler head since the run isn't that long? I want to avoid the hassle of replacing the PVC or ripping up the sidewalk.
If only one or two heads are after the sidewalk, you should probably be good. Swing pipe will only flow 4-5 gpm. That would certainly be easier that replacing the pipe or boring under the sidewalk. Thanks for watching!
This video is very helpful! Thanks so much. I have a couple of questions for you regarding the 1" poly that I am repairing. 1) the pipe is about 20 years old and a couple of goof plugs were leaking. When I tried to remove them they broke and I can't get the part that is inside the pipe. What will happen if I push it in and put in a new goof plug? 2) For patching: once I get the fitting in on end of a patched pipe by hammering, how can I secure a tight fit on the other end? Since you don't recommend anything akin to WD 40 or vaseline, is my only option to push as hard as I can and hope for the best, or do you have another tip? I'll certainly try it on a hot sunny day if that is all I can do.
Hi Tana, hope this reply is soon enough. 1) Go ahead and push it in. The piece shouldn't clog anything, but you can go to the last fitting on that line and remove it, so once you turn the water on, it can blow out the end. 2) Dawn dish detergent or something similar will be slick enough to help you push it into place. Leaving your piece of repair pipe on your car dashboard in the sun will warm it up enough to be a bit more flexible.
@@Proirrigationtraining HI! This is very helpful. I am getting a crash course in all things poly pipe repair and other irrigation fittings. As my landscaping has matured I have discovered that many adjustments need to be made. Roots have closed off parts of the poly and pop-ups are covered up by overgrowth, and much more. I will be checking out your other videos. Thanks!!!!
@@allthesongs7545 You're welcome! Good luck with the repairs, I know it can be a pain when roots are involved. It's the story of my life. If you have any more questions, I'll do my best to help. I may not be lightning quick with the response, I'm still a working man, but I try.
Question about the 1/2 inch (0.70 or .071) black poly supply for a drip irrigation, does that poly last a long time? I live in the desert and plan on burying it 4 inches underground so little concern about freezing and won't be in the sun.
Hi Jil, thanks for watching and commenting. I can't think of any reason that water should be coming out of the fitting. Make sure the pipe is pushed all the way into the fitting, but other than that, I'd contact the manufacturer and ask about it and get replacements. If anyone else has seen this or knows what the problem is, please comment.
I can never get the worm gear clamp to clamp hard enough to stop the water. I always break the clamp before it stops the leak. i gave up and started using the Harco fittings compression fitting but they cost an arm and a leg
I think worm drive clamps are rated up to 80 psi. Maybe you have pressure that's quite a bit higher? Or possibly find a different brand of clamp? Maybe you've gotten hold of a bad batch of clamps? But in my experience, it's usually because of high pressure. Thanks for watching!
@Pro Irrigation Training i would imagine its higher. Straight from the city pipe. Thought about adding a pressure reducer, but i figured it was the desity of the pipe causing me problems since it's so dense, didnt think of the pressure. Alao its SIDR where the inner diameter is the standard size so thought it might have been that too since i was using a barbed pipe fitting.
We are setting up 1in sprinkler manifold where 3/4 160PSI poly goring to the sprinkler heads and we have difficulty threading them to manifold as the thread comes out coz of stress the poly crates against the manifold threading. Anyone came across this situation and any ideas to fix it would really appreciated. Thanks
If I understand the question correctly, the poly is coming off the barbed fittings? If so, how high is the pressure? Barbed fittings for poly are good up to 80 psi (5.5 Bar). If the pressure is higher, use either crimp clamps or worm-drive clamps to secure the poly onto the barbed fittings.
I need to run some water pipe to my garage. I can get 3/4 " 200 or 250 psi (100ft) for the same price. Would one be preferable? (Mayve 200 is easier to work with?)
The difference is the thickness of the pipe wall. Since Poly is "inner diameter controlled" there's no difference in the flow rating. As long as you're using insert type fittings, you're good with either one. I would use 250 if the price is the same just to get the additional durability.
I'm rebuilding the sprinkler system that came with the house we bought. It was three 1/2" poly pipe sections just tied into a hose bib. Each zone is fed entirely by 1/2" poly pipe, and the number of heads varies from 1 to 5 per zone. Needless to say, the performance is pretty terrible. They have sprayers with a range of 20-36 ft spaced 14 ft apart, and each sprayer on the 5 head zone is barely managing to even reach the other heads 14 ft away. I'm probably going to end up digging the whole thing up and replacing it next year...
Hey Adam, thanks for watching! The problem is in the 1/2" tubing. It just can't flow enough water to meet the demand. You can only get 4, maybe 5 (with high pressure) gpm. If you want to use polyethylene tubing, 3/4" will flow 8 gpm comfortably, and 1" will flow 14 gpm. A lot of people get confused about flow demand. You determine this by the nozzles on your rotors. Look at the nozzle, then go to the manufacturer's charts and see what flow you'll get at your available pressure. The total of the heads on that zone can't exceed the pipe's flow rating, or you'll get weak performance.
sorry for the slow response, it's crazy season right now. Anyway, there are actually different sizes of 1/2" tubing. There is the thicker wall (about 2.5 mm) poly tubing called "funny pipe" or "swing pipe" or "flex pipe." It has a smaller inner diameter. there is also 1/2" poly tubing that has a thinner wall (about 1.5 mm) This is typically sold as Drip Tubing. It has a larger inner diameter, so the fittings for this kind of tubing won't fit those designed for Flex Pipe. Usually in a hardware store, the fittings for the flex pipe are with the irrigation parts and the other fittings are with the poly tubing.
No sir, not this kind of tubing. I've read that Poly can be engineered to withstand compressed gasses. But not this kind. In fact, using any type of plastic pipe or tubing used primarily for water (for compressed gasses) can result in severe injury or death. So, my advice is to only use tubing systems designed for compressed gasses. Thanks for watching Emerson, and thanks for the question!
I installed those clamps on barbed fittings. 5gpm, 60psi, used apollo fittings and leaks every where. I have to use 2 clamps to stop the leaks and some are still leaking. idk whats with this stupid thing. pvc is a piece of cake to attach but not flexible. I wish i used pvc all along
I hear you on that. I always install PVC, and generally dislike poly fittings. But I hate to hear that you're having that much trouble with them. At 60 psi, there shouldn't be a problem getting them to seal with one clamp. I wonder if it's an issue with the fittings?
@@Proirrigationtraining one thing that helped is heat gun. After heating, poly takes the shape of fitting with the clamp and is much efficient. But still i needed 2 clamps. Depends on poly flexibility and outside temperature i guess
Yeah, for sure. And once they get a taste for it, they will destroy a system. That's why pretty much all tubing should be buried. Drip tubing should be covered with mulch.
You're definitely right about that. And in the small amounts needed, would surely be no problem. BUT, I still wouldn't use it, just because it would persist, rather use Dawn if anything.
@@Proirrigationtraining I've been using dawn dish soap for all my barbed fitting repairs for years with no issues. Working on a 30 head install with about 400' of piping and the only thing I use is dawn dish soap to lube things up. Makes a difference and the soap will eventually flush out the heads and not harm the plants or turf.