Maintenance of the misting system, filter, gaskets

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One of the secrets to the success of the Tropical Paradise here in Glendale (a suburb of Phoenix) is the misting system. It's an ordinary misting system, like the kind you see along the edge of patios, that sprays a mist of water, except that I have it on the ground, for the plants. And the plants love it!

The challenge to something like this is regular inspection and maintenance. I walk the line regularly and replace clogged misting heads (which happens all of the time) and then every year I replace the filter. Well, it looks like it's been a couple of years, because what I did today shows me that the heat of the sun had practically cooked all of the gaskets.

When I took it apart, the gaskets were terrible. In fact, on the connector (that green thing) they had pretty much become part of it. So I got a new connector and bunch of new gaskets. In addition to using fresh gaskets, I used plumber's tape (you can see a little bit of white sticking out) because I don't like leaks.

I really should do this every year at this time, when the temperatures start to cool down. This area only gets morning sun, but even morning sun is brutal in Phoenix in the summer. Luckily, there' a Home Depot just a few blocks from me, it's a beautiful day, and I pedaled over there and got what I needed.

Even though it's cooler, it still getting up into the high eighties here, so I won't be turning off the misting system, and watering system, for another month at least. In the meantime I'll keep an eye on it. It's automatic, but you can't "set it and forget it".

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