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Saegertown Pa.

Does any one have experience in using T Tape do the holes go up or down? I was told were I got it from it doesn't make any deference. I have a hard time believing there isn't advantages in doing it one way or another.

7/1/2005 9:08:20 AM

Commack, NY

Quinn, im not certain which is the "right" way, but i can tell you that the patch has to be perfectly flat, or else it will end up pooling at the lowest spot.
Scott

7/1/2005 10:23:25 AM

Western NY

manufacturer says the holes go up. if you have a small amount of suspended solids in the water, they supposedly might sink to the bottom instead of plugging the holes up. like scotty said, the closer to level you are, the better they work. i've used them for a couple years, but not this year. too uneven at the new place so far. hopefully next year.

7/1/2005 10:26:12 AM

Www.extremepumpkinstore.com

Mine are installed holes up

7/1/2005 11:59:25 AM

Saegertown Pa.

What distance between rows did you guys find worked best, I was going to go with 12 inches.

7/1/2005 12:38:38 PM

Western NY

mine were set about a foot apart. it seemed to work well when i used it.

7/1/2005 12:56:18 PM

Eugene, OR

This is my second year using t-tape. Andy is right about the holes but I've accidentally installed a few lines holes down and never had any clogging problems. I think using the proper filter is very important.

My patch has a pretty good slope and I have no trouble getting good distribution everywhere, even when using the water tower to gravity feed the system with only 4-5 psi.

Not sure what distance between rows would work the best but I have the high flow stuff with the 8" emitter spacing and I'm using 12" between rows. The water seems to reach the space between lines well and the surface still stays pretty dry to keep the weeds under control. I bury most of the lines a couple inches deep but don't bury them all so I can still till during the season.

7/1/2005 12:56:59 PM

Long Island,New York

Burrying is a pain but so is weeding between the unburried tapes.The scuttlehoe constantly tears the tape causing not-too-cheap a repair. If your patch isn't perfectly level you get light pumpkins and only third place. The holes go up so fine silts and algae don't clog them. I used them at 18 inches last year. Im using them at 14 inches this year-at least I plan too if I ever get the time to get more than 4-5 strips down.Oh...and when you burry them- they attract stakes, and shovels (see above notes on less than cheap repairs)

7/2/2005 9:06:32 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Holes up is recommended to avoid the holes ever clogging by the small dirt particle that inevitable WILL ENTER any system that gets buried in soil. That said, some growers perfer & have been lucky installing holes down. Whether they get accurate output of all the emitters is debatable.

Another wise move is to make sure to use the pressure sensitive drains at the end of every run & located "LOW". In the perfect world, the entire run would follow a gentle down hill run with no hips or vallies. Then the drain valve would self flush the system cleanly every time it is turned off. Assuming the drain is the lowest point, gravity takes every last bit of dirt out of the system after every use.

7/2/2005 10:55:02 AM

Ontario, Canada.

I don't know if the holes are supposed to go up or down but I can report, I have seen T-tape in use at Darrell Leonard's patches. His plants were simply amazing in size and health. Look out Port Elgin.

7/2/2005 9:14:47 PM

Montoursville, PA

Consideration for the holes down theory. If the holes are down they all self clean as they run out, of water. My delivery is at about five to six pounds gravity feed. This is the third year and all lines tested, in good working condition.

I have fed through most if not all, of the AGRO-K products and Fertrell fish and kelp liquids. There is a slight build up of my local organic iron.

I feel it is very important to have a 200 mesh strainer in line. I use a back flushing T-Y Valve as sold, by DRIPWORKS and an air emitter, to help the lines self clear.

I feed three distinctive levels from the same system. There is no water laying in the lines when the barrels are empty at any ,of the levels, because the holes are down.

DRIPWORKS claim they have the only tested proven T-Tape. Since they also wholesale therefore others may have their tape.

The per foot tape cost is hardly worth consideration if one gets three to five years on top of the ground and seven to ten years when installed underground.

The main issue is labor, to go underground and the need to pull them, in the fall, to do tilling. When on top, of the ground, you have more evaporation but less work, to get ready to till. Pulling them is no big deal but it may take an extra hour per each patch.

At 15% organic material I get nice dampness distribution when the tapes are placed at eighteen inches. I can dump one hundred and ten gallons, in one hour and twenty minutes.

Someone is correct saying that underground tapes attract stakes and shovel cuts. That's OK it only takes a few minutes, to insert an insert by insert fitting, to get back into business as usual. I manage to stake one or two a year but that is still better than trying, to work around them when on top, of the ground. Maybe younger guys do not mind working around them. I do!

7/3/2005 4:18:12 PM

Ohio

Does it really make a diffrence? Its all covered in dirt no matter how you burry them.

7/3/2005 7:03:53 PM

Ohio

and bury them too.lol

7/3/2005 7:06:24 PM

Litchfield N. H. 03052

Commercial uses of T tape is installed holes up if the roll is laid under plastic and both applied in one opperation.

7/3/2005 9:50:04 PM

Montoursville, PA

Commercial use also includes the quality and controll of employees as well as different members, of a given family. Holes up assures opperation even when the lines are flooded with all kinds of possible stuff that would or could clog the weep holes. Yes indeed I would see the wisdom in that application, to protect ones assurence the lines will weep.

With holes up the low spots, in the lines, will not clear. The puddles, in the lines, are natural settlement spots. Settlement does what settlement does. It will eventually plug the flow.

Where a relatively clean opperation can be achieved there are many reasons, to consider installing with holes down.

If I were supervising a commercial installed job I sure would advise holes up because, of what I think is an all, to common, "don't give a hoot" attitude, of all to many people these days. Things of this nature need to be designed as idiot proof as possible.

7/4/2005 8:37:07 AM

Appalachian Mtns.

Quinn...used it for 4 years...holes up.

7/7/2005 11:08:33 AM

Appalachian Mtns.

PS...it's designed so dirt can't go back thru the holes and clog it. It can only be clogged by not using a filter at the line beginning.

7/7/2005 11:09:50 AM