What's the best brand of sprinkler system equipment? Going to install one and want to make sure not to use a brand that ends up being crappy. Rain Bird, Orbit, etc. ???

Rainbird

Doesn't Toro make good control units?

rainbird and hunter are the top ones eh?

Our sprinklers are a combo of rainbird and hunter. Our install guy said they were the best.

I've got a Hunter. Works really well.

I agree. We used to do Hunter for rotors and Rainbird for valves and sprays.

$225 and about 6 hours (planning, purchasing, implementing) for front yard.













[This message has been edited by GCRanger (edited 5/24/2010 1:12p).]

[This message has been edited by GCRanger (edited 5/24/2010 1:16p).]

Elaborate plz.

The parts for your sprinkler are not nearly as important as designing the system correctly AND running it properly. I've torn Rainbird systems out of the ground because they sucked so bad.

Spend some money on a design from a licensed irrigator if you are going to do it yourself.... at least then your layout should be decent. Also be aware there are a slew of new laws in state that you don't want to break. Check out the TCEQ's website for more information.

Good luck.

More info on the DIY hose & impact system.

I basically read a ton of website tutorials on irrigation systems, discussed with a landscaping friend, and took a look at similar setups in neighbor’s yards. Then I designed something for my front yard. This is NOT a permanent "in ground" system.

The idea was to get overlapping coverage on as much of the yard as possible while hiding the impact sprinklers and hoses in the flower beds. The lawn is St. Augustine and gets a lot of sun in some spots and very little sun in others. I wanted the sprinklers to be as even as possible but also provide a little more water to the sunny spots that have had problems in the past.

Parts (~$225)
Orbit Yard Watering System – http://www.orbitirrigation.com/products/Timers/01/04/01/2376/
Orbit Single Port Time
2 x 50 foot hoses – moderate quality (doesn’t kink easily and not too expensive)
4 Ace metal impact sprinkler heads ($18.99 each if I remember correctly)
Brass male & female hose fittings and hose clamps
Extra washers

Timer Installation
I installed the Orbit timer and 4 way flow valve to a faucet in the backyard but close to the front yard fence. I wanted to make sure it was safe from theft but also close enough that I didn’t have to buy a ton of hose. I tested the valves for leaks and also tested the timer and electronic shutoff valves. This timer will cycle through each station (outlet) on the schedule you set. It doesn’t run all 4 at once because there wouldn’t be enough water pressure to do anything.

I then installed the single port timer on the other side of the house. This one is in the front yard and visible from the street so I hope it doesn’t walk away. I tested it out also and everything worked great.

Sprinkler Installation
I started with the long skinny part of the yard on the west side of the house. This only required a single sprinkler as this part of the yard also gets some water from the neighbors in ground system. The sprinkler was only 5 feet from the faucet and would be a good test setup. I put the sprinkler in the flower bed and hooked up the hose. I spent some time adjusting the sprinkler position, flow rate, spray path, etc.

Next I placed the other 3 impact sprinklers in the designed areas in the front flower beds. I just pushed the stakes in a little in case I needed to adjust them. I then measured the hose length from the backyard 4 way faucet to the first sprinkler. I hooked up the first one and tested it out. I adjusted the position a bit and messed with the settings to get it 80% correct.
I then measured the distance from sprinkler 1 to sprinkler 2. This is where I made my first mistake. I hooked up the second sprinkler, turned them on, and realized I didn’t have enough water pressure to run both off the same outlet. The position one sprinkler needed a lot of pressure to fire about 40 feet, but position two only needed enough pressure for about 24 feet.
I did some reconfiguring and ran sprinkler 1 off of outlet 1 and sprinklers 2 & 3 off of outlet 2. This allowed for adequate water pressure as the timer cycled through the different outlets.
Finally I hooked up sprinkler 3 and got them all running. I then adjusted the distance and spray path to what I think will work the best.

Here is a rough drawing of what it looks like.


The best part about this setup:
Cheap & easy to buy, install, maintain, and fix
Easily adjusted
Easy to add to it if needed
It is hidden and looks good.


Lessons learned
-The sprinkler paths should overlap to avoid dry spots
-Don’t buy the cheap plastic impact sprinklers. They can break easily
-Don’t put too many sprinklers on one hose, there won’t be enough water pressure. Two seems to be max.
-Don’t use plastic hose fittings, they leak. Spend the money and get metal
-A shutoff valve on a short piece of hose is great to have while testing. This way you aren’t constantly running back and forth to the faucet

I've only had this setup for a week or so. I'll keep y'all posted on how the lawn reacts to consistent watering.


Hope this helps

One more thing
I currently run these for 20 minutes every 4 days.

I might change it to 15 minutes every 3 days once we start getting in the 100's. Especially if we aren't getting much rain.