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Leeaky Hose has been designed to water or irrigate in the most efficient and beneficial manner yet known. I.e. to deliver water sub-soil direct to plant root zones. Apart from the important water savings, this form of delivery achieves healthier, hardier and more productive plants.

The Capillary Action of Soil. This principle of soil mechanics has been documented since the mid-18th Century. While soil mechanics can be quite intricate, the basic principle is that soils has the ability to draw water through itself by capillary action. The distance the water will travel from the source varies according to particle size. The larger the particle (e.g. sand) the shorter distance the soil can maintain mechanical tension. The smaller the particle (e.g. clay) the further distance mechanical tension is maintained - both horizontally and vertically.

Microporous Delivery Systems. Since the turn of the century various delivery systems have been developed and patented. Some of the most interesting were ones made from ceramics and another from canvas. Another one using rubber was patented nearly 30 years ago. As each of them had disadvantages of restrictions, none of them took the world by storm. All relied on water pressure, and only the canvas one was able to be used in larger-scale agriculture.

Pressure & Volume. The higher the pressure through a given pipe diameter, the greater the turbulence (sometimes described as head loss), and the less distance the water will travel. The canvas hose overcame this by being tapered from 3” to ˝”, but had problems in installation and tended to collapse once buried. And all hoses relying on pressure showed a tendency to become less efficient over time due to blocking from impurities. So the fact came to light that microporous walls carrying water at pressure are highly vulnerable to blocking by water impurities - so that despite intensive filtering of the water, they block up over time.

The Leeaky Hose Breakthrough. The dry Australian continent, with its range of water sources from the totally pure, to turbid clay dams and iron bearing artesian water provided the challenge for a water efficient delivery system which overcame the stumbling blocks that had inhibited the acceptance of earlier microporous systems.

The goal was a microporous delivery system that could be used :

• below ground for distances of at least 100 metres (110 yards),
• was flexible and easy to install, and
• was not susceptible to blocking by undissolved particles in the water

The key proved to be the development of a NO Pressure system that was not inhibited by turbulence, and did not drive solids into the pores.

How Leeaky Hose Works.

Leeaky Hose is designed so that water can work through its walls, but has no physical holes that would allow roots to enter. The porosity is controlled so that the water can ‘sweat’ through the walls at a controlled rate over long distances at low water pressure.

At pressures of 4psi (25kpa) or below, the hose will deliver moisture to the surrounding soil through capillary action. This ensures that the system will deliver proper irrigation to plants even in extremely low-pressure water reticulation areas, or from relatively low header tanks.

When Leeaky Hose is turned off, the residual water is gradually taken up by the surrounding soil, so it is not attractive to plant roots or pests such as termites. The lack of physical holes also keeps the hose free of insect infestation.