Eden Condominiums
Pensacola, Florida

In 1997, irrigation designer and installer Bob Riker faced a tall order: specify a low-volume system with no exposed parts, no overspray, and one that would be easy to install and maintain. He needed to effectively irrigate planter boxes spanning 17 floors of condominiums. Riker’s search for the perfect product brought him to Rain Bird’s new Landscape Dripline. He soon discovered why Rain Bird calls it the next generation of inline emitter tubing.

Upscale Condos Call for Innovative Irrigation

Eden Condominiums rise stylishly above the sugar-white beaches and emerald-green waters of Perdido Key, the westernmost island of the Florida Keys. Completed in 1997, Eden’s 17-story building is distinctive for its pyramid-like architecture. Each floor is a tier which diminishes in size in a stair-step pattern to the top.

Spanning the length of each of the building’s floors on all sides are one-foot-wide planter boxes. These boxes, planted with Arabian Jasmine, meet at 10-foot-wide planters near the patios of each unit. These larger planters, which also needed an irrigation system, allow occupants to create their own gardens.

To design an irrigation system for the planters, Eden hired Riker, owner of Riker Irrigation, Inc., of Pensacola, Florida. Riker initially installed a traditional single-outlet drip system. But, because emitters and spaghetti tubing were highly visible and easy to remove, the system was soon vandalized. To replace it, Riker installed leaky pipe, but inconsistent water application resulted in dry spots in some areas and puddling in others.

Riker’s irrigation supplier, Stovall Turf and Industrial in Pensacola, Florida, recommended he take a look at Rain Bird’s new product called Landscape Dripline.

Riker became intrigued by Rain Bird’s claims that the inline emitter tubing would deliver even water application throughout the lateral run, and that the preinstalled emitters would deter vandalism.

Uniform Application, Easy Installation and Much More

Riker tested 500 feet of Landscape Dripline and found that its built-in, pressure- compensating emitters did indeed ensure even water distribution throughout the entire length of tubing runs. "The same amount of water is applied from the first emitter on the line to the last," he said. "This is important because of the long runs of tubing (almost 400 feet) that would be required at Eden. We even tested Landscape Dripline at 90 psi, which is much higher than recommended, and the same amount of water came out of each emitter."

Furthermore, Landscape Dripline’s pressure compensation is accomplished without sacrificing clog resistance. The patented design of the ADI emitters, short for Advanced Drip Inline, is the key. Under this design, each pressure-compensating emitter works by lengthening its effective, turbulent flow path instead of reducing the size of its flow path. This makes it much less susceptible to clogging.

Riker also found Landscape Dripline easy to install and maintain "Unlike most inline tubing, you don’t have to install air-relief and flushing valves with Landscape Dripline," said Riker. "You just lay the tubing on the ground and cover it with mulch. And, when the system starts up, you can hear the spits of air from the dual outlet ports allowing air out of the line."

Landscape Dripline has a choice of flow rates (0.61, 0.92 GPH) and emitter spacings (12", 18" 24") for different soil types. It comes in 100- and 500-foot lengths. Riker used 0.61 GPH and 12-inch spacings.

After a successful test period, Riker specified 15,000 feet of Landscape Dripline throughout Eden Condominiums. This was the product’s first installation in the country. "Landscape Dripline did the job," he said. "I’ll use it again."