How Much Water Does A Garden
Hose Use Per Hour?
Among the most vital chores for a gardener is time-saving and practical watering. Having the correct amount of water for your garden demands the appropriate hose. It is also necessary to understand the water flow rate of a garden hose before purchasing one. This will stop you from buying a soaker hose that is substandard for your conditions.
Knowing The Flow Rate
The flow rate is the amount of water that travels over the garden hose every minute and it’s commonly measured in gallons per minute (GPM). A garden hose will have between a 9-17 GPM water flow rate. The average garden hose, depending on the kind of hose, can be around 12-13 gallons, or 720 to 780 gallons per hour.
Choosing The Right Garden Hose
You’ll often catch gardeners mentioning their favourite hedging plants; however, it’s more infrequent to hear a conversation about garden hoses. A right garden hose is an important instrument for delivering water to bushes, flowers, and vegetables in the residential landscape. It’s difficult to choose the most suitable garden hose for your necessities without knowledge of how much water every type distributes to your garden and lawn.
An excellent garden hose should always be kink-free. It also must have certain features that you can try to find when you look for hoses.
- The hose must be manufactured from a durable, flexible material, like vinyl or rubber.
- Choose a hose with more plies or layers. A hose with more layers is longer-lasting.
- A hose’s length should be considered depending on the length of your garden. Also, the diameter of the tube must take into account when buying a good garden hose. A wider tubing provides for a stronger rush of water with less pressure loss.
Factors Affecting Water Usage of A Garden Hose
Water usage of a garden hose depends on many things: the length of the hose, the diameter of the hose, water pressure, and if the hose is flowing on an even, level ground. Water consumption also hinges on the coupling you have at the end of the hose since these can reduce water usage.
Hose Sizing
Garden hoses come in three different diameters, measured in 1/2 inch, 5/8 inch, and 3/4 inch. The width of the hose has a direct connection to the water flow rate. As the hose’s diameter gets bigger, the water flow rate increases.
Homeowners can count on estimates even with the absence of computing the hose length. If you have a hose without attachments (i.e end cap), a larger hose (3/4-inch hose) will use 23 gallons per, a medium-sized hose (5/8-inch garden hose) will use 17 gallons per minute, and a smaller diameter hose (1/2-inch garden hose) will use 9 gallons of water per minute.
Garden Hose Length
Garden hoses come in 25, 50, 75 and 100-foot lengths. The length of the garden hose you pick will vary on the area of your garden. The shorter the hose, the higher the flow rate your hose will have.
A 100-foot hose with a 1/2-inch diameter that is connected to a valve that delivers water at 40 pounds per square inch (PSI) will only accumulate 6 GPM. On the other hand, a 25-foot with the same width attached and PSI will have a flow rate of 24.
It is always preferable to own the shortest hose attainable if you are looking for a higher flow rate. It’s a great approach to determine the distance between your garden and the faucet before buying a garden hose.
Water Pressure Loss
When you own a soaker hose, you must have a PSI of approximately 10. PSI is the measure of water pressure. The water pressure is responsible for the intensity of the water to be released. A low PSI will spit out less water, while a high PSI will release more.
In a general sense, low PSI is advisable when using a soaker hose regardless of the length of the hose. This is particularly valid when watering young, delicate plants. It’s sounder to water longer at a low PSI instead of risk damaging your soaker hose. What’s more, watering plants by
giving over the top water in one go is not a nice gardening habit.
Furthermore, the amount of water a hose uses depends on the pressure loss on the hose or the resistance. A hose running on level ground will have a lesser pressure loss, compared to the one passing through sloping ground since the friction and gravity will not affect the flow of the
water, which indicates that water will move faster than uphill.
One of the ideal practices is to utilize a hose with the largest diameter, which will reduce the pressure loss of the friction of water opposing the hose interior so that the pressure loss is simply because of gravity.
Sprinkler System
Leaving a standard sprinkler hose open for one hour uses roughly 1,020 gallons of water if you use it thrice every week, which is approximately 12,240 gallons per month. You will add nearly 36,000 gallons of water to your water consumption when you use the sprinkler three times weekly throughout a 90-day billing.
Drip Irrigation System
Hoses with no limiting attachment will use more water than hoses with drip irrigation tubing connected to them. Drip tubing is holed for continuous irrigation. For this reason, it can solely be perforated where water is highly necessary.
A garden hose must flow to the plant bed, where the drip tubing can be connected to the end of the hose and set encompassing the plants that will necessitate irrigation. Unlike standard garden hoses which are measured in gallons per minute, drip line water usage is calculated in gallons per hour. Dripline water usage often runs between 1 and 4 gallons per hour, depending on the hose length and water pressure.
Does Knowing Garden Hose Flow Rate Important?
When using a hose, having an idea of the amount of water is released is crucial. It can be quite stressful when you use a hose and it doesn’t deliver enough water or perhaps, an excessive amount of water. Too much water will only result in drowning and may damage your plants, whereas too little will make your chore a lot longer than it has to be.
When you’re aware of how much water you need to use, you can figure out the right amount of time to have your hose running. And, this will prevent you from using insufficient water or wasting water.
Being knowledgeable about the flow rate in advance will help you hand-pick the right type of hose for your plants. You can also determine whether you require a hose with a low flow rate that supplies water at a slower pace yet lighter or with a higher, heavier flow rate that rapidly
supplies more water.
How To Determine The Flow Rate
Because of the factors stated above, it’s always tough to know the flow rate from your garden hose with perfect accuracy.
To determine your rate, you can use a container or pail, and a timer. Turn on the faucet and position the hose’s end in the pail. Monitor the amount of time it consumes for the container to fill up. If it consumes 10 minutes to fill the pail with 10 gallons of water, then you understand that the flow rate is 60 gallons of water per hour.
Below is a table with some of the most standard hose diameters and sizes (with 40 PSI), according to Irrigation in the Pacific Northwest.
Garden Hose Diameter | Length of the Hose | Flow Rate (GPM) |
3/4 inches | 25ft | 36.2 |
5/8 inches | 25ft | 22.4 |
1/2 inches | 25ft | 12.5 |
3/4 inches | 50ft | 24.9 |
5/8 inches | 50ft | 15.4 |
1/2 inches | 50ft | 8.6 |
3/4 inches | 100ft | 17.1 |
5/8 inches | 100ft | 10.6 |
1/2 inches | 100ft | 5.9 |
It’s vital to note that every garden has distinct and unique watering requirements. Taking into account the cost and reducing the hose diameter or length of the hose for the highest flow rate may not produce the preferred watering experience at the end of the day.
Tips To Conserve Water
Using a soaker hose is a very efficient way when watering your plants; that’s why it’s popular for most property and garden owners. If you want a means to deliver water to your lawn that is of help and convenient without using too much water, then soaker hoses are the best choice compared to sprinkler hoses and conventional hoses. Because the hoses are made to wet the ground proficiently and run at low pressure, they are considered the most water-efficient and cost-efficient alternatives purchasable. These are particularly in-demand in desert zones and places susceptible to drought.
Here are some tips for conserving water with a soaker hose:
- Â A soaker hose will function more effectively on an even surface than on uphill or ground with slopes. See to it that the land is flat when using this type of hose.
- Opting for the correct length of the soaker hose will stop water circulation and leakage from surplus size. Therefore, next time you buy a soaker hose with a length and diameter that is suitable for your garden size.
- When purchasing a soaker hose, ensure to obtain one that has a timer, pressure regulator, and backflow preventer. Affixing a water timer to your hose will guarantee that your garden receives sufficient water without waste.
- You can also conserve water by connecting your garden hose to a rainwater barrel and using rainwater to drench your plants as an alternative to your faucet.
Gardening becomes a lot more enjoyable when you discuss matters such as the flow rate of your garden house or how much water does your garden hose uses per usage. The right flow rate will enable you to water your plants with less time and trouble. Knowing the correct flow rate will set you on the route to becoming a skilled gardener.
