Question

Zone tube   Hi Jim,

With reference to the attached photo...
I have this flower bed that I am converting into a lawn. A narrow black rubberish tube feeds a spray head. This tube runs shallow because there used to be trees here with roots all over, and has been nicked in the past. Fixing the leak here seems to be fairly routine. The irrigation service simply cuts off the damaged portion, pushes through a coupling (male on either side) on either end, and slips on a new portion of the tubing on the couplings. I hope you are able to get a sense of what I am saying, through the picture. The green stripped tube is the new tube.
I want to be able to make this fix myself. Can you tell me what these parts are called? Where may I purchase them? The tube, the coupling. Seems like a pruner or even a scissor might cut through the tube. How does one identify the thickness of the tube -- is it the outside thickness?

Thanks much for your help!

Answer
Hey Vishal, this is called a poly (polyethelene) pipe. Take a piece of it to your local irrigation supply store, and they can match it up for you. The coupling is called an insert coupling and then on the outside of the pipe you would normally use screw clamps. You might be better off running a new pipe, because the roots have probably damaged the pipe, or even pinched the pipe so you are not getting a good flow through it, especially if you want to convert this area to lawn, and maybe add more heads to this pipe. Good luck and have a great day.