2023’s Top 10 Best Drip Irrigation Systems To Buy (Buyer’s Guide)

The importance of drip irrigation goes beyond just your garden or orchard. While there are so many ways to water your garden, drip irrigation is one of the most cost effective, efficient, and environmentally friendly way to do it.

It applies water to plants in a slow and predictable way to ensure the most efficient use of your water. Also, it saves the water from being wasted as it sends the proper amount of water to the roots without wasting drops.

Setting up a drip irrigation system can be very easy if you choose the right drip irrigation system. There are a lot of different systems on the market, so we have reviewed many of them to pick the 10 best ones that are worth looking at.

Also, later on in the article we have a number of tips and tricks on how to choose the best drip irrigation system as well as how to take care of them.

So, let’s get started!

10 Best Drip Irrigation Systems Review

1. Drip Irrigation Kit Gardening Deluxe Size 

This drip irrigation comes from Drip Depot. It’s a very simple, but effective system. It doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles of some of the more fancy systems. However, it does its job perfectly.

It comes in 10 pieces and all of which are very easy to assemble and use. If you’re someone who needs a lot of efficiency in a short time, it’s all you need to spend some money on. This Drip Depot kit is perfect if you have a container garden. This kit is good to water up to 80 plants.

Features

• Facilities: Comes in a box of 10 products that provides a lot of variety as well as sufficient products for a complete system without spending for more.
• Versatility: As the product range is huge it can be used in a lot of places. Examples can be container gardens, decks, patios etc.
• Low maintenance: doesn’t have too many parts, thus maintenance is easy and less monotonous
• Water economy: saves water from being wasted by its parts.
• Durability: very sturdy, thus durable for a long time. Also features a warranty.

Pros

• Can be used in gardens and orchards of different kinds.
• Can work in low maintenance
• Affordable and efficient
• Durable for a long time

Cons

• Attachments are very basic, so might not be very useful if you prefer products tweaked to do special tasks

2. Orbit 56318 Hanging Basket Flex-Mist Kit 

This is another great drip irrigation kit brought to you by Orbit. It is very affordable but also has a surprising amount of features. Once you get this set up you won’t have to worry about watering your garden for a long time. It comes with a timer that is super easy to set up and use. This is really a set it and forget it kit!

Features

• Facilities: has 7 distinctive parts in the set which provides everything you’d need in a drip irrigation system
• Hanging Basket: Dedicated lines in the water baskets to ensure that water remains hanging for watering to save you from the hassle of watering by hand. You can set up to 6 watering baskets!
• Timers: Single post hose end timers and a lot of other programming tools to make your watering process easier.
• Water economy: flexible memory tube to ensure precise water placement, reducing wastage.

Pros

• Very intuitive, can function on its own saving the user from a lot of hassle
• Product is a complete package, doesn’t require too much tinkering
• Saves and stores water

Cons

• Hard to attach and keep organized.

3. Rain Bird T70-500S Drip Irrigation 

Rain bird is one of the biggest names when it comes to irrigation products and rightfully so. Founded in 1933, they’ve been in the market for over 80 years and they’ve been successful ever since. With over 45 patents to their name, their products are one of a kind. And their expertise in the drip irrigation products department shows their quality.

For your drip irrigation system to run properly and functionally, you’d need a lot of tubes of pipes necessary to carry water. While there are so many tubing available around, nothing comes as close as the Rain Bird T70-500S Drip Irrigation.

It’s one of the best in the business, without any sort of doubt. Also, if you want to have a sustainable system for yourself, Rain Bird has all the necessary products available for you.

Features

• Flexibility: Rugged, flexible tubing which can be moved around the garden easily and can be rolled around to make sure your entire area is covered.
• Maintenance: made out of professional grade products to ensure product quality, doesn’t require much hassle in maintenance as a result.
• Ease of use: special sized head can fit into most faucets, garden sprinklers etc. Thus saving you from the hassle of paying too much for extra parts
• Resistance: the material makes it resistant to chemicals, germs and UV germs to ensure a safe flow of water.

Pros

• Long enough to fit into an array of garden designs
• Easy to assemble and attach
• Resistant to germs and bacteria
• Easy to maintain
• Flexible and easy installation

Cons

• Requires an unreeling station (sold separately) to keep it kink free for a long time of use
• Might be too large for small gardens

4. Flantor Garden Irrigation System

What Flantor garden presents is their amazing Garden Irrigation System, something that fits into most garden types, and it does its job. A decently sized, comprehensive kit that does its job absolutely right. It has almost all the features that are available in order to get your irrigation running. It’s very easy to run, and if you’re looking for the best drip irrigation option at a cheap price, it’s all you’d need.

Features

• Facilities: Product comes in 10 separate parts including tubes, nozzles, casts etc. to fit into most garden designs possible
• Diversity: Can be used in a number of places, from hanging gardens to ground lined orchards, this can be set up anywhere perfectly
• Affordability: not too expensive, so if you’re willing to make a deal that’s not going to spend a lot on your pocket yet do you a great job, it’s all you’d need
• Water economy: Made with the best available products to ensure no water loss.

Pros

• Not too expensive, so easily affordable
• Saves water from wastage
• Doesn’t require too many add-ons to function
• Can be used in any garden types easily

Cons

• The pipes might leak water out.

5. Orbit 69525 Micro Bubbler Complete Drip Irrigation Watering Kit

What makes this particular irrigation kit from Orbit special, is the fact that it looks beyond just providing water. It’s made to protect your delicate plants from damage as well. It’s not very expensive, and very easy to install.

If you’re worried about the running water ruining your smaller, more delicate plants, this is the most perfect choice. Surely it is one of the best drip irrigation systems out there for small delicate plants.

Features

• Easy to install: it comes with an all in one drip system, thus very easy to install if you follow the manual and would only take you 15 minutes
• Water economy: saves up to 70% more water than other conventional drip irrigation systems. Thus, ensuring less hassle when in drought
• Protects plants: Extra micro-bubble head to ensure the plants aren’t directly hit by the running water, thus saving your plants from damage.
• Flexibility: Flexible tubing to ensure that piping can be spread around trees, shrubs, flowerbeds etc. without already damaging them
• Area coverage: covers up to 250 square feet, enough for an average garden

Pros

• Protects plants from water damage
• Covers a sufficiently wide area for most gardens
• Flexible, easy to move around
• Easy to install

Cons

• Installation can be a bit problematic, unless followed wisely

6. Raindrip R560DP Automatic Watering Kit 

Innovative, and amazing. That’s the only way to explain how good these are in all honesty. They are a bit from your average fish drip irrigation system, but my God it does the job right. It’s also much easier to assemble, and doesn’t leave you with a lot of complaints afterward.

Features

• Build quality: Made out of low-density polyethylene and UV protected to prevent any germ infestation and water loss
• Easy to install: 3 very easy steps to install this, then extra pots can be added to it whenever you want to. Very easy to assemble and take care of.
• Ease of use: the kit itself contains everything necessary for a proper system running. Thus very easy to assemble and use.
• Warranty: Comes with a 5 year replacement warranty. Thus, you won’t have to worry about technical errors from the product.
• Dedicated customer support: The customer support is trained on the entire aspect of drip irrigation and is willing to help you in every possible way.

Pros

• Excellent build quality
• Free from germs and toxins
• Easy to use and doesn’t require too many add-ons to work properly
• Comes with a sufficiently long warranty

Cons

• Product might leak after some time
• The tubing might go out of order

7. KORAM IR-D Blank Distribution Tubing Watering Irrigation Drip Kit

KORAM’s expertise lies in garden products. From seed trays to wall liners, it has everything you’d need, and all of their products speak for themselves. They’re the best at what they’re supposed to do.

So when they made their entry into the drip irrigation arena, we couldn’t help but ponder as to how good it might be. It’s very convenient and useful, one of the best drip irrigation system for hanging plants out there.

Here are the features:

Features

• Durability: Custom made nozzle, tee and pipe to ensure a service life of minimum two years.
• Adjustable water flow: Every nozzle can be set individuality, therefore the supply of water for every part of the garden can be chosen separately.
• Water economy: Can save 40% more water because of its nozzles.
• Versatility: Can be used in a number of places, from smaller gardens, orchards, greenhouses etc.
• Ease of use: Simple application process without any plumbing or digging necessary.

Pros

• Very durable, can last for a long time
• Easy to assemble and use
• Can be used in a number of places
• Saves a great amount of water

Cons

• If your water demands are too high, the 1/4″ line might not supply water sufficiently
• Disappointing tubing

8. KORAM Easy Set Irrigation Gardener’s Greenhouse 

KORAM is a company dedicated to making amazing garden products, everything you’d need to take care of a garden, they have it in their repertoire. Thus, their drip irrigation systems are definitely worth a try, their presence in the list definitely say the same.

Presenting another of their best garden irrigation kits, the Easy Set Irrigation Gardener’s Greenhouse. Made with the utmost care and quality control from the company, here are the features this drip irrigation system offers:

Features

• Facilities: Comes in a package of 9 products, so that it can be incorporated into a number of systems necessary
• Versatility: due to the number of products at their disposal, it is ideal for a number of gardening choices. Such as greenhouses, hanging orchards, small orchards etc.
• Water economy: saves around 70% more water than other conventional products, thus saving water and money.
• Adjustability: The speed and power of every nozzle head can be adjusted separately, thus ensuring both water saving as well as protecting your delicate plants from getting damaged by high water speeds.
• Easy to use and attach: Doesn’t take a lot of pain to use. Also, doesn’t require any plumbing and digging so easy to attach as well.

Pros

• Easy to use and attach, doesn’t require extra skills to use.
• Saves water and money
• Easily adjustable power to prevent crop damage.
• Can be used in a number of garden types

Cons

• Requires a good pump to work as it requires an extra pump along with it always.

9. Rain Bird 32ETI In-Ground Automatic Sprinkler System Kit

If you’re looking for a system that’s completely automatic, functional, fast and is conveniently cheaper than any other professional device at the same cost, this is what you’d need.

Another of rain birds creations that’s actually just as good as everything else they make. And in all honesty, it’s better to spend a bit of money for something this good than to spend in something that’s not proven yet.

Features

• Efficiency: High efficiency nozzles with the Rain Curtain Watering technology, to ensure every part of your field is watered. Thus preventing brown spots
• Ease of use: The automatic timer does magic for your field, just set the time and days of the week it’s necessary. The rest will follow through, as a result, saving you from the trouble of physically watering every day. Also, the sprinklers can be moved easily, thus preventing the trouble of attachments.
• Appearance: Sprinklers retract into the ground after use, thus giving an uncluttered look as well as easy to clean the grass.

Pros

• Automatic features to save you from the trouble of watering every day
• Absolutely easy to use
• Provides professional grade settings for the price of a home appliance
• Doesn’t look cluttered

Cons

• Unusable for hanging gardens, greenhouses etc.
• Not expandable

10. Rain Bird GRDNERKIT Drip Irrigation Gardener’s Drip Kit

Rain drop is one of the best solutions at what they do, which is making your gardening faster, smoother and more efficient. Their presence in the list should be enough to explain that, and this drip irrigation kit is nothing different.

It’s everything you’d need to functionally run your garden, while it’s cheaper than most stuff out there.

Here are the features:

Features

• Facilities: provides everything necessary for running a garden drip irrigation system. Doesn’t require anything extra for help
• Easy to install: doesn’t require a lot of effort to install, very easy process. Doesn’t require anything extra such as digging and plumbing to attach
• Water economy: waters directly to the root zone of plants to ensure almost 40% water being saved from wastage
• Versatility: easy to use in hanging orchards, greenhouses etc. basically any house based garden out there.

Pros

• Very easy to use
• Can house a number of attachments
• Can be used in a number of garden plans
• Cheaper than conventional professional tools

Cons:

• Might not fit into a number of faucet designs

How to Choose the Best Drip Irrigation System?

Although drip irrigation system has its perks, not everyone can get the advantages of it. Simply stating, drip irrigation systems might not fit into your orchard, thus planning is necessary before spending in a system.

Some of the things that need to be kept in mind are:

Type of Plants

The type of plants you have in your garden should decide your choices. A drip irrigation system can be useful for smaller plants, foliage and shrubs. However, for big trees, drip irrigation might not be a good idea.

Type of Soil

Generally, drip irrigation methods involve watering the roots of the plant only. Thus it’s better if your soil absorbs water properly and doesn’t get too muddy.

Your Choice Of Water Flow 

Drip irrigation systems can have many types of water flow. Before you spend in one, you have to understand their impacts.

• Adjustable: If you have a diversified group of plants scattered here and there and not all of them have similar water requirements, choose one with separate adjustable nozzles. In this way, you can choose how much water to put in which part of the garden
• Automatic: if you have a relatively large area and it needs to be watered every day at least once, opt for an automatic one. It’s very simple, set the time and date and let it do its magic every day while you choose to do your work. The problem with this being it doesn’t have that many options to customize your plans, so if parts of your garden have different demands, it’s not a good choice.
• Dripper with constant flow: In this case, the water flow isn’t automatic, but it’s a constant supply line to every plant out there. These are good for plants that require similar amount of water and it’s the most efficient, quick and cost-effective method
• Self-compensating dripper: This kind of drippers aren’t adjustable. Thus, they provide the same amount of water everywhere. However, they also maintain the amount of pressure at every part. Although this is a good choice, you have to have a pipe of at least 25m to work with it.
• Micro sprinklers: In this case, however, water drops in the form of a light rain. It’s useful because it saves your plants from getting damaged by high-speed water lines. But, try fixing your irrigation schedules to ensure your plants aren’t hurt by the sun.
• Planning Of Use: If you plan to use drip irrigation in a smaller region, it’s useful, such as house gardens, hanging gardens, greenhouses, rooftops etc. However, if it’s somewhere big with a lot of big trees, better go for something conventional.

How to Take Care of Your Drip Irrigation System

• Make constant inspections of your system, look into the nozzles, pipes etc. Make sure they’re clean and in mint condition. A worn out product is most likely to not yield a good product
• If anything is worn out, take immediate actions, get it fixed or replaced, don’t wait for too long.
• Try buying a system that prevents microbe infestation. If you can’t however, buy a commercial guard or repellent to prevent them from growing inside your pipes.
• Rinse the emitters out every once in a while, because any small amount of clog in them will be a long term trouble for you.
• Try going for a professional deep clean before the season arrives, just to not deal with any hassle afterward.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why should I choose a drip irrigation system instead of an above ground sprinkler?

Ans: Above ground sprinklers sprinkle water around the area. While in drip irrigation, the water drops are passed through tubes directly soaking the soil around the roots of the plants. Thus, it’s more cost-effective, saves both water and money and helps plants get water faster.

Q: How much water bill can I save with a drip line system?

Ans: Drip irrigation systems save about 0.5-6 gallons of water per hour based on the size of the system. And considering the price, that saves almost 50% water every month thus reducing your garden water bills by almost 50%

Q: Is drip irrigation systems difficult to install?

Ans: Drip irrigation doesn’t require any digging or plumbing to set up, thus doesn’t require any bit of professional help. Almost as easy as just using a plastic bucket to water your plants.

Q: How to determine how much of drip tape will I need?

Ans: To determine that, determine the length of your rows and multiply it by the number of rows. This way you should get an idea as to how much tape you need.

Q: What to do if I find out the tubing is damaged or cut?

Ans: if it’s terribly damaged or cut, you’ll understand it soon as the water flow would be harmed severely. If it happens, get the tube replaced as soon as possible.

Conclusion

Your garden is amazing, so are you. Thus, being a bit wise in choosing your appliances is all you’d need. Look into your available products, the methods you’re using, your plants and then go for your choice of system.

While drip irrigation methods make your gardening a lot easy, it also saves water to a great extent. In a world where water shortage is being an actual crisis, we should go for the environment friendlier choice.

We hope this article has helped you understand and get the best drip irrigation system for yourself, saving you the time and money otherwise gone wasted.