Inground Sprinkler System
I have an inground sprinkler system brand name (Rain Bird). Last year I set it up to run every second day. Grass stayed green and lush all year during a drought. Mind you the water bill got up to $170 one month so this year I was planning on using it once per week. This year looks to be a more normal summer so less water will likely be needed. Not sure how long each zone would need to run once per week to get a proper amount of water which seems to be around 1 - 2 inches per week. Any general guides for using an inground system once per week or is every 2nd day the way to go.
Thanks for the post, will get a rain gauge and check it out.Dillbert wrote:one-half inch of water per week is the generalized guideline.
how to set up the timers? easy. buy / borrow / get a rain gauge, plunk it down in the spray head pattern, run for x minutes, read gauge, increase/decrease run time per experience.
one thing to consider when measuring with the rain gauge:
(most) sprinklers for larger areas run a 360' pattern - I.e. complete circle.
along the "edges" they can be set to 180' pattern
in a corner they can be set to a 90' pattern
the sprinkler heads themselves are "blind" to the arc (and hence area) they are watering - they emit the same gallons per minute whether they're running a full circle, or half a circle, or quarter of a circle.
note however - a half circle will deliver the same gallons per time to half the area and the quarter 4x as much as a "full circle" pattern.
so some thinking is needed as to "the best place" to measure - most systems will result in overlapping arcs - not a good spot to measure.
I have always measured in a non-overlapping area of a 360' pattern - figuring that the "extra" around the edges/corners is not going to hurt much - the validity of that thinking does depend on the ratio of "full circles" to less than full circle coverage....
of course, measuring in "multiple" areas is not prohibited (g)
(most) sprinklers for larger areas run a 360' pattern - I.e. complete circle.
along the "edges" they can be set to 180' pattern
in a corner they can be set to a 90' pattern
the sprinkler heads themselves are "blind" to the arc (and hence area) they are watering - they emit the same gallons per minute whether they're running a full circle, or half a circle, or quarter of a circle.
note however - a half circle will deliver the same gallons per time to half the area and the quarter 4x as much as a "full circle" pattern.
so some thinking is needed as to "the best place" to measure - most systems will result in overlapping arcs - not a good spot to measure.
I have always measured in a non-overlapping area of a 360' pattern - figuring that the "extra" around the edges/corners is not going to hurt much - the validity of that thinking does depend on the ratio of "full circles" to less than full circle coverage....
of course, measuring in "multiple" areas is not prohibited (g)
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therock0503
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- Location: North Carolina
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Better to irrigate less days and put out more water each time you irrigate than to divide it up into a bunch of days.
Longer times means more water at once, which means more water to go deeper into the soil. This trains the roots to go 'down' deeper for the water than to come up to the surface and grab the water off of the top of the surface.
Longer times means more water at once, which means more water to go deeper into the soil. This trains the roots to go 'down' deeper for the water than to come up to the surface and grab the water off of the top of the surface.