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Sprinkler questions

15 years ago

I am having a new sprinkler system installed before sod on a new front lawn. The vendor I have talked to is highly recommended. They use Rainbird (5000 rotors, 1800 sprays, etc.). They said they design to keep my pump on once it starts... I can understand that in most situations (I understand how the water flowing through it cools the well pump and short, frequent start/stop is bad for it)... but my situation is unique... I have geothermal heating/cooling... and if both units are running they take about 16gpm. I have a 1.5 hp pump that delivers about 35 gpm, and 3 of the largest WellXTrol tanks to hold a lot of water so my geos do not cause the pump to cycle too frequently. I also have large tanks to store water for my fire sprinkler system. That having been said, I want to LIMIT the max needed on any zone to about 10-12gpm... so that I never starve my geothermal units and so I have some left over for domestic use.

My questions are:

1) Am I correct to ask the installer to add more zones and limit each to 10-12 gpm in this situation?

2) Some have told me Hunter is top of the line... is there enough difference for me to ask the installer to use Hunter instead of Rainbird which they use all the time?

3) The say they will run 1-1/4 mains and 1" after each valve to all heads... this sounds good to me... correct?

Thanks for your help.

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Comments (2)

eddie_il
15 years ago
I installed my own irrigation system so I might be able to answer your questions.

1) Yes, you can put in as many zones as you like to reduce the amount of flow needed. More zones though could equal more plumbing, more control valves, and therefore more costs. FYI- 18 GPM is the most you can safely use with a 1" pipe, higher flows could damage the pipe. I have 6 zones, the highest flow I have is around 12 gpm.
2) I used the exact sprinklers that you mentioned. That is what the place around here that supplies professional irrigation supplies uses. Both hunter and rainbird are top of the line, one company supposedly makes the best spray head and the other makes the best rotor type sprinkler. I forget which is which. Either would work just fine.
3) The line sizes you mentioned are pretty much standard for residential yards.

Normally if you are using a pump, it will be either on or off with a standard system. What happens is the controller turns on a relay which turns on the pump. There is a great site for info on irrigation systems: irrigationtutorials.com. You could pretty much find any info you need there. Hope this helps, good luck...
all_wet
15 years ago
I prefer Rain Bird product because of their spray head nozzles and wiper seals in both the spray and rotor heads. Hunter is a good product as well, but I have had better luck with Rain Bird.
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