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Sprinkler system knowledge needed

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chitala383

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My backyard has no shade so it gets blasted by the sun all day long. It's a pain to keep the grass nice, it just gets burnt out and then weeds take over, so I want to install a sprinkler system. Instead of buying the Tubing from the depot or wherever I can save a lot of money by getting Tubing from work. I can get 1/2" cts, 1" cts, or 1 1/4" cts. Is there a benefit or harm in using a larger size? I believe the Tubing sold at the depot for sprinkler systems is 1/2". My property is about a half acre and I'm looking to water the backyard to start, so that's probably about 1/4 acre, so roughly 10,000 square feet. Water pressure at my house runs around 90 psi. Any help would be appreciated.

Edited by chitala383
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My lawn is approximately 10,000 sq feet in total.   The line that is used for my system is one inch.  I have nine zones, 3 zones do the beds and 7 for the lawn.  For 10,000 sq ft. you would not be able to run one zone.   

 

I would say that 3/4 to one inch would be fine.  The copper line running from my meter to the sprinkler system is 3/4 inch.  I would not use 1/2, you probably would need to run the system longer to put down that same amount of water a 3/4 or one inch line would put down.

 

Stay with good heads.  Hunter are probably the best ones and the ones used by most sprinkler system companies.  

 

The 1/2 line is fine for a drip system.  Also The line that gets buried usually has a thicker wall than  what they use for drip systems so be sure you select the correct line.

 

I realize you are doing this yourself but if you call in an installer, they will be in and out in a half day.  Plus unless you are digging the trench by hand you will need to rent a ditch witch.

31Bert
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You will need to run more then one zone to water the area you are talking about. Use 1" pipe from you control valve manifold, then you use 1/2" "Funny Pipe" to each sprinkler head ( HD  or Lowes have the pipe and fittings), Lowes have a better selection for the homeowner. I maintain sprinkler systems for over 100 homes, I buy from irrigation supply companys, if you have one in your area you can give them a drawing of your area and they will put it in their computer and give you a readout of all the zones (color coded) you will need, plus all the valves, fittings and heads you will need for each zone and what GPM nozzle for each head, that's the best way to go. Also if you have flower gardens you want to water they will be a different zone and different style head.

 

Here is a link to show you how to go from pvc to funny pipe to sprinkler head, and another showing you a 3 zone manifold (or you can make your own manifold), hope this helps.

 

 

Edited by Captain Lew

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I recommend making your own above ground manifold.  Mine was installed in the ground and over time the box filled with dirt and mud and was a nightmare to work on.  Replacing a valve sucked, doing anything in there sucked.  When the time came to install a new zone there wasn't room for one and I would have had to buy a new box to install next to the existing one.  I said **** this and rebuilt the whole thing.  It's waist high and everything is connected with unions and shut off valves.  I even added a hose bib.  If I think of it later I'll take a picture.  

 

Delete from SOL_Users where username like 'wasy','Seal'....

 

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I did my own, technically a backflo preventer is required on public water. Leave a tee out indoors for blowing it out in the fall. A propane torch makes the barbed fittings go on easy.

Tis better to remain silent and thought the fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.

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Thanks for the info guys. I was planning on probably 3 or 4 zones. Good idea to put the manifold above ground. So the bulk of the piping should be 1" and then just short lengths of 1/2" to connect to the sprinkler heads, correct?

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Yes that is correct, I run my funny pipe a little longer then in that video, about 2 to 2 1/2 feet.

Edited by Captain Lew

Charter Member Ancient Mariners

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Member of Striper 50/50 Club

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Did my own system when I lived in FL years ago.  Sandy soil made the digging reasonably easy...but it is a lot of work.  Not difficult and you can plug away at it piecemeal.  Buy a trenching shovel- that a a mattock make it easy in good soil.

As some else said, spend some time on the design.  Bigger pipe is better especially if you might later add more heads.  I didn't have the ideal layout WRT lawn vs flower/plant beds but made t work just fine - I had oversized the pipe and added on when i added new flower beds and shrubs. 

 

 

There a/ were a lot of online material around the designing.  Internal diameter of the pipe makes a  big difference as far as flow and frictional losses.  It and cost are why some use thinwall PVC for the lines.  Bigger the pipe support more heads and longer runs. You will readily find list of how much flow and how many heads you can support with different pipe sizes.  And then design conservatively so you can add more in the future.

 

If you are going to be in the house for a while and  the local geology and permits support, consider if you might add an irrigation well either now or down the road and locate the system to accommodate. You can't do it everywhere and it is an investment.  However, 1) you will get a lot of water from many wells and 2) you don't need to pay the sewage bill (assuming municipal sewer) on what quickly amounts to a lot of water. If all the zones are "home run" to the same source, you might be able to use a cheap non-electrical valve system that works by cycling between zone by turning the pump on and off.  These were pretty bullet proof- I don't know if they are still used.

 

I'm now in a place with Rock and clay which make a DIY install a nightmare and I miss having a sprinkler system every summer

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Before you go crazy designing and buying stuff, perform a flow test to see how much water you actually have to play with.  Plan your system based on no more than 90% of that, even less if you think you will need household water while your system is running.  You could have 90 psi at 5 gallons a minute or 40 gallons a minute depending on your supply.  A GPM rate will dictate zone count, sprinkler count, sprinkler sizing, and pipe sizing.

 

Do it where ever you plan on feeding your system from and if you need a hose to run it keep it as short as possible as it would reduce your numbers.  All you need is a 5 gallon bucket and a stopwatch.

 

If you are not familiar with irrigation it is definitely worth the money to have someone who knows what they are doing design the system.

 

 

Nick
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All good stuff to know, thanks guys. I was discussing it with my wife tonight and I'm going to wait until at least next year before I actually come up with a plan. We'd like to have another kid in the next year or two and if we do we would wind up moving. So i don't think it's worth doing right now if we move in the next 3 or 4 years.

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