Reply To: Netafim Techline vs. Rainbird XFS

I’m not sure there is much of a difference between the two.  And IIRC, RB marketed Netafim for a while way back and then Netafim managed to establish a niche market in the US.  Both use a variety of barbed fittings to make the network in any layout imaginable.  

Netafim I installed in middle 90s is still in use at many clients houses.  One has 17yo netafim in his veg garden and it gets moved around every year.  It’s tough if you take care of it.   Many times the selling point was stopping the damaging overspray on house walls.

I have a contractor that installs it regularly, preferring it in plant beds over sprinklers because of shadow problems.  He typically buries it an inch below the soil surface even if using a mulch cover.

The biggest problem is not accounting for low spots or sloped terrain by either the designer or the contractor.  Just like every other irrigation system, when the valve is off, it will drain at the low point(s).  I’ve used low psi check-valves both inline and to make smaller layouts in a single bed to reduce the draining at one location.

Spec the tube on center spacing and stagger the outlets when installing.  

What is also nice is being able to add the 1/4″ inline drip tube at any location for things like pots or the one plant that might have higher water needs than surrounding plants.  Both drip tubes are compatible and the only issue is accounting for the difference in gph.

Also, consider who the end user is.  Clients and maintenance needs to know it exists, and to scrape the area back a bit if they go to plant something.  The stuff is easily cut by a sharp shovel or pick.  Make sure they have a few straight couplings on hand to make repairs.