Do you have a hose bib that is close to the ground? It can be challenging to connect hoses or drip irrigation systems to low to the ground hose bibs. Luckily, there are some ingenious parts that you can use to make use of your hose bib!
The most common drip irrigation head assemblies take up about 12”, even more if a timer is included. If your hose bib is only 6” off the ground, it may seem impossible to get the head assembly connected, and every drip system needs a head assembly – they contain some of the most important parts such as:
Timer: Though optional, there is no way to automate the system without one and an automated drip irrigation system is very efficient.
Backflow Preventer: This part protects the potable water supply from potential backflow from the irrigation system. Water from the irrigation system can be tainted by animal waste, soil bacteria, fungus and fertilizers.
Filter: Filters protect the irrigation system from debris. Debris can cause clogging, and a filter is recommended even on city water.
Pressure Regulator: A pressure regulator helps with uniform water distribution by maintaining an even, pre-set PSI downstream of the regulator when the system is running.
Hose x Tubing Adapter: This is the adapter that connects your mainline tubing to the rest of the head assembly.
With just a part or two, almost no hose bib is too close to the ground for a drip irrigation head assembly. If you’ve delayed buying your drip system for fear of not being able to get it connected, the information and parts below will ensure you can get everything connected with little hassle. All of the parts in this article are available at dripdepot.com.
We took some measuring tape to the two head assemblies we see most frequently, the inline filter head assembly and the canister filter head assembly. As you can see below, these would be much too long to fit on a hose bib that’s close to the ground, even if the hose bib was at a 30° to 45° angle.
So, what do you do in situations like this? Below are several solutions that will enable you to connect a drip system (or garden hose, garden accessory, almost anything needed) to a hose bib that’s very low to the ground. Even if one solution isn’t enough, by combining them almost anything can be accommodated.
Tee Filter
The first option, and one that we see most often used, is to simply use a Tee Filter instead of an inline or canister filter. The Tee filter’s shape allows the head assembly to essentially change direction so that it’s not as vertical.
In the photo below, you’ll notice that after the filter the rest of the assembly is more horizontal than vertical. The additional space created by this allows even a timer to be used on this low to the ground hose bib.
Some hose bibs are so low that even the Tee filter isn’t enough to create the necessary space – the hose bib in the image below is one such hose bib:
On a hose bib that low to the ground, a head assembly, let alone one with a timer, would appear to be almost impossible. Fortunately, all it takes is a gooseneck adapter to allow the assembly to be built horizontally as seen below.
In the image above, notice that we have the gooseneck at a slight angle. It is that flexibility that allows it to turn almost perfectly horizontal. If our hose bib was at a steeper angle, we could angle the gooseneck a little more to compensate.
Hose x Tubing Elbow Adapter
The Hose x Tubing Elbow Adapter is often used in conjunction with other parts to install head assemblies at low to the ground hose bibs. It’s also great for head assemblies that, though they have enough space, end very close to the ground, as the elbow adapter can turn your mainline tubing immediately horizontal. This can prevent kinking in the tubing.
Faucet L Adapter
When a gooseneck adapter won’t do, the Faucet L is there. The Faucet L Adapter can turn your head assembly a full 90°. We see this one used with hose bibs that are basically at ground level or only an inch or two above. The ability to immediately turn things horizontally is invaluable with hose bibs that close to the ground, even if it’s just to use a garden hose.
No matter how low to the ground your hose bib is, and no matter what angle it points at, one of these parts or a combination of these parts can make it usable for a drip irrigation head assembly, garden hose or your favorite garden accessories.
If you’d like to see the parts above in action, we created a video for low to the ground hose bibs that illustrates each one: