How To Build Garden Hose Piping

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Use brass couplings for vinyl hose bodies for best results; switch to compression fittings instead of clinchers when using a plastic hose body.

Caring for a garden requires regular watering, according to each individual plant's needs. The easiest way to provide this water is through the use of a garden hose. For smaller gardens, a hose purchased at retail can usually provide the water pressure and hose length you need, but for larger gardens, or when the garden rests on an incline, your water requirements may require something customized to your specific needs. Building your own garden hose allows you to specify not only the length of the hose, but the diameter of the hose as well, allowing you the amount of water flow you need to deal with long hose lengths or having to pump water uphill.

Purchase a hose tubing that's long enough to cut to your desired length. Choose an inside diameter for the hose that matches your gardening needs. Pick a hose with a 1/2-inch diameter for light gardening use, or choose a 5/8-inch diameter hose for larger gardens. Purchase a hose with a 3/4-inch diameter when you require high-pressure use or when you're operating with a hose uphill where a drop in water pressure would make smaller hoses inefficient.

Measure the length of hose you require and then cut the hose to length with a utility knife. Keep the cut straight around the circumference of the hose to avoid leakage when you connect the hose couplings to the ends.

Wash the ends of the hose with hot soapy water to soften the openings for easier installation of the hose couplings. Use the soap to lubricate the coupling inset as well.

Push the coupling insets into the ends of the hoses, using a male coupling for one end and a female for the other. Push the couplings until the hose end fully engulfs the inset and the opening of the hose is against the coupling base.

Place the coupling onto a sturdy surface. Use a hammer to knock the clincher fingers around the base of the coupling over the hose until they grip the hose between the clincher fingers and the inset inside the hose body. This will keep the coupling in place on the ends of the hose. Test the fit of both couplings on each end of the hose by pulling them and seeing if they disengage from the hose end. If there's any slippage, then press the coupling back fully onto the hose end and hammer the clincher fingers more tightly around the hose body.

Connect the newly built hose to a water source using the coupling on the end. Turn on the water source and look for any leakage from the fitted couplings. Make sure the couplings are completely on the end of the hose if leakage occurs; if not, press the couplings on tighter and then tighten the clincher fingers in place.