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Sprinkler System Review

2,082 Views | 9 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by The Pilot
The Pilot
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I'm redoing our backyard sprinkler system because of a big patio project. I sent off our landscape plan to Orbit for their design and they came back with the design shown below. Seems to utilize a ton of smaller sprinklers and some could be removed by using larger rotors, but I'm not a sprinkler guy. My neighbor works for toro and can supply me all their stuff for free so I'll chat with him but wanted to get another opinion.

AgEng06
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Once upon a time I taught an irrigation CAD class in the BAEN department. After I moved on, AgySkeet took it over and then turned it into a career. Maybe he'll be along shortly.
Funky Winkerbean
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Is it all grass? How much area?
The Pilot
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Yeah, this area is all grass, looks like it's about 2500 sq ft. Including the front yard, they designed 5 zones for grass and I have 11 zones for drip irrigation.
B-1 83
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No beds? Might think ahead……
Being in TexAgs jail changes a man……..no, not really
The Pilot
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B-1 83 said:

No beds? Might think ahead……


1 zone is for vegetables in raised beds. We don't have any other.
TMfrisco
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There is a lot of small stuff and a lot of overlap. But, with the size and shape there probably wasn't any good way around it. Those small heads are cheap and provide a little better coverage than larger rotors.
I would guess you will need to be careful with run times once installed. It won't be a standard time over each zone.
Apache
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Quote:

the size and shape there probably wasn't any good way around it.
This is textbook "head to head" coverage. Good design, too small for rotors, and using MP rotator heads will cost way too much.

You could probably eliminate a couple of heads on the front right side of the house & be none the worse for wear.

Run times will be like 10 minutes or less. Orbit should be able to give you a precipitation rate for these zones so you know how long to water. May need to split these zones into 2 start times as you'll get runoff in a hurry depending upon soil types.

AgySkeet06
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AgEng06 said:

Once upon a time I taught an irrigation CAD class in the BAEN department. After I moved on, AgySkeet took it over and then turned it into a career. Maybe he'll be along shortly.
Well Hello.....

Yes this is a very well thought out design that provides complete head to head coverage so you shouldnt expect any significantly dry or stressed areas of the lawn. I would have probably tweeked a couple of heads in the bottom areas but when you have such irregular geometry in the landscape it can be challenging to get it "perfect"

The layout is only half the design (which is off to a great start!). The next is assigning the sprinklers to individual zones. You likely do not have enough flow from your water meter to use all the sprinklers at the same time. They will need to be grouped into flow based zones that do not exceed 75% of the maximum flow of your water meter. When grouping heads into flow based zones make sure to also consider putting the sprinklers that will be in mostly sun or partially shadded areas together. This will help with irrigation runtime management as some areas could dry out faster than others.
After that just need to make sure the pipes are sized correctly to deliver sufficient flow while minimizing friction-pressure losses.

The state of Texas has minimum requirements for landscape irrigation systems and cities/utilities could have additional requirements. if you plan on doing this all yourself make sure you do your research or at least consult a Licensed Irrigators before doing the final install.
The Pilot
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AgySkeet06 said:

AgEng06 said:

Once upon a time I taught an irrigation CAD class in the BAEN department. After I moved on, AgySkeet took it over and then turned it into a career. Maybe he'll be along shortly.
Well Hello.....

Yes this is a very well thought out design that provides complete head to head coverage so you shouldnt expect any significantly dry or stressed areas of the lawn. I would have probably tweeked a couple of heads in the bottom areas but when you have such irregular geometry in the landscape it can be challenging to get it "perfect"

The layout is only half the design (which is off to a great start!). The next is assigning the sprinklers to individual zones. You likely do not have enough flow from your water meter to use all the sprinklers at the same time. They will need to be grouped into flow based zones that do not exceed 75% of the maximum flow of your water meter. When grouping heads into flow based zones make sure to also consider putting the sprinklers that will be in mostly sun or partially shadded areas together. This will help with irrigation runtime management as some areas could dry out faster than others.
After that just need to make sure the pipes are sized correctly to deliver sufficient flow while minimizing friction-pressure losses.

The state of Texas has minimum requirements for landscape irrigation systems and cities/utilities could have additional requirements. if you plan on doing this all yourself make sure you do your research or at least consult a Licensed Irrigators before doing the final install.
Yeah, they've split the backyard into three zones.

Thanks for all the help! Looks like the design is solid and I shouldn't screw with it.
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