On 2008-06-09 11:29:25 +0100, "Dave Liquorice"
said:

On Mon, 9 Jun 2008 09:24:27 +0100, Mike wrote:

Be aware that the connectors can and do come off. If this happens
unobserved the if you are on a water meter! Oh dear, very dear!

That is what I am afraid of. However both ends would be very visible and
any blow off would soon be seen.

A hose will use an awful lot of water overnight...

I think you can get check valves that stop the flow if the pressure drop
across them rises above a given amount. The pressure drop being
proportional to the flow rate.

FWIW, I have been using a PIR sprinkler to keep rabbits off my veg plot
and it has worked fine for a fortnight using a standard Hozelock hose
and connectors. The tap is on 24/7 but the water only escapes when a
varmit crosses the detector's infra-red field -- which seems to occur
about once every couple of hours on average (but I can't be sure).
Nothing has blown apart yet! (And my beans haven't been eaten yet!!)

As an aside, the notion that rabbits won't eat garlic or chives is an
urban/rural myth. But I can attest to the fact that they don't eat my
tomatoes.