what is the better option 5/16 or 3/16??

[Beerclouds]

i'm looking to install 6 to 8 laterals with 20 to 25 drops per lateral. each lateral will be connected to a manifold system and diaphram pump. i have decent slope in my bush so im puzzled on what the best choice in tubing to use. im using 5/16 for droplines and confused on whether 3/16 will produce too much friction if used on for my laterals. any input on this matter would be appreciated.

[motowbrowne]

i'm looking to install 6 to 8 laterals with 20 to 25 drops per lateral. each lateral will be connected to a manifold system and diaphram pump. i have decent slope in my bush so im puzzled on what the best choice in tubing to use. im using 5/16 for droplines and confused on whether 3/16 will produce too much friction if used on for my laterals. any input on this matter would be appreciated.

The key here is that you have decent slope and want to put a lot of taps per lateral. In this case, 3/16 is a decent choice. I ran pretty much that exact setup (though many of them didn't have great slope) into shurflo pumps for 5 years and made over half a gallon per tap every year. But I was out there monitoring every day. Checking for leaks, blocked fittings, etc.

3/16 has its issues, namely blocked fittings, but it's cheaper, easier to work with, and on a small scale, especially with a diaphragm pump, it can be very effective.

[DMF]

I have 321 taps, no main lines, all on 3/16. The majority of my lines have an 80' drop in elevation, approximately 30-35 taps per line. I used to get 26" of natural vacuum on all of my upper most trees. This past year I added lunchbox pumps. I added a section of trees that only had 20' of elevation drop and with the pumps the 3/16 lines still worked great.

[DrTimPerkins]

i have decent slope in my bush so im puzzled on what the best choice in tubing to use

If you have good slope, plan to clean your tubing each year, and are committed to leak checking your system during the season, then 3/16" would work well in this application.

[DRoseum]

I agree on 3/16 if you have good slope and plan to add diaphram pumps. I have used that for 2 years on 100 taps and love it. Also recommend CV spouts on 3/16 drops so you can tap above or below latteral lines without any backflow into the tap hole. Clean your lines by pumping solution UP the lines and replace spouts each year.

[DMF]

I run the 3/16 lines with 5/16 drops to help minimize the reverse vacuum issues. I tried CV spouts last year, but I'm going back to the Zap Bac's this year. Even if I only get 2 years out of them I save money and replacement time over the CV spouts.