Justin Smith Practical Suggestions To Grasp When Selecting Sprinkler Systems
Sunday, April 25th, 2010Measure the water pressure at an outdoor faucet together with a water pressure gauge, then time how long is required to fill a 5-gal. bucket to see flow.
Produce a scale drawing of your property, including plantings and different features. Send the drawing along with the results of Step one to your irrigation company. It will create a system plan applicable for your climate and desires, and will supply you with the parts and tools necessary to install it. Some firms give this service at no cost; others charge a modest fee. Run your pipe according to the plan. You do not have to dig a trench–you are able to use a motorized pipe puller to drag polyethylene pipe thru the bottom with minimal disturbance. In this case, wrap the low-voltage zone valve management cable round the pipe and pull it at the same time.
If you dig a trench, either together with a trench digger or manually, dig it 8 to 10 inches deep, Dig the major runs, then the branch lines. Connect your pipe to the household water supply by running a copper pipe to the outside of the house at ground level. Install a ball valve and a backflow preventer between the supply and the outlet to ensure that no polluted water can get back into the supply from your lawn or plantings; this also permits you to shut off the source to irrigation system without shutting off the water to the house. Put a screw fitting on the outside end of the copper pipe plus begin your plastic pipe run there. If your system has multiple zones, assemble the valves and then connect them to the pipes below ground level. Wire the valves according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Set a valve box over the zone valves and fill around it with soil. The box cover should be level or just below the surface. Find out more about sprinkler systems here.
Connect the polyethylene pipe using barb fittings, securing the pipe with stainless-steel crimp rings. Put in brass drain valves if you will need to drain the system at the low points of the pipes. Dig holes of adequiate size to match sprinkler heads plus to form connections from the pipe. If you are irrigating differing kinds of vegetation, your provider will likely have provided more than one kind of head. Attach sprinkler heads using a 90-degree ell fitting, or if you would like drainage, a drainage ell. Connec the ell to the sprinkler head following the irrigation company’s instructions. Backfill round the heads, tamping the soil as you go. Use a mallet to make sure it is firm. Connect the cable for the zone valves to the controller box, following the manufacturer’s instructions.

