Welcome To
Netafim USA:
Thank you for visiting Netafim USA Landscape & Turf web page.
Netafim USA is home to the most innovative
low volume irrigation products in the world.
Netafim USA opened the first commercial drip factory in the world over 40
years ago in Israel.
Today, Netafim is among the largest irrigation companies in the world,
with factories and offices in every major country.
While Netafim USA's key focus has been the development of low volume irrigation
products for the agricultural market, you are visiting the web page of the
Landscape & Turf Division of Netafim USA. Other Divisions include Wastewater,
Greenhouse & Nursery, Agriculture and Mining.
We in the Landscape & Turf market are devoted to residential, commercial
and municipal landscape beautification.
What Is Low Volume
Irrigation?
Low volume, drip, or dripperline irrigation is the application of water
directly next to the plant, either with the water being applied on the surface
near the plant, or in the ground, being delivered directly to the root zone.
Is This A New
Technology?
No! When Netafim opened its first plant in the mid-1960's, there were already a number of
people working on this technology. However, Netafim created commercial viability
for drip and low volume irrigation products by developing and mass manufacturing
products for sale.
This spawned an industry that today is recognized as the most efficient
way to water.
What Makes Netafim USA Drip Irrigation Products So Good?
Netafim USA products offer a wide variety of advantages to the homeowner, including
saving from 30% - 70% of the water they would use with overhead sprays,
oscillating sprinklers or rotors, as well as growing much healthier plants.
In fact, plants that are drip irrigated often grow to maturity as much as
50% - 70% faster, do so with less disease, and even reducing weeds in the
garden.
What Types Of Low
Volume Products Are There?
Netafim USA offers two primary products
- drip and dripperline.
Drip - Drip emitters, sometimes called "point source"
products are well known by many people.
A dripper is inserted into a pipe or hose, and water is delivered to a
specific point. Hence the name "point source". Only those areas that you
want to have water get it, while nearby areas stay dry.
In our site you will see a
variety of point source drippers. There are two families of them, Pressure Compensating Point Source Drippers and Non-Pressure Compensating Point Source Drippers.
Dripperline- Dripperline is tubing that has drippers already
installed inside the tubing on 12", 18" or 24" centers. This form of low volume irrigation is very popular because it wets the entire garden area, whereas
Point Source drippers only irrigate a certain area.
Dripperline is typically used where overhead spray sprinklers, rotary
sprinklers or impact sprinklers would have been used. In fact, the concept of both overhead watering a dripperline irrigation is to create an even wetted pattern throughout the area being irrigated. the problem is that the vagaries of overhead watering preclude that from happening.
Aren't there other types of products? - Some
companies also market specialty heads called "spinners" or mini-sprinklers
to homeowners and commercial property managers. We do not.
Though Netafim USA does sell these types of products in other Divisions, they
are very sensitive to alignment, height and position, and are most often
found in areas like fruit orchards, not homeowner or commercial properties.
Where Should I
Use The Different Types Of Drip?
Point
Source Drippers:
- Wide spaced plants
- Container planting
- Hanging baskets
- Any area where water is desired
in one place, but not an adjoining area
Dripperline:
- Where an entire area needs to be watered, such as gardens, turfgrass,
vandal-prone areas, narrow strips, odd-shaped areas, slopes, windy areas,
retaining walls, trees and shrubs.
Where Can I Use
It Around My House?
The most popular place for drip and
dripperline irrigation is gardens. It's here that most homeowners spend
a lot of time and money, and it's the place that really makes the home more
attractive.
Hanging baskets, raised planters, and
vegetable gardens are other places that need water, and which can be very
easily irrigated with Netafim USA products.
While people readily admit that they can see the benefits of using drip and
dripperline irrigation in gardens, they are surprised to find that dripperline
irrigation can also be used in turfgrass. In fact, Netafim USA has been irrigating
turf areas since the mid-1980's with great success.
Can I Add Low Volume to my Existing Irrigation
System or Change a Zone of Sprinklers to Low Volume?
Yes to both questions!
Adding low volume irrigation to an existing irrigation system
is as easy as adding another valve, assuming you have an unused station
on your controller. If you do not have an extra station on your controller,
you can hook the new zone directly to a hose bib, or use a product like
AquaPro Controller (information on the AquaPro is available in the Online Library).
Because many irrigation systems only irrigate turf areas,
add-on work is frequently done to include gardens.
It entails doing some plumbing work where your valves are
located, (typically in the yard enclosed in a valve box) so that a new valve
can be installed into your water supply.
From there, products like Techline® CV and Techline® are laid out throughout
the new area, with the added valve being hooked up to your irrigation controller
(if it is an automatic system).
To change out a zone of sprinklers to low volume, the process
is even easier. Sprinklers in most residential irrigation systems either
have a ½" or ¾" female pipe thread base. Simply
unscrew the sprinklers from the line and cap off all but one. The one you
leave uncapped will be the beginning point for the dripperline (Techline)
that you will be adding.
We recommend that a Techline zone begin with a filter and
pressure regulator to ensure the water is free of debris and set to a pressure
of 45 psi or less.
Either install the filter and pressure regulator into the
open spot where you removed the sprinkler, or place the filter and pressure
regulator just downstream of the remote control valve that controls this
zone. (Most electric valves are ganged together in a valve box as noted
above).
Now all you need to do is weave the Techline back and forth
throughout the area you are converting. The easiest way to do this is with
our "Lite" layout method, pictured in Layout
Section of our site. It is called the "Techline single loop design method" and requires only two fittings. If you are laying
the Techline on the surface or under mulch, this is the quick and easy way
to do it.
That's it! Fast and easy, and you now have a more efficient,
more effective way to irrigate your expensive garden areas.
Does Drip Irrigation
Really Save Water?
You bet! In North America, there are often 30% - 70% savings in water alone.
Seems hard to believe doesn't it? But think about it.
Sprinklers throw water everywhere. In the street, on the sidewalk, on
the house, in the neighbor's yard, on the fence, into trees and bushes,
and into the air where the wind evaporates what it doesn't dislocate. Hopefully
some of it gets to the root zone where the plant needs it, but often not
enough. In fact, other than the fresh look of a wet lawn, the water you
are seeing on the surface will be this afternoon's clouds…it will
never get to the roots of the plants.
Because of wind, evaporation, (humidity) run-off, sprinklers that are
out of adjustment, crooked, or buried too low, or when the irrigation system
is operated during the day, many "overhead" irrigation systems
are lucky to be about 50% efficient. (Said another way…many overhead
systems use twice as much water as they should to get the job done).
Compare that to a Netafim USA system where water is applied slowly and efficiently
into the soil, right where the plants need it. That means your plants get
the water they are meant to have, stimulating their growth, reducing the
disease so frequently found with wetted foliage and saving as much as half
of the water of an overhead irrigation system.
What Other Products
Does Netafim USA Sell?
Netafim USA offers a broad variety of products in its mission to save water
and grow healthier plants and crops.
Among them, the Netafim USA AquaPro Controller. AquaPro is a single station
valve and controller combination. It can be installed in a valve box, on
a post…anywhere you wish. Because it is both a controller and valve
already wired, you simply add a 9-Volt alkaline battery and you have a professional
grade automatic zone.
Can I Install Netafim USA Products Myself?
You bet! Netafim USA drip and dripperline products are easy to install. You
only need a few tools and the different parts go together very easy, often
hooking right up to a hose bib for the simplest of connections.
That said, the best way to ensure that you are getting a properly designed
and installed system is to rely on a professional irrigation contractor.
You can find them in the Yellow Pages under "Sprinklers, Garden and
Lawn".
Another great way to get a system designed is by using a licensed Landscape
Architect or Irrigation Design Consultant. There are probably many of them
listed in the Yellow Pages.
How Do I Buy Netafim USA
Products?
There are really two questions here. They include whether you want to tackle
the job on your own or if you want to use a professional irrigation contractor.
If you want to use a professional irrigation contractor, the best place
to start is the Yellow Pages under, "Sprinklers - Garden & Lawn".
There you will find the names of irrigation contractors in your area.
Another way to find contractors in your area is to call a local irrigation
supply house where contractors buy their products. They are often happy
to refer folks to a couple of the local contractors they work with.
If you want to tackle the job yourself, then you are a D-I-Y'er, or Do-It-Yourselfer.
In that case, you will have to buy your products through a professional
irrigation supply house. Netafim USA Landscape and Turf products are not sold
through home centers and hardware stores.
While the actual installation is relatively easy, you will need to sit
down and review the materials you will find here on our site to determine
what materials you will need. Everything we currently have in print and
on video is available to download in our Online Library section.
Please keep in mind that you are working with products designed for the
professional side of the landscape and irrigation business. While we have
made our literature as easy-to-understand as possible for the homeowner,
we tailor our business to the professionals who do this type of work regularly.
If you go to our Where to Buy page you
can find the nearest Netafim USA Distributor by simply typing in your Zip Code
or Canadian province and we will show you the nearest locations.
We encourage you to call our Distributors on the phone first because many supply houses
only sell to irrigation and landscape professionals. If that is the case,
drop us an e-mail. We can often help homeowners find a company that will
ship the products.
Where Can I Use
Netafim Products on My
Landscape?
Wherever you want! Netafim dripperline and point source drippers are very well suited to
work wherever you could use a spray, rotary, or impact sprinkler. That includes turfgrass,
gardens, large potted plants and trees, interiorscape plantings and hanging baskets but there
are even more places where it is even a better choice than sprinklers.
Consider the problems of narrow planting areas, slopes, odd-shaped areas, areas where wet
surfaces are unsightly or dangerous, not to mention those hanging baskets and special plants.
We can even help you grow a bumper crop of tomatoes in your vegetable garden!
Does Netafim Really
Save Water?
You bet! Netafim products have been saving water around the world for over 40 years.
You’ll find us helping grow agricultural products, nursery and greenhouse products, as well
as beautifying landscapes. We typically do it with half or less of the water compared to an
overhead irrigation system, making us a great choice for people who want maximum plant
health, growth and water conservation.
What About
Watering Bans?
All of us have heard or lived through outdoor watering restrictions or bans during droughts.
And we will certainly see more restrictions as water districts grapple with strains being placed
on the public water supply.
Netafim products actually support sensible water use by using virtually every drop of water.
That typically translates into Netafim products receiving an exemption when other forms of
outdoor watering are being restricted or banned (check with your water management district
for more information). That means you don't have to worry about losing your expensive
landscaping when it is hot and dry, all while knowing that you are doing your part to help
conserve water.
How Do I Get Netafim
Products Incorporated Into a
New Irrigation System?
Talk with your Irrigation Contractor, Landscape Architect, or irrigation consultant about what
you are looking for in your system. Explain that you want your landscape to grow to maturity
as quickly as possible and that you want to save water. Tell them you want the benefits of
Netafim products, and you can be assured that Netafim will help you see your landscape
vision come true.
Can I Add Netafim Products
Into My Existing System?
Yes! The dripperline can simply be laid on the surface, stapled down to hold it in place and
then covered with mulch. It's fast, easy, and the plants and your water district will thank you.
Can I Use Well or Lake Water
with My Netafim System?
Yes. Netafim products are designed to be used with public water, well water and even lake
water. A filter is installed with the system to make sure debris is minimized.
About Netafim USA 
Homeowner FAQ 