ᐅ Garden Irrigation Systems

Payday schrieb:

@f-pNo: Did you also purchase the Gardena pipeline system? How satisfied are you with the system? Our system is still in the living room because we first need to fill up the ground and don’t know the final height yet.

We had it running last year in late summer.
However, not primarily as intended – we connected it to the outdoor water tap, but to our water pump from the cistern instead.
So far, we have only watered using a hose – no sprinkler yet. Up to that point, we are very satisfied.
During early spring, we expanded the system a bit (just last weekend the last section of irrigation pipe was installed). We plan to create an “alternative” water supply to the water tap with a second connection box in case the 10m² (108 sq ft) cistern runs empty. I still need to figure out how to avoid backflow/filling the cistern. I’m thinking of adding a simple shut-off mechanism in between.
We also have lawn sprinklers now – I assume those will work fine.

Two tips – for the same reason.
Before you refill everything (especially pay attention to the connections/fittings), test your pipeline. We had to dig up the connection points again because the connections didn’t hold. A neighbor then advised me that you need to push the pipeline into the fitting very firmly (about 4-5cm (2-2 inches)) for it to fit properly. Otherwise, you make the connection and wonder why water is happily spraying out of the fittings.

We do not have an automatic irrigation system (timer control) nor “perforated” hoses. We’re not fans of those.

PS: Be prepared for heavy digging work with a spade, shovel, and possibly a pickaxe.

I have read several times about the issue with properly connecting the parts and wondered how anyone could have problems with it. I already have all the parts here (I can’t bury them yet because the final height is still unknown) and of course, I tried it. The parts fit together easily and can be tightened without any difficulty. The main connection box with a 4-meter (13 feet) hose and end cap was connected to the water tap, and it is completely watertight. It is correct that after pushing the parts in, you will feel an initial resistance, and then you can (and must) push them in another 2 cm (1 inch).

I am less concerned about digging or connecting the parts (the garden is still farmland without large stones); rather, I am worried about the slope so that the line can drain in autumn. I’m also concerned about the height to ensure everything fits correctly. How can the sprinkler at the end of the line be positioned lower (because it also has the automatic drain for autumn) than the connection at the house, if the ground is at the same level and the connections are on the side (which clearly determines the height)?

We have 2 water outlets, 1 hand outlet, and 2 OS140 rectangular sprinklers (these run through a manual on/off valve). We don’t need any automatic controls; it’s enough if I can switch them on and off manually. Unfortunately, our only water tap does not have a high flow rate. Two OS140 sprinklers definitely bring it to its limit.

Payday schrieb:
I’ve read several times about properly connecting the parts and wondered how anyone could ever get it wrong. I already have all the parts here (I can’t bury them yet because the final height is still unknown) and of course I tried it out. The parts fit together easily and can be twisted tight without effort. I connected the main junction box with a 4-meter (13 feet) hose plus end cap to the faucet, and it was leak-proof. It’s true that after pushing the parts in, you feel an initial resistance, then you can and must push them in about 2cm (0.8 inches) further.

I’m less worried about digging or connecting (the garden is still just field soil without large stones), but I’m more concerned about the slope to ensure the pipe drains in autumn. I’m also worried about the height to make sure everything fits perfectly. How can the sprinkler at the end of the pipe be positioned lower (since there’s also an automatic drain for autumn there) than the connection at the house, when the ground is level and the connections are on the side (which clearly define the height)?

As I said, we operate it with a pump from the rainwater tank. It has 5 bar pressure. We need to overcome height differences of about 5-6 meters (16-20 feet). So drainage is not really an issue. After switching off the pump, everything flowed back into the tank (we had a transparent hose). That way, we were able to remove the drain valve again.

Regarding the connection issue—I did the same initially. It wasn’t watertight at first. Only after applying significantly more force did the pipe slide in another 1.5-2 cm (0.6-0.8 inches) and then it was tight (once closed). Try it when everything is connected. You can still make adjustments then.

Today I installed the two OS140 square sprinklers. The trench was already dug because of the electrical cable. When backfilling, I still need to create the proper slope. I’m just not quite sure how to do that correctly. Do I constantly check with a spirit level and add bedding material as needed? Adding the slope beforehand doesn’t really work since the pipes are somewhat rigid and don’t lie perfectly on the ground everywhere. However, the pipe can be pressed perfectly straight.

With these check valves, the line empties every time in the area of the pop-up sprinklers because the pressure naturally drops when I turn them off. It’s not exactly an elegant solution.

Payday schrieb:
Today I installed the two OS140 rectangular sprinklers. The trench was already dug because of the electrical cable. When backfilling, I still need to create the proper slope. I’m just not quite sure how to do that correctly. Do you constantly check with a spirit level and add support underneath if needed? Creating the slope beforehand doesn’t help much since the pipes are somewhat rigid and don’t lie perfectly on the ground everywhere. But the pipe can be bent very straight with pressure.

With these drain valves, the lines always empty out around the pop-up sprinklers when the pressure drops as soon as I turn them off. It’s not really an elegant solution, somehow.

@Bauexperte: Maybe this part should be moved out of the original thread since it deviates quite a bit from the main topic? Although I’m not sure how extensive this Q&A will get – my knowledge on this is also limited.

We hardly had any issues with the slope because we have a property divided by elevation. The upper part is about 3 to 5 meters (10 to 16 feet) higher. After observing through a transparent hose that the water inside the pipes flowed back automatically due to the height difference, we decided to remove the drain valve. When it was still installed, water always drained out during irrigation, which caused both water loss and slightly lower pressure.

We got through last winter quite well despite the missing drain valve. OK – but last winter we only had a few days with heavy frost anyway.

Hello f-pNo,

f-pNo schrieb:
@Bauexperte : Maybe this part should be separated from the original thread, since it deviates quite a bit from the original topic? Although I’m not sure how extensive this Q&A might become – my knowledge on this is also limited.

Good idea; done

Regards, Bauexperte