Introduction
How do you connect a garden hose to your irrigation system? It’s simple! Here’s how:
Use a water key to turn the main water supply valve off.
Before you start, it’s important to turn off the main water supply valve that supplies water to your house. This will ensure that no water is left running anywhere in or near the area where you’ll be working on your garden. You may want to also turn off any nearby hose bibbs or spigots so that no one else can accidentally leave them open while you’re working on your irrigation system.
If there are other valves in addition to these two, feel free to turn those as well if they’re close by (but don’t forget about them).
Locate the threaded faucet spigot closest to your garden area.
The first thing you will need to do is locate the threaded faucet spigot closest to your garden area. The faucet spigots are usually located right after your home’s water supply line enters the house but before it reaches the main valve that lets water flow to all of your plumbing fixtures.
Next, turn off the main water supply valve by twisting it clockwise until it stops.
After turning off the main valve, detach its quick-connect fitting from the faucet spigot and then attach one end of an L-shaped hose adapter (sold separately) onto this fitting instead. Once connected, place this adapter against a clean surface where it won’t get dirty or wet and press down on its other end hard enough so that it forms an airtight seal between itself and its connection point on either side of them both being snugly held together
Unscrew the aerator from the end of the spigot. Most aerators are removable by hand, but if you can’t remove it, use a pair of pliers.
To remove the aerator, you’ll need to first find it. This usually involves unscrewing a nozzle or opening up a faucet. To do this, turn off the water and turn on your main valve. Now, unscrew the aerator from the end of the spigot by hand as shown below:
Next, if you can’t remove it easily with your bare hands because of rust or other corrosion on its threads (this is fairly common), use pliers like these:
Now that both parts are off, you should see something like this below:
This is called an “internal thread” because there are threads inside those small holes where we just removed our aerator from—that means they have been cut inside out so that things can fit into them backwards instead of forwards like normal screws would go in their respective sockets.
Clean any grit or debris from the threads of the spigot using an old toothbrush or stiff wire brush. This will ensure a good seal on your new components.
Attach one end of the male hose adapter to the spigot. It should attach with a tight, clockwise twist and will lock into place without tools.
Slide another male hose adapter over your garden hose, then connect it to one end of your drip irrigation system’s pressure regulator (if you need one). The other end of this connection should be fitted with an elbow fitting that connects to either a 1/4 inch or 3/8 inch tubing tube for water distribution in your yard or garden plot.
Slide the threaded end of the faucet coupling into place over the other end of male hose adapter, then secure with a tight clockwise twist using your hands — no tools required.
Tighten firmly and check for leaks by pouring water from a bucket or watering can over exposed connections.
Screw one end of your garden hose onto the other end of female hose adapter and secure tightly with a clockwise twist by hand (no tools needed). If necessary, wrap Teflon tape around or silicone grease on threads to help ensure a tight seal.
Use a screwdriver to tighten the hose onto the female hose adapter, or use a wrench if you have one handy. If this step is too difficult for you, it’s likely that there are no leaks in your system and you can move on to step #4.
Conclusion
If you followed along with our instructions, then congratulations! You now have a drip irrigation system that can be used to water your garden or lawn. If you have any questions or concerns about the process of installing your own drip irrigation system, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
