Proper way to remove a drip line?

13 years ago

Hi,

I have a RainBird drip system that was installed by a professional (ie, not by me). The 1/4" lines are attached to EMT-6XERI outlet manifolds (link below).

The front patio has three drip lines - hanging baskets, rail baskets, and floor baskets - and this year I only want to use one. I asked the guy who installed it how I should remove the unneeded lines; he said to cut the tubing, bend it, and wrap with electrical tape. I did this but there was some leakage and it seemed kinda messy to me, so I decided there must be a better way. The thing came with caps, so I should be able to just replace them, right? :)

I ordered a couple of the same manifold from RainBird, and used the caps from those to plug the holes on the installed manifold (after removing the cut and folded tubing). Of course, they leak *way* worse than the folded line did. Clearly these aren't meant to be reusable, which is why RainBird doesn't sell them separately on their website. Doh!

I know the guy who put this in is a 'band aid and baling wire' kinda guy, so before I go cut some tubing and replace the folded-over ends, is there another better way to do this?

In case it matters, I will probably want to replace these lines at some point, so whatever I do needs to be reversible.

Thanks in advance!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: 6 Outlet Manifold

Comments (5)

twolips
13 years ago
Is it the 1/4" tubing you are trying to block? If so, then all you need is a goof plug. A small fitting that goes into the end of the line.
Folding over larger poly might work, but not 1/4".
janiner
Original Author
13 years ago
Yes, it's the 1/4" tubing. I guess that explains why RainBird sells a fitting to accomplish the same "fold-n-hold" trick for 1/2" tubing, but not 1/4".

I have goof plugs - I had thought the force of the water would just blow them out so I didn't try them, but now I will. Thanks for the reply!!!
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azirrigation_guy
13 years ago
You are right the bend and fold trick is the tool of a 'band aid and baling wire' type of contractor. The bend only holds for so long before it wears holes at the bend, then you have to create another bend and do it again.

Sounds like too much pressure, I have seen this plenty of times when there are not enough outlets (emitters and such) on a zone. I would expect the goof plugs at the end of the 1/4 inch line to work out better because the footage of the 1/4 inch line will add pressure loss, then also add in that the goof plugs have a better holding capacity then the caps do.

Good luck
janiner
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks to all of you - I cut a couple of short (3") pieces of tubing, put goof plugs in the ends, and they seem to be holding fine.

Azirrigation_guy you are right about the cause - each of my emitters only has one drip line on it, so there is excess pressure. Fortunately it seems to be working ok now.

Thanks to all for your help!
janiner
Original Author
13 years ago
Oops, sorry - not an emitter, an outlet manifold. Which seems like a very odd name to me, so I keep calling them something else. Hopefully you knew what I meant! :)