A drip irrigation filter cleans the water. You should use a filter. Some companies tell you their products don’t need a filter when used with city water, or that it is optional. Optional at the expense of your future time and money!  Drip emitters have very small openings that are easily clogged. Water piped to your house is not free from stuff that will clog your emitters! It contains small grains of sand, bits of rust and scale from pipes, even very small snails (the size of a grain of sand) are very common in city water systems.

 

We use a Rainbird filter with a 150 mesh screen or higher. A good quality filter may be installed before the valve or pressure regulator, but the inexpensive filters often sold for drip systems should be installed after the pressure regulator. A good filter will have a maximum pressure rating of 150 PSI or higher. If the package does not list the pressure rating it is probably an inexpensive low-pressure model.

 

We install our filter right at the water source so it protects the control valves and the pressure regulator too. Most valve failures result from sand or rust particles clogging the tiny passages inside the control valves! As long as you need to use a filter, why not get a good one and have it protect the valves too? It will probably pay for itself within 5 years by preventing a valve failure! Use a filter that is the same size as, or larger than, the valve.

 

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Mike Garcia 
Landscape Design Contractor & Certified Pond Builder
Phone: (310) 374-1199
Email : mike@enviroscapela.com
Owner of Enviroscape L.A. Landscaping,
Redondo Beach, Ca 90278
South Bay, California

Landscape Design, Installation and Maintenance
of sustainable Low Water Use native Garden Design, Waterfalls, Fountains and Ponds. Drip Irrigation Installation and Rainwater Harvesting Systems. ENVIROSCAPE L.A. Your Gardening Guide in the Los Angeles South Bay Area, California

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