Button drippers
Button drippers are irrigation tools that are used to supply water to plants at very low rates. Generally, they are drip emitters that ensure water is efficiently supplied to the plants below their canopies (below the stem).
Button drippers come in various color codes .i.e. black, green, blue, red and green colors. Even though they come in these color codes, their efficiencies are not affected. Colors do not affect the functionality but they are just for identification.
As the recent tools venturing into drip irrigation systems, button drippers are capable of emitting water from the main pipes at different rates of 1 liter per hour to over 60 liters per hour.
Because of this ability to emit water at different rates, they are highly employed in farming of crops like passion fruits , oranges, mangoes, tomato trees, and avocados, lawn irrigation, tree nurseries’ banana trees and more other sectors.
Button dripper’s specification is very important for an irrigation engineer since it helps to estimate water requirements for the entire season for the growth of crops This estimate also helps in sourcing in water in case of shortages
Button dripper is made of plastic, polyethylene, and is sold in packets or pieces. The wall thickness typically ranges from 1 mm–1.3 mm.
Thicker walled drippers are commonly used for permanent subsurface drip irrigation and thinner walled tapes for temporary type systems in high-value crops
Button dripper is well designed to discharge one litter of water per hour over 60 liters of water per hour. This discharge ensures water is efficiently and economically used.
The economical water budget is the major determinant of the production cost. This dictates the type of crop to be grown.
Button drippers
However, Broad leaved plants require much water as compared to small leaved plants. This will affect the button dripper water discharge capacity to be used
Types of button drippers
- Adjustable button drippers – these drippers have threads on the crown where the lid with emitters is slide onto. The threads are made in such a way that at every thread, water is emitted at different flow rates according to water plant requirements.
- Non- adjustable button drippers. In this type of dripper, water is emitted at the designed rate by the manufacturer. The crown does not have the threads thus it does not have a lid however, this type of drippers provide water equally and uniformly to plants.
How button dripper works
Button dripper uses the swirling -flow-path design producing a turbulent flow that ensures good watering abilities thus preventing the known problems of clogging.
They are Available in flow rates of 0.7 liters per to over 60 liters per hour. The operating pressure range of 15 to 25 PSI (and the higher pressure the higher the flow rate)
When buying the button drip emitters, you can find them in packets of 5, 25, 50 and 100, each with a either 16mm or 12 mm adapter and small nipple outlet.
Areas of applications of button drippers
- an individual plant(passion fruits , oranges, mangoes, tomato trees, and avocados, lawn irrigation, tree nurseries’ banana trees)
- planter boxes,
- large pots
- ground covers
Advantages of button drippers
- Extensive land leveling is not required, drip irrigation can be employed in all landscapes;
- Irrigation water can be used at a maximum efficiency level and water losses can be reduced to a minimum;
- Soil conditions can be taken into account to a maximum extent and soil erosion risk due to irrigation water impact can be reduced to a minimum;
- Fertilizer and nutrients can be used with high efficiency; as water is applied locally and leaching is reduced, fertilizer/nutrient loss is minimized (reduced risk of groundwater contamination);
- Weed growth is reduced as water and nutrients are supplied only to the cultivated plant;
- Positive impact on seed germination and yield development;
- Low operational costs due to reduced labor requirement, in particular energy cost can be reduced as drip irrigation is operated with lower pressure than other irrigation methods
- Turbulent flow through the dripper reduces likelihood of clogging
- Uniform flow rate
- Raised barbed outlet prevents water runoff along the drip lateral
- Resistant to chemicals and fertilizers used in landscape applications
- Constructed of UV-resistant, durable plastic material to withstand the most adverse conditions
Specifications
- Flow rates of 0.7 liters per and over 60 liters per hour
- The operating pressure range of 15 to 25 PSI
- Button drippers come in various color codes .i.e. black, green, blue, red and green colors
- Outlet is compatible with our multi-outlet dripper manifolds
- Highly resistant to fertilizers and common chemicals used in agriculture