Yard Butler Deep Root Irrigator, Garden Watering Tool

It is a great tool for watering deep in the soil , but it wears out quickly . The tube has a lengthwise seam joined together as it is not seamless. So if you push it down repeatedly , the seam will start cracking and leaking . I have a solution by buying a Bully soil probinig tool which looks ldentical but is a solid steel rod that can be used to create the deep hole first, then follow up with this Yard Butler watering tool without effort. The tip of the Yard Butler watering tool is easily clogged with mud which you need to unclog with a 8d galvanized nail. , but this problem may go away if you also use the Bully tool to clear the way first. The Bully tool is very rugged but easily bent which is ok as you can unbend it back . it will become somewhat crooked but I don't care. as long as it can break a deep hole down to make it a lot easier for me to push the hollow Yard Butler down . I use it to water the lawn at about a meter interval all over. The grass roots can sense water deep that will last much longer than your typical sprinkler system. If you have a little muscle , you will find it a very efficient way to water the water thirsty lawn! You can use some sort of plastic plugs to seal the holes for future rewatering which may be either weekly or biweekly depending on the shade of the lawn and exposure of sunlight. This combo of YardButler and Bully soil probe tool can be one of the great answers to our water shortages, who knows? You can either choose 36 or 48 inch Bully soil probe tool . There is also 60 inch one but it is not necessary for lawns. I think 36 inch is most optimal choice for your Bully Soil Probe Tool as it may be less likely to be bent than the longer ones from pushing into the soil. It is fascinating to watch how the YardButler pump water deep into the soil because some holes filled up quicker than other ones probably due to soil fissures underground, I don't know. It can be gopher holes also. As long as you water very deep, water lasts down there much longer and your lawn will get deep rooted. You sometimes do not need any lawn fertilizer at all as the lawn will turn green on its own due to abudance of water deep underground which means increased soil nutrition to the lawn root itself. You will save money on expensive lawn fertilizers that lasts only a few weeks. My lawn stays green through the hot summer without any fertilizer at all. All u need is add water deep!

Irrigator is rugged and works great. I have used it a number of times. The soil around my house is a hard Sun baked clay and the irrigator goes in better than than a pickaxe.

I saw some reviews mention to words of this effect ' Oh, this thing is no good for clay, etc or it just plain sucks and gets plugged up'. Well, I took a gamble and ordered one. A gamble I say because I live in the SE Texas Gulf Coast, in Galveston County. The yard I have is loaded with clay substrate. Right now we in this area of Texas are in a severe extreme drought so the ground is quite dry. I had no problems getting this to work in my soil. I only had it 'plug' up a couple of times and that was the fault one time of some root material the other because I was trying to go too fast. I don't think anyone would have much issue with this device if they do not try to force it into the ground too fast. Give the water time to do its magic with hydraulic and lubrication mojo as you ease it in. I usually end up a good 2 feet into the ground if not near 3 feet then back it out some. If I hit a very dry patch of clay , one can tell if one listens to ones nervous system whilst they apply downward pressure, I ease up a good number of seconds. I apply full water pressure for getting it in the ground then usually back off the pressure once it is in. I didn't' have to fool with drilling any holes in it as I have seen others here mention. I can't see why that would be needed but one could I suppose depending on soil. As I say, my ground here is clay heavy and it is VERY dry this season. I took off a point cause the end bit is rusting already. Of course it would it is just plain ol steel of some sort. I guess we can't expect stainless at this price. Mineral oil I'd think might be safely applied to help prevent that. The hose bib area seems well constructed enough. No plastic there, a brass bibbly bit. Nice to see that. It works fine I can't complain. My trees seem happier now that they have had some drinks on me.

This tool appears well made and works great. I have not experienced some of the problems a few of the reviewers had with the hose attachment coming apart. I did find it a bit hard to get the hose screwed on tight and had to use a water pump wrench. But I put a hose valve on the irrigator first and leave that on all the time so no problem. I can see a problem with grains of sand getting in the tip end and then blocking water flow. I had that problem with the irrigators this one is replacing which were L shaped and I could use a nail to loosen the grain and then tap it out the hose end. With yardbutler, I will have to somehow get the grain to fall into the hose connection pipe. So use max water pressure when inserting the irrigator and don't lean over the handle because you can get blasted in the face with mud if it blows back. I was glad to find this irrigator because it was the only that has the opening on the tip not the side. That way you can quickly drill a new hole and have enough water pressure to excavate the mud so your hole is easily reusable without a struggle thereafter. I prefer this to the Ross and other irrigators although they have their fans too. Keep a stick or whatever in the holes you drill so you can find them next time. Anyway, try this deep watering tool. I live in the desert. I water one tree or shrub all day keeping it on not much more than a drip so I water deeply and use much less water. The trick is to adjust the flow so the water barely flows out of the hole and leave it that way all day. And use plastic hose valves. Hot weather causes the metal ones to expand and turn themselves off. One last blab. Don't leave the irrigator in a hole when not using. Pull it out and drain it by opening the valve if you use one or removing the hose. Your irrigator will last longer. Rust not, want not.

Very sturdy steel shaft that won't bend when the soil is compacted. Nozzle opening doesn't clog when I push the irrigator deep into the soil.

the brass collar/hose connector is held onto the rod by a thin lip of metal. The first one I got I tried to tighten the hose-collar connection hoping it will solve the leakage even though the leak is coming from the collar with the main body of the rod. all that did was strip the lip of metal holding the collar to the rod. With my replacement I tried to use a Dramm quick connect. I figure I wouldn't stress the connection much if I don't have the tighten the thread on the collar anymore once its connected to the male quick connect attachment. well, this defective product is so bad that if you carry the rod from tree to tree with the hose attached, that's enough to break it. the lip which is intended to allow free rotation of the collar(to screw on the hose)is so weak, it stripped off by me just carrying it from one tree to another, with a few tugs of the hose. now reading all the one star comments, I noticed most of them are from 2013. Maybe a fine product back in the day but the two I had have a big design flaw in the way the brass collar fits. the few tree waterings I got out of it went fine, like other reviewers said, let the water dig the hole for you. I only get stuck if there was a large root or rocks in the way, otherwise the powerful jet digs just fine. Could be a fine product if they figured out the fitting. But I'm moving on.

I read the reviews prior to purchasing this tool, so I think I knew what to expect. When it arrived, I was excited to get it to use. I found that there was a piece of wood jammed into the tip which prevented water from flowing at all. It was easy to dislodge with a small tool, and put the hose on the bottom and flushed the wood out the hose connection. The tool does put water into the ground. I would absolutely agree with a couple of the suggestions on other reviews. You will be best served to drill a couple of holes into the side of the shaft. This will reduce the pressure of the water coming out, but that water was not able to dig any holes in my yard. To be fair, I have pretty rocky soil, so maybe it would work with a better soil. I went by Lowe's and picked up a piece of reinforcing iron (rebar would work fine), and hammered that bar into the ground to make the hole. When I put the root irrigator into that hole the water flows.

The Yard Butler works great. The Texas drought has devastated the trees and shrubs. In south Texas we have heavy gumbo clay soil that shrinks and moves as the water evaporates. My bathroom and closet doors began to drag and catch as the slab began to sag. I used the Yard Butler to pump water under the corner of my house. After a few evenings of deep watering, the doors began to fit and the cracks at the corners closed. In addition, in an area where water is in short supply, deep watering avoids waste and evaporation. It is a good way to keep the shrubs alive without water running down the driveway. As for technical aspects, the Yard Butler is easy to insert into the hardest gumbo soil. From some of the reviews, I get the feeling that some people don't turn on the water when they try to push the wand into the ground. In all honesty, our soil has no rocks at all. If you are trying insert the butler into rocky soil, I doubt you will have very much success. The wand will not go through rocks or other solid objects.

I manage a team of groundskeepers at a large private school and this particular deep watering tool has been our most reliable so far. We have 3 of them now and one of them broke when it was run over by a truck, we were able to fix it with a little welding (all steel construction). I am enclosing a picture of the one modification I made to ours which I think greatly improves performance: I drilled holes into the sides of the tip to allow a faster flow of water and prevent clogging of the tip which often happens.

Very easy to use, Works well. Great for watering the trees, especially with the heat we got this summer. I am very pleased with this purchase. Very sturdy.

It would be easier to use if it had a water shutoff as part of it.

Easy to hook up and place in the ground. Be careful not to put too much pressure on it as it could bend.

Wonderful way to deep water trees and shrubs.