I know this sounds like an odd topic because soaker hoses are suppose to have holes, right? The whole point of a soaker hose is to leak water. Well, there are moments when a large hole can develop in a soaker hose, and create something that looks more like Old Faithful in your garden.
This happened to me recently as I peered out into the garden one day and saw water shooting up about 3 feet in the air. The bad thing about the situation was that I had just finished laying down the soaker hoses just a couple days prior. I guess that is what I get for buying the cheaper hoses.
The good news is that it is not very difficult to repair a hole in a hose - including soaker hoses. All you need is a sharp pair of scissors, or knife, a Phillips head screwdriver, and a hose repair splicer. The hose repair splicer is just a small barbed pipe that will fit inside the hose and two connectors on each end that costs a whopping $1.67 from Lowe's. Make sure you get the correct size splicer to fit your hose. There are 1/2-inch, 5/8-inch and 3/4-inch soaker hoses.
![Soaker Hose Connectors]()
The first thing you need to do is to cut the hose at the point of the hole with the scissors or sharp knife - be careful with the knife. We don't want any missing digits or blood.
![Cut Soaker Hose at the Hole]()
It can get tough to reach the area as good as you would like, especially if your garden is crowded like mine. Be sure of where you are stepping or kneeling, you do not want to damage any plants.
Once the hose has been cut, you now need to splice it using the hose splicer. Loosen the screws in one of the connectors, and remove it. This should reveal one side of the barbed insertion pipe. The barbing on the pipe is there to help hold the connector in place.
![Remove One End of Connector To Expose Nipple]()
Now push the exposed barbed pipe into one end of the hose. This may take a little force. Try twisting the connector some while pushing. Make sure the hose slides on the way up the pipe until it touches the divider in the middle.
![Slide Connector Nipple Into One End of Soaker Hose]()
You can now put the connector on the hose on this side. Do not tighten it up just yet - just snug the screws up enough to hold the connector in place. Make sure the connector halves line up and seat properly.
Loosen the screws on the other connector, and remove it from the splicer. I left it on before because it gives you something to grab when pushing the first side on.
![Tighten Connector To Soaker Hose and Remove Connector On Opposite End]()
Now insert the barbed pipe into the hose as you did for the other side - twisting and pushing at the same time. Remember to push the hose all the way up the pipe until it touches the divider in the middle.
![Tighten the Second Connector To Soaker Hose]()
Now the connector for this side can be put in place. Make sure the connector halves line up and seat properly. I put the screws facing the same direction on both sides to make it easier when tightening.
Tighten both screws on each connectors. Do not tighten one screw all the way down. Tighten a screw just a little, then tighten the adjacent screw a little. Keep working back and forth until both connectors are as tight as you can get them. Doing this ensures the connectors are tightened evenly. The sides of the two connector halves should be touching, or very close to touching by now.
![Make Sure Both Connectors Are Tight]()
It is time to turn on the water and see how well your repaired hose is working. That is it! Your soaker hose is now back up and running with no leaks. Well, no geyser-like leaks anyway.
![Repaired Soaker Hose]()
Keep Your Vegetable Garden Well Watered
This happened to me recently as I peered out into the garden one day and saw water shooting up about 3 feet in the air. The bad thing about the situation was that I had just finished laying down the soaker hoses just a couple days prior. I guess that is what I get for buying the cheaper hoses.
The good news is that it is not very difficult to repair a hole in a hose - including soaker hoses. All you need is a sharp pair of scissors, or knife, a Phillips head screwdriver, and a hose repair splicer. The hose repair splicer is just a small barbed pipe that will fit inside the hose and two connectors on each end that costs a whopping $1.67 from Lowe's. Make sure you get the correct size splicer to fit your hose. There are 1/2-inch, 5/8-inch and 3/4-inch soaker hoses.
The first thing you need to do is to cut the hose at the point of the hole with the scissors or sharp knife - be careful with the knife. We don't want any missing digits or blood.
It can get tough to reach the area as good as you would like, especially if your garden is crowded like mine. Be sure of where you are stepping or kneeling, you do not want to damage any plants.
Once the hose has been cut, you now need to splice it using the hose splicer. Loosen the screws in one of the connectors, and remove it. This should reveal one side of the barbed insertion pipe. The barbing on the pipe is there to help hold the connector in place.
Now push the exposed barbed pipe into one end of the hose. This may take a little force. Try twisting the connector some while pushing. Make sure the hose slides on the way up the pipe until it touches the divider in the middle.
You can now put the connector on the hose on this side. Do not tighten it up just yet - just snug the screws up enough to hold the connector in place. Make sure the connector halves line up and seat properly.
Loosen the screws on the other connector, and remove it from the splicer. I left it on before because it gives you something to grab when pushing the first side on.
Now insert the barbed pipe into the hose as you did for the other side - twisting and pushing at the same time. Remember to push the hose all the way up the pipe until it touches the divider in the middle.
Now the connector for this side can be put in place. Make sure the connector halves line up and seat properly. I put the screws facing the same direction on both sides to make it easier when tightening.
Tighten both screws on each connectors. Do not tighten one screw all the way down. Tighten a screw just a little, then tighten the adjacent screw a little. Keep working back and forth until both connectors are as tight as you can get them. Doing this ensures the connectors are tightened evenly. The sides of the two connector halves should be touching, or very close to touching by now.
It is time to turn on the water and see how well your repaired hose is working. That is it! Your soaker hose is now back up and running with no leaks. Well, no geyser-like leaks anyway.
Keep Your Vegetable Garden Well Watered
well thats how i found your page and will be reading more of what you have to say thanks a lot for this i never knew that you could use those to fix soaker hose thanks.
