Our property is covered pretty well with drip irrigation inside the chain link.  Outside is wilderness and just native stuff.  The irrigation system has 12 stations and are set to run 45 min every other day with various size emitters depending on tree size and water requirements.

Our potted trees are on drippers also.  The system is electric, not battery powered.  Our last system was battery powered, and unless we checked often, plants in pots would die.  Batteries don't last forever.  Neither do emitters.  They get clogged and quit working.  We walked the property today and checked.  Found three trees with broken emitters.  One fig (RdB), one apple, and one olive.  I don't know how long the emitters have been broken, but the plan is now to check more often.  Weekly probably. 

Olives and figs can live through droughts, but there is a huge difference between a working emitter and on that doesn't.  We call it Olive Lane because both Olives flank it's beginning.  It's a path that meanders down the hill.  These olive trees were started from cuttings and grew to be 6' tall before we pruned and root pruned and planted them at this home 2 years ago.  The one with water is growing like crazy.  The deprived one is still alive and healthy, but stunted.

Also,  I found my Adriatic Fig leaves dripping with water and the surrounding terrain also very wet.  A leak in an irrigation line can mess the water up for the rest of the trees along that line.

Drip systems are great, but not trouble free for sure.

Suzi

I started off using Netafim drip lines - the ones with the built-in emitters. They are designed to be buried, so I had them buried under the mulch. Most of the time, you can't tell if they have turned on unless you rake the mulch out of the way and check the soil. More than once, I have had a line get pinched, leaving a whole cluster of emitters disabled. Usually, by the time I discover the problem, some plants have already suffered.

I am planning to use all above-ground emitters from now on so that I can more easily witness whether or not each emitter is working.

Paul, we are in a drought, and mulching does help to keep the soil damp, but a non-working emitter is a bad thing and you do have to move the mulch to check.  Ours are above the mulch, and it's pretty important to check for broken or clogged emitters with the water on.  No drip.  No water.  Our water is so hard up here, every emitter shows signs of calcium deposits.  JD has a bunch of replacement emitters in the potting shed because they are just needed a lot!

When the plants are in-ground they can survive for a while, but those in pots can not.

Suzi

Suzi, my problem isn''t with the emitters. Its the dare squirrels! They bite the head off trying to get water! Happens to me every year! I had to stop watering my in-ground trees. Every week, the tree farthest away would be chewed up. I'm in the process now of fixing all of my emitters.

Dennis, spray the new line and emitters with Tabasco Sauce, then sprinkle cayenne pepper on top of that.  It's war!

Suzi

And after the tabasco and cayenne add some garlic

I have seen the metal sprinkler heads, do they make metal emitters?