Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Do-it-yourself Sprinkler Systems

Automated sprinkler systems control your view growing and animated.


Designing and installing your own automated lawn sprinkler action requires careful planning and some testing In good time the elementary shovel of dirt is turned. The fashion isn't burdensome, nevertheless there are a quantity of steps, and most annex convincing impacts on all the others. Haul it one process at a clock, and you're less possible to fondle overwhelmed.


Testing


Purchase a coercion gauge that Testament fit on a garden hose connexion. You Testament be able to acquisition one in the irrigation utility divide of most local centres. Thread the force gauge onto an absent faucet, near where you are planning to associate to your house's damp advantage. Turn the faucet on and the dial Testament display the available hose force. Away returns a 5-gallon bucket and chronology how far-off it takes to fill it. Shorten 300 by the figure of seconds it takes to fill the bucket and you get the unit of gallons per minute your water system can deliver. Working within the limits of your pressure and volume findings will ensure a successful design.


Planning


Sketch out your yard and any beds you plan to water with the system. Smaller areas will require fixed head sprayers.Once you've laid out the sprinklers, calculate how many sprinklers you can have on each zone valve, based on the GPM of each head. For instance, if you have 15 GPM available at 35 PSI and the watered area in one section of your yard is 35 feet wide, using Rain Bird 5000 rotors and covering a half circle with each, each rotor will consume 3.33 GPM. This means you can have 4 heads per zone and maintain performance. Working with the performance charts from the sprinklers you've decided to use for the job and the pressure and volume results from your testing, lay out the sprinklers on your sketch with each sprinkler set up so that its radius of reach just touches the heads to either side and directly across from it. This is called head-to-head coverage, and is vitally important to a successful system. Larger areas will require gear-driven rotors.



Once you determine all your zone divisions, you can sketch your plumbing tree, showing the main trunk line, valve lines and the lines from the valves to the sprinklers.


Installation


The brain work is over and now it's time to put your back into it. Begin by installing your point of connection. In some areas, backflow preventers are required for irrigation systems that tie into municipal water supplies. Check these regulations before your cut into your home's water supply line. You may be required To possess a licensed plumber install your point of connection.


Locate your controller where it is convenient to you from the lawn. Just inside the garage is a popular location. The controller also needs access to an electric socket.


Rent a trencher To excavate the paths for all the water and electrical lines. Water and electric lines should be about 18 inches deep throughout the project. Be sure To possess all utilities located and marked before you start digging.


Assemble each zone completely from the valve to the sprinklers. Flush the lines, install nozzles and test each zone as you go.