Flow Restrictor Disc ... Just drill a quarter!

[thankful_k]

OK, so I have this DIY irrigation system (details in another post) with PEX. Anyway the water comes too fast, I'd rather run slower for longer. Anyway I needed a flow restrictor for my garden hose attachment. I couldn't find any in bulk on amazon or anywhere, best deal I found was like 0.65 each at some irrigation supply place. No thanks.

Then I realized from my army days ... a quarter is almost an inch in diameter. So I put a quarter in the hose first, then the little rubber gasket then screwed it onto the bibb and turned the host on. Nothing ... no flow. Okay so far.

Then I drilled a tiny (1/16") hole in the quarter (probably illegally destroying US currency, don't tell anyone) and then placed it in the hose the same way. It worked! A strong trickle came from the end of the hose. And I save 0.40 cents each!

I felt like Abbie Hoffman! STICK IT TO THE MAN!!!! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!! Well ... maybe not him.

FWIW kudos to anyone who actually knows who this guy is. For those who don't, he was this far-left counter-culture revolutionary figure from the 60's. He was one of the Chicago Seven and also wrote a popular hippie screed called Steal This Book. But I digress.

 

[Caribou]

OK, so I have this DIY irrigation system (details in another post) with PEX. Anyway the water comes too fast, I'd rather run slower for longer. Anyway I needed a flow restrictor for my garden hose attachment. I couldn't find any in bulk on amazon or anywhere, best deal I found was like 0.65 each at some irrigation supply place. No thanks.

Then I realized from my army days ... a quarter is almost an inch in diameter. So I put a quarter in the hose first, then the little rubber gasket then screwed it onto the bibb and turned the host on. Nothing ... no flow. Okay so far.

Then I drilled a tiny (1/16") hole in the quarter (probably illegally destroying US currency, don't tell anyone) and then placed it in the hose the same way. It worked! A strong trickle came from the end of the hose. And I save 0.40 cents each!

I felt like Abbie Hoffman! STICK IT TO THE MAN!!!! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!! Well ... maybe not him.

FWIW kudos to anyone who actually knows who this guy is. For those who don't, he was this far-left counter-culture revolutionary figure from the 60's. He was one of the Chicago Seven and also wrote a popular hippie screed called Steal This Book. But I digress.

View attachment 105862

If you had purchased a fender washer the size of a quarter you could probably have saved yourself another 20⍧.

 

[thankful_k]

If you had purchased a fender washer the size of a quarter you could probably have saved yourself another 20⍧.

You're right, of course ... but I wanted to do it NOW.

And I would have burned $2.50 in gas going to the store

 

[Caribou]

You're right, of course ... but I wanted to do it NOW.

And I would have burned $2.50 in gas going to the store

$2.50? You lucky dog, it would cost me $25 in gas. Only because I'd want to come home after shopping.

 

[INresponse]

OK, so I have this DIY irrigation system (details in another post) with PEX. Anyway the water comes too fast, I'd rather run slower for longer. Anyway I needed a flow restrictor for my garden hose attachment. I couldn't find any in bulk on amazon or anywhere, best deal I found was like 0.65 each at some irrigation supply place. No thanks.

Then I realized from my army days ... a quarter is almost an inch in diameter. So I put a quarter in the hose first, then the little rubber gasket then screwed it onto the bibb and turned the host on. Nothing ... no flow. Okay so far.

Then I drilled a tiny (1/16") hole in the quarter (probably illegally destroying US currency, don't tell anyone) and then placed it in the hose the same way. It worked! A strong trickle came from the end of the hose. And I save 0.40 cents each!

That is a great idea, and when you later mentioned you didn't have to drive to the store and saved even more money it was a win/win. Thinking outside the box is a great idea.
I recently learned that some people with a Dodge truck with the 6.7 Cummins engine prefer to block off the EGR cross over pipe to eliminate the exhaust soot from being routed into the intake and causing excess soot in the engine oil, amongst other problems this emission system creates. They used to make block off plates but the EPA came down heavy of the companies that make emission delete type parts so they are no longer available outside of the black market. I read somewhere that a freeze plug for older GM cylinder heads are 1 1/8" diameter and could be pressed into that crossover pipe to prevent the exhaust soot from traveling through the system. I suppose this is true but it might be that one would have to grind down the outer diameter a bit to make it easier to press into place. Of course I have no knowledge of this first hand but sometimes using ones imagination and a bit of back hills engineering is a lot easier and cheaper than buying something from corporate America.
But, back on to your subject, which works well enough to avoid further thought, perhaps using tin snips to cut a circle out of the top of a can of soup or an old piece of metal roofing or an old paint can lid could might work just as well, but I suppose the quarter would not rust and would last a lot longer than anything made of steal.
Great job, thanks for sharing.