How to Use Our Landscape Irrigation Planning Designer
Designing a layout for your sprinkler system is easy if you have a pen, paper, and some measurements. There are also software programs such as Orbit Sprinkler System Designer that can help you design your system’s layout. Another consideration is making sure your boxes are easy to access. When you’re having problems with your sprinklers—which will inevitably happen—there’s nothing more frustrating than having to poke around in difficult to reach places behind rose bushes or under trees.
Connect With Us
Things have to be the same because each type of head has different GPM requirements and output. If you combine different head types in the same zone, you won’t be able to evenly distribute water; some places will get over watered, some under watered. The final steps of designing your home sprinkler system are to draw a layout of the zones and then calculate your design’s water requirements. This is all-important because it will determine what size pipes you need for the mainline. Preparing your lawn for the system will also include determining the best location for your water source and installing a regulator if you have multiple zones.
Additional Sites
The pop-up Eco-Stream Rotator Sprinkler Head is a hybrid between pop-ups and rotors. Often called the rotary sprinkler, it looks like a popup, but behaves like a handful of gear drives being sprayed in a kaleidoscope pattern. Further, they offer the adjustability of rotors with the effectiveness of popups. Other benefits include use with lower water pressures where gear drives cannot be used. There is also evidence suggesting that rotary sprinkler water coverage is superior to popups.
Main menu
However, if the water company provides the water, ask for your property water pressure report. Knowing these two things, you can begin to group your heads into zones. When mapping out the zones, it’s important to provide sufficient water pressure to each zone. All the heads in the zone combined must be using at or below the total available water flow (GPM). You might even want to step it down by 1-2 GPM just to make sure there is enough water in the case of a drop in pressure. Note how we’ve grouped the two zones on the right in the example above.
How to Use Our Landscape Irrigation Planning Designer
Proper installation will also help your system function properly and be easier to maintain over time. Keep in mind how much pressure is available at this point so you can decide what kind of pump might be required for certain zones. Head placement is perhaps the most important part of making sure your system is effective and efficient. Irrigation systems work in funnels; well, reverse funnels is probably a better description. This usually comes from the municipal water system, but for some people a well is used or even, in rare cases, pumps from some freshwater source like a river or lake. When it comes time to test your home’s new irrigation system, don’t forget about having a professional come out and inspect everything.
Students evacuated from college dorm due to offline sprinkler system - WCVB Boston
Students evacuated from college dorm due to offline sprinkler system.
Posted: Sun, 04 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Now many have complained that this seems like double watering, but not so. The lawn in the example above will be watered efficiently without missing any spots, but below is an example of bad coverage which misses the center area (the part in red). Notice that there are no heads place along the center of the perimeter, but only in the corners.
Ensure your designs follow state regulations for maximum water savings. Download the MWELO 2015 Compliance Guide to Irrigation-Related Requirements for New Construction Projects ≥500 Square Feet and Rehabilitated Landscape Projects ≥ 2500 Square Feet. Proper installation ensures peak performance and maximum longevity off your product. Use Rain Bird standard details to minimize water and product consumption and reduce overall waste.
Preparing your lawn should involve finding a safe place to install the water supply with an existing faucet or spigot nearby. It would help if you also considered installing a pressure regulator, which reduces fluctuations in the amount of water supplied from one zone to another, depending upon demand over time. There are many variables to consider to have the most efficient and cost-effective system possible for your lawn or garden. First, grouping is a good idea so you can daisy chain the main line.
Maintenance
If you have any questions on the design or installation process, your best resource is your local Hunter distributor. Pop-up, gear drive, and impact sprinkler heads work great for the lawn but they aren’t precision instruments. These will work well if you have a lot of ground cover, but what if your beds just have shrubs, flowers, etc.?
You can use a water pressure gauge to measure the water pressure by attaching a gauge to the spigot of your water source. Most homes have water pressure between psi and a flow rate of 5-10 gallons per minute (GPM). Besides, take note of any obstacle between your home and the sprinkler system, such as trees, buildings, or any other structure that may block water flow. First, decide the source from where the water supply will come for your irrigation line. To measure the flow rate, turn on the faucet and timer and measure how long it takes to fill a gallon-sized bucket.
For this task, you'll need a tape measure, pencil, and graph paper. Measure the length and width of your lawn using the tape measure and draw it to the scale. Take the measurements from one side of the building for an accurate base of your measurements because most buildings have square corners and straight sides. You should draw all landscapes as well as hardscapes and other barriers in your drawing, such as your driveway, pathways, tree locations, and house. You should also consider putting down sod before setting up any other components since many types require moisture to establish properly after installation (which requires irrigation). By following these simple steps, you will be able to design a home sprinkler system that meets your needs and provides optimal coverage for water usage.
Massachusetts College of Art and Design dorm to reopen Thursday after flooding from broken sprinkler system - CBS Boston
Massachusetts College of Art and Design dorm to reopen Thursday after flooding from broken sprinkler system.
Posted: Mon, 05 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The main line from your water source is the most expensive run of piping that you’ll lay, so it’s best to keep these runs short. Of course, we don’t recommend putting all your boxes in the front yard, but you don’t want to space boxes all over the yard either. Dividing your property into zones will help you estimate the amount of water and coverage needed to suit your needs. For instance, if a large area will only need sprinklers during certain times of day (morning before work or late evening), this would be considered one zone. We've covered the basics of sprinkler theory, sprinkler head types and placement, as well as manifold placement.
A better option is to have the boxes in a clear location where you can work in them with ease. Admittedly, the caps can clash with the aesthetics of yard but options, such as faux rocks, can blend the boxes with your landscape. Zones connect to valves, which are grouped together in a valve box, where they connect to the main water line. Placement is a matter of preference, but there are few things to take into account when deciding where to put your valve boxes. It’s important to make sure everything is installed properly to work with your existing system.
For those plants, drip irrigation is an excellent choice because it’s easy to install and maintain, its flexibility in a changing garden is unmatched, and it’s efficient. We will talk more about this awesome option in a later edition of our blog, but be aware that using drip irrigation can save on your water bill and water your plants more efficiently and directly. The Orbit Sprinkler System Designer (OSSD) can make this step very simple. Just upload a bird’s-eye picture of your property (which can usually be obtained online through Google Maps or similar programs) and then trace over it. You’ll only need to measure one item of your yard, like the width of your driveway, for scale and the computer does the rest. Once you’ve finished tracing and drawing (it usually takes about 30 minutes) the system will ask for the water flow information you collected in last week's blog and, bingo, you’re done.
The computer will do the calculations and give you a plan for placing heads, valves, and zones in ideal locations. OSSD will even give you a comprehensive parts and estimated price list of all the supplies you’ll need. You also are able to print a detailed, customized guide for installing the sprinkler system, down to the placement of every pipe, every sprinkler head, and every nozzle. From the water source, the water travels to your valve box containing a manifold and several valves. Each zone contains a number of sprinkler heads, which is determined by your available water flow.
If you are not sure how to go about this, consider hiring a professional landscaper who will be able to do it for you or consult with your local irrigation company. This can be useful when running more than one system at once since they may not all need equal amounts of water at any given moment during irrigation cycles. For those who are able to find success with the sprinkler design system, the rest of this post will be more about sprinkler theory and why things are done the way they are.
Comments
Post a Comment