Installing DIY drip irrigation kit today. Any tips or things I should look out for?

[jtvang125]

Picked up one of those drip kits and some extra parts at the big box stores last night. I believe this should be enough to do 2 zones for my front yard. There's a small area on the other side of the driveway but that'll be for another day. I will have to tunnel underneath the walkway to the front door because the the water source and yard are on opposite sides. I bought one of those water tunneling kit and a piece of pvc pipe to try.

Everything looks simple and pretty straight forward. Any tips or suggestions would be great.

 

[NutBucket]

Make sure you have pressure regulators. Other then that have fun!

 

[Six]

Dump whatever pressure regulator that's included in the kit, and buy a senninger pressure regulator.
Dump the plastic y valve if using any and buy a metal one.
Buy some zip ties.

 

[jtvang125]

Thanks for all the tips.

Got started on this yesterday after I got home from work. Started with prepping the tunneling kit to go under the walkway. Surprised by how well it worked. If not for the rocks I would have gotten through in about 10 seconds. The only downsides are it creates a mess and having to dig a trench to get the pvc pipe down in. I was only able to get started on the first zone due to waiting on the tunneling kit to dry and helping my wife plant a few more plants in between. Here's a few things I learned so far.

1. Should have soaked the tubing in hot water beforehand to make it more flexible
2. Tape off the open ends of the tubing to avoid getting any dirt or debris into it and causing clogging issues
3. This kit used compression fittings so soaking the ends in hot water helps them slide in/on easier
4. Check the kit to see if everything is complete before starting. I think mine was missing the 50' roll of 1/4" tubing but didn't realize it until I was already midway into the job. Luckily I bought an extra roll and didn't want to waste time dealing with it at the store.

I need to get both zones working somewhat by tonight because we'll be away for the 4 day weekend. With the high temps we've been having I don't want to come back to a bunch of parched plants.