Drip line irrigation hack
DIY Garden Projects

Easy Hack for Irrigation Drip Line Installations

Installing and replacing old worn out drip lines on your irrigation system is no fun. The 1/4 drip lines are not easy to slip onto drip heads. Follow along with me to find out my easy hack for irrigation drip line installations.

Buy a Craft Heat Gun

That heading pretty much sums up the whole purpose of this article. After moving to Arizona from Washington State 5 years ago, I have had to become a pro at irrigation installs and repairs. We didn’t need these system up there because…… RAIN. A lot of RAIN.

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This heat gun from amazon is similar to the one I use. Watch the video below to see my well loved heat gun. More heat gun options will posted below.

I had received lots of advice for attaching those skinny little drip lines onto drip heads and adding connectors and drips to the ends. Here are the top two tips I was told to do:

  • Add boiling water to a cup. Run outside before the water cools, place the drip end into the cup to soften the plastic and attach. ……… then run back into the house and boil more water and repeat. It was exhausting and took forever.
  • Use cooking oil on the end of the drip line and it will go on like butter. Um. Nope. Now my hands are all greasy and I can’t get a good grip on the plastic drip line to save my life let alone push it onto a drip head.

My Solution

Here is my solution for easy drip line installations. And it is a great one. Take that craft heat gun you just purchased and an extension cord. Run it out to the spot where your broken drips are located. Turn on the heat gun. If you need to remove an old line from a drip head, gently soften the tube with the hot air from the heat gun and it should just slide off.

To install a line, connectors or drip ends do the same. Turn on heat gun. Hold the drip line in front of the gun but make sure not to aim it at your hand or fingers. (It gets very hot). Hold the line there for about 10-15 seconds until the end is warm and soft. Turn off the heat Gun and place it on the ground. Push the line onto the drip head or install your ends. It’s slides on quickly and as soon as it cools it is in place and will not pull back off or leak.

It is really that easy. Just be safe. Do not use this method near running water or wet areas for obvious reasons. You do not want to electrocute yourself. Make sure your system is off or won’t be on until you are finished.

More Heat Gun Options from Amazon

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