Drip VS SWC

[Worth1]

Rainbird has a controller that is smart.
Here is how it works.
You set your system up and run your zones.
There is a meter you put on the system and when a zone is on it averages out the GPM of water used on that zone.
If the GPM goes up a certain amount it knows there is a busted pipe and wont turn on that zone.
Worth

[Worth1]

James my neighbor lady came home to a flood.
While she was gone out of town which is almost never the flex line on her toilet broke and flooded the house.
It was old and dry rotted.

My flex lines are now on a preventive maintenance change out cycle.
Cheap insurance.
Speaking of back flow I need to go back to the pond pump thread and suggest it.
Thanks for reminding me.

Worth

[elight]

Originally Posted by JamesL

E,
I liked your setup too and I might have gone that direction if I wasn't already committed to this course of action.
One of the reasons I went with one per tub - I set them to fill at a lower water level in each tub to try and have my media run a little dryer. Not necessary for everybody but it was working for me.
Timer - it probably did come from Ray. Although Worth has been flogging proper back flow prevention and fail safes for years so Ray might have got it from him. LOL.
Whenever I hear either term Worth springs to mind first, which is mildly disturbing.....

Will lowering the water level really lower the overall moisture content of the SWC potting mix? I would have thought otherwise... while water may wick a little slower, I would expect it to return to equilibrium overnight one way or another. Would be interested to hear the results of your experiment.

[JamesL]

Originally Posted by elight

Will lowering the water level really lower the overall moisture content of the SWC potting mix? I would have thought otherwise... while water may wick a little slower, I would expect it to return to equilibrium overnight one way or another. Would be interested to hear the results of your experiment.

I really think it helped.
The water level is lower in the reservoir at all times so the net pot wick is not as submerged and as it wicks up; the water level drops leaving less available to wick.
So yes, it wicks slower and as less water is available to begin with; the equilibrium level or saturation level is lower in the media.
Less water, less available to wick, less saturation.
On really hot days I can just manually turn the feed on and give them another fill up if needed or just do a top water.
Could accomplish the same thing using a smaller net pot I assume. Choking back the water seemed easier to do than using a smaller net pot and not having enough available to begin with.

[JamesL]

Originally Posted by Worth1

James my neighbor lady came home to a flood.
While she was gone out of town which is almost never the flex line on her toilet broke and flooded the house.
It was old and dry rotted.

My flex lines are now on a preventive maintenance change out cycle.
Cheap insurance.
Speaking of back flow I need to go back to the pond pump thread and suggest it.
Thanks for reminding me.

Worth

Almost classic Murphy's law right? The really bad stuff always happens when you aren't home....