How to Determine Your Available Flow and Pressure for Your Lawn Sprinkler System
In today's article I'm going to explain to you how to measure available water flow and pressure your water source will be able to provide for your lawn sprinkler system. There three most common water sources available are well water, city water, and reclaimed (recycled waste water) water.
Well water or any water delivered from a creek will be drawn out and delivered to the lawn sprinkler system through a pump. What kind of pump you have depends on how deep a well you are using, how much water your pump must push, how far the water must flow, and how hard against gravity the pump will have to push the water.
City water and reclaimed water lines are pressurized by city or county pumps installed throughout your area. If tapping into one of these lines, you will not have access to the pump that control it, but it is usually dependable 99.5% of the time.
Measuring all three sources will require you to have a stop watch or watch with a second hand and 5 gallon bucket.
Measuring your available flow through your pump will require you to get water from an unrestricted spot. What I mean is to measure directly from the output of the pump or right after the first 90 degree fitting, not from the hose bib. Time how long it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket full. If you fill it in 15 seconds, then you have 20 (5x4) gallons per minute available to work with.
To measure pressure you'll want to get a pressure gauge with a hose bib adapter. After the gauge is screwed on, turn on the water supply and read what the PSI is. You'll want at least 40 psi, and no more than 75 psi for a residential sprinkler design. Most lawn pumps, city water supply and reclaim water supplies all fall within this range.
Measure pressure from a city water or reclaimed water source in the same manner as the pump, simply connect the pressure gauge to a hose, turn on and read. Measuring flow from a city water or reclaimed water source will be similar to measuring flow from a pump. If you have any questions you can always call your local public works or water authority to ask them the available flow and pressure.
Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com
Well water or any water delivered from a creek will be drawn out and delivered to the lawn sprinkler system through a pump. What kind of pump you have depends on how deep a well you are using, how much water your pump must push, how far the water must flow, and how hard against gravity the pump will have to push the water.
City water and reclaimed water lines are pressurized by city or county pumps installed throughout your area. If tapping into one of these lines, you will not have access to the pump that control it, but it is usually dependable 99.5% of the time.
Measuring all three sources will require you to have a stop watch or watch with a second hand and 5 gallon bucket.
Measuring your available flow through your pump will require you to get water from an unrestricted spot. What I mean is to measure directly from the output of the pump or right after the first 90 degree fitting, not from the hose bib. Time how long it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket full. If you fill it in 15 seconds, then you have 20 (5x4) gallons per minute available to work with.
To measure pressure you'll want to get a pressure gauge with a hose bib adapter. After the gauge is screwed on, turn on the water supply and read what the PSI is. You'll want at least 40 psi, and no more than 75 psi for a residential sprinkler design. Most lawn pumps, city water supply and reclaim water supplies all fall within this range.
Measure pressure from a city water or reclaimed water source in the same manner as the pump, simply connect the pressure gauge to a hose, turn on and read. Measuring flow from a city water or reclaimed water source will be similar to measuring flow from a pump. If you have any questions you can always call your local public works or water authority to ask them the available flow and pressure.
Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com
posted by Irrigationman at
5:16 PM
3 Comments:
Oh please, oh please...I wonder if you can help. I have just paid to have my 7 zone system repaired, including a new timer box. One day after this, zone 7 would not turn off. I'm told it's a valve that's stuck on open. But, my irrigation company can't find the valve, and I can't find it, and I can't get another company to come look for it. The original irrigation company just gave up and said "Let us know when you get some one out here that can find it, then we'll fix it." Argh!
Your irrigation company should have used a valve locater to find the lost valve. A valve locater is a machine that helps you find lost valve.
You send current though the hot wire on the zone that is not working and then use a wand and headphones to trace the signal to the valve.
If your irrigation company doesn't own a valve locater, you can usually rent one from an irrigation wholesale supplier.
Hi: you are a life saver.
I have the same problem with a stuck valve. Where or who might be an irrigation wholesaler in the Dallas/Plano area where I might rent a locator unit? Also what is the normal rental price? Thanks, Ron
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