Hello everyone,
We moved into our new house last summer (oh God, that already sounds so long ago). Since then, there has been a lot to do—and there still is. Now, however, the remaining work is increasingly shifting outdoors.
The well has already been drilled. At that spot, I installed a small pit, and the garden shed will be placed on top of it. Now I’ve been thinking about the irrigation system again and realized that it will be difficult to access the pit underground once the garden shed is in place, as I would then be undermining the base slab.
So, I’ve been giving it some thought and reading a lot, but not everything is clear to me yet.
Firstly: before I pour the base slab, I need to run the necessary pipes out of the pit. That means drilling a hole through the pit ring and laying 1 to x PVC pipes (KG pipes) extending 1 to 2 meters (3 to 6.5 feet) beyond the edge of the base slab, so that I can later feed the water line through them when the time comes.
By the way, the garden shed will also house the sub-distribution for the outdoor electrical system. So, I also need to run a cable from the pit through the base slab to the distribution board in the garden shed for the pump. Additionally, I need 2 to 3 PVC pipes from inside where the distribution board is mounted, under the base slab to the outside, for all the electrical wiring on the driveway—such as the gate, lighting, and control cables for the irrigation valves, etc.
Now to the main topic: the automatic irrigation system
In this forum, it seems @rick2018 has good knowledge about this subject. Maybe you could give me some tips as well.
Below is a plan of our property:
Except for the house, none of this has actually been implemented yet. The plants are just planned and may still change. The second terrace on the drawing is currently 10 x 10 meters (33 x 33 feet). It won’t actually be that large; that’s just a placeholder for the approximate future location. However, it definitely won’t be built in the next five years. That brings me to my first point:
1. How do you take that into account now? For example, regarding the second terrace, I would mostly plan the sprinklers as if the terrace will never be built, since it’s still uncertain whether and where exactly it will be placed. What about the trees? If I install the sprinklers now and then plant a tree 1 or 2 meters (3 to 6.5 feet) away next year, there will be shade along the axis behind the tree. In the first few years, this is probably negligible due to the small trunk diameter, but what happens when the trunk gets thicker?
2. What exactly should be irrigated? Lawn, flower beds, and vegetable garden are clear. I’ve read differing opinions about hedges, especially regarding adaptation to watering. What about trees? They should be able to cope on their own, right? Is it really overkill to install irrigation just for the first and maybe the second year?
3. For my large lawn areas, I’m considering Hunter gear-driven rotors. However, these are said to be rather sensitive to wind. Here, it’s usually windy because we’re on a small hill. But once everything around is planted, there shouldn’t be much wind close to the ground, right? @rick2018, why do you prefer rotators like the MP3000 over gear-driven rotors like the I20, for example?
4. My father-in-law took care of the well. I believe a Grundfos SQ2-55 pump is installed “in the hole.” The borehole depth was about 20 meters (66 feet) and the pump hangs at roughly 15 meters (49 feet) depth. The property slopes upwards by almost one meter (3 feet) to the right, so the pump has to push water up about 16 meters (52 feet). The pump is capable of 54 meters (177 feet) total head. So that leaves about 38 meters (125 feet), which corresponds to roughly 3.8 bar (55 psi) and, unfortunately, only about 2 cubic meters per hour (around 880 gallons per hour).
If I understand correctly, I can only operate two gear-driven I20 rotors with the 4.0 nozzle on one zone, since each requires 0.81 m³/h (about 360 gallons/hr) at 2.5 bar (36 psi) with a 11.9-meter (39 feet) radius (planning uses 10.5 meters). That will mean a lot of zones. Alternatively, I could try to return the pump to the well driller (as it wasn’t used before) and get one with 4 m³/h (about 1760 gallons/hr) or more. The question is whether that would make my well wear out faster (clogging?).
5. Let’s say I keep the existing pump and end up with 30 zones. How would that work in practice? Would each lawn irrigation zone run for 30 minutes? And every 3 days? That would cause problems with my planned robotic mower that will almost always be running over the large area. In the end, I won’t have time to enjoy the yard because either the mower is running or the sprinklers are on.
6. It is recommended to start the design in a corner of the property. So, for example, I start at the top right and place the first sprinkler in front of the hedge. The thing is: the hedge is currently very narrow, but will become 1 to 2 meters (3 to 6.5 feet) wide over time.
7. The sprinklers extend during operation and retract afterwards. How durable are these if someone steps on them? It looks like I will eventually have a “carpet” of pop-up sprinklers. The children should, of course, still be able to play freely.
That’s enough for now. Have a nice rest of the Sunday!
We moved into our new house last summer (oh God, that already sounds so long ago). Since then, there has been a lot to do—and there still is. Now, however, the remaining work is increasingly shifting outdoors.
The well has already been drilled. At that spot, I installed a small pit, and the garden shed will be placed on top of it. Now I’ve been thinking about the irrigation system again and realized that it will be difficult to access the pit underground once the garden shed is in place, as I would then be undermining the base slab.
So, I’ve been giving it some thought and reading a lot, but not everything is clear to me yet.
Firstly: before I pour the base slab, I need to run the necessary pipes out of the pit. That means drilling a hole through the pit ring and laying 1 to x PVC pipes (KG pipes) extending 1 to 2 meters (3 to 6.5 feet) beyond the edge of the base slab, so that I can later feed the water line through them when the time comes.
By the way, the garden shed will also house the sub-distribution for the outdoor electrical system. So, I also need to run a cable from the pit through the base slab to the distribution board in the garden shed for the pump. Additionally, I need 2 to 3 PVC pipes from inside where the distribution board is mounted, under the base slab to the outside, for all the electrical wiring on the driveway—such as the gate, lighting, and control cables for the irrigation valves, etc.
Now to the main topic: the automatic irrigation system
In this forum, it seems @rick2018 has good knowledge about this subject. Maybe you could give me some tips as well.
Below is a plan of our property:
Except for the house, none of this has actually been implemented yet. The plants are just planned and may still change. The second terrace on the drawing is currently 10 x 10 meters (33 x 33 feet). It won’t actually be that large; that’s just a placeholder for the approximate future location. However, it definitely won’t be built in the next five years. That brings me to my first point:
1. How do you take that into account now? For example, regarding the second terrace, I would mostly plan the sprinklers as if the terrace will never be built, since it’s still uncertain whether and where exactly it will be placed. What about the trees? If I install the sprinklers now and then plant a tree 1 or 2 meters (3 to 6.5 feet) away next year, there will be shade along the axis behind the tree. In the first few years, this is probably negligible due to the small trunk diameter, but what happens when the trunk gets thicker?
2. What exactly should be irrigated? Lawn, flower beds, and vegetable garden are clear. I’ve read differing opinions about hedges, especially regarding adaptation to watering. What about trees? They should be able to cope on their own, right? Is it really overkill to install irrigation just for the first and maybe the second year?
3. For my large lawn areas, I’m considering Hunter gear-driven rotors. However, these are said to be rather sensitive to wind. Here, it’s usually windy because we’re on a small hill. But once everything around is planted, there shouldn’t be much wind close to the ground, right? @rick2018, why do you prefer rotators like the MP3000 over gear-driven rotors like the I20, for example?
4. My father-in-law took care of the well. I believe a Grundfos SQ2-55 pump is installed “in the hole.” The borehole depth was about 20 meters (66 feet) and the pump hangs at roughly 15 meters (49 feet) depth. The property slopes upwards by almost one meter (3 feet) to the right, so the pump has to push water up about 16 meters (52 feet). The pump is capable of 54 meters (177 feet) total head. So that leaves about 38 meters (125 feet), which corresponds to roughly 3.8 bar (55 psi) and, unfortunately, only about 2 cubic meters per hour (around 880 gallons per hour).
If I understand correctly, I can only operate two gear-driven I20 rotors with the 4.0 nozzle on one zone, since each requires 0.81 m³/h (about 360 gallons/hr) at 2.5 bar (36 psi) with a 11.9-meter (39 feet) radius (planning uses 10.5 meters). That will mean a lot of zones. Alternatively, I could try to return the pump to the well driller (as it wasn’t used before) and get one with 4 m³/h (about 1760 gallons/hr) or more. The question is whether that would make my well wear out faster (clogging?).
5. Let’s say I keep the existing pump and end up with 30 zones. How would that work in practice? Would each lawn irrigation zone run for 30 minutes? And every 3 days? That would cause problems with my planned robotic mower that will almost always be running over the large area. In the end, I won’t have time to enjoy the yard because either the mower is running or the sprinklers are on.
6. It is recommended to start the design in a corner of the property. So, for example, I start at the top right and place the first sprinkler in front of the hedge. The thing is: the hedge is currently very narrow, but will become 1 to 2 meters (3 to 6.5 feet) wide over time.
7. The sprinklers extend during operation and retract afterwards. How durable are these if someone steps on them? It looks like I will eventually have a “carpet” of pop-up sprinklers. The children should, of course, still be able to play freely.
That’s enough for now. Have a nice rest of the Sunday!
T
T_im_Norden28 May 2020 19:40Sometimes manganese settles out even when you run the water into a light-colored bucket; you can see small particles like sand or even flakes.
Removing manganese from the water is complex and costly.
You could ask your well contractor if they have the water test results.
Otherwise, you can have an analysis done to determine the values.
It costs around 100 Euros.
Removing manganese from the water is complex and costly.
You could ask your well contractor if they have the water test results.
Otherwise, you can have an analysis done to determine the values.
It costs around 100 Euros.
I can try the bucket method today.
The well driller only did a quick test for iron content right after drilling, which showed very low iron levels. However, I would say that has changed by now.
I’ve simply removed the filter from the housing for the time being. Now the water still flows through the housing but without the filter. This way, I can reach the intended range as planned in theory. Also, the flow rate doesn’t decrease—at least not noticeably. Here are two pictures of the filter after removal:
As you can see, the filter discs are slightly darkened, but when looking at them individually, it doesn’t seem too bad. Apparently, it must have been significant since it now runs much better without the filter. In the second photo, you can see deposits on top. At first, I thought it was sand. I worried the pump might be positioned too close to the filter and was sucking it up. But if you say manganese looks like that, then it’s probably manganese. There were also small bluish particles in between, which look like plastic.
Best regards
The well driller only did a quick test for iron content right after drilling, which showed very low iron levels. However, I would say that has changed by now.
I’ve simply removed the filter from the housing for the time being. Now the water still flows through the housing but without the filter. This way, I can reach the intended range as planned in theory. Also, the flow rate doesn’t decrease—at least not noticeably. Here are two pictures of the filter after removal:
As you can see, the filter discs are slightly darkened, but when looking at them individually, it doesn’t seem too bad. Apparently, it must have been significant since it now runs much better without the filter. In the second photo, you can see deposits on top. At first, I thought it was sand. I worried the pump might be positioned too close to the filter and was sucking it up. But if you say manganese looks like that, then it’s probably manganese. There were also small bluish particles in between, which look like plastic.
Best regards
T
T_im_Norden29 May 2020 12:11Mangan would be black; the light grains on the edge of the metal spiral are likely sand. Manganese can be crushed, resulting in a paste ranging in color from black to red-yellow.
There are some black spots visible on the filter.
There are some black spots visible on the filter.
P
Piotr198126 Aug 2020 15:25rick2018 schrieb:
Regarding overspray. Yes, each sprinkler must reach the next one.
So, with a throw radius of 10 meters (33 feet), you place a sprinkler every 10 meters (33 feet), not every 20 meters (66 feet), like you described with three units in a row.
This is the biggest mistake in terms of coverage and achieving even precipitation. So it’s essential to follow this. Both at the sprinkler itself and at the end of its throw radius, the precipitation rate is the lowest.
There’s no point in going significantly larger than your pump connection just to reduce pipe losses.
1" is DN32 with approximately 25-26 mm (1 inch) inner diameter. DN25 corresponds to 3/4 inch.
There are huge differences between pumps. The Tipp models are more affordable and have proven reliable in a few installations I know. We use Wilo. When I think of well pumps, Grundfos isn’t the first name that comes to mind. They do have a reputation you pay for.
Just look around to find a pump that delivers more volume at the required head and fits into your well.
Using DN32 and the pipe lengths you mention, I would design the irrigation zones with a maximum flow of 2.3 m³/h (101.5 gallons per hour).
Of course, the right pump and valves should also be 1" size.
The 450x is excellent. I installed one last year at my mother’s place. For your garden, it nearly reaches the theoretical maximum coverage area.
The flow rate can only be measured by filling a container. Run the pump, collect the water into a defined vessel, and time it. Whether this is also the continuous flow rate will only be clear after running the pump longer…
Control can be done via KNX. Keep in mind that you will need an additional transformer for the valves. But it’s nowhere near as convenient and user-friendly as a modern irrigation controller. It’s also not really cheaper. The only advantage of KNX control is that multiple zones can be activated simultaneously. But you won’t be able to do that since you’ll be glad to supply even a small zone…
I thought about it for a long time and eventually went with KNX. We can run 2-3 zones at once (pump at required head with 30 m³/h (1,330 gallons per hour)).
Hi Rick,
What do you think about the Wilo TWU 3 (0123/0130) for garden irrigation (around 250 m² (2,690 sq ft)) and a well depth of approximately 18-20 meters (59-66 feet)? Do you have any experience with this pump?
@Piotr1981 The pump has a low flow rate per hour. According to the pump curve, it delivers just over 2.5 m3/h (about 2.8 yd³/h) at a 20-meter (66 ft) head. Try to find one that provides closer to 4-6 m3/h (4.9-7.8 yd³/h). Otherwise, you'll need more loops. If you already have small loops and the flow rate is sufficient, you can confidently use this pump.
Since I am slowly moving on to the planning stage, I have read through the entire thread. It basically contains everything you need to know.
One thing I am still wondering:
What is the most efficient solution to supply irrigation from both the rainwater tank and the mains water?
One thing I am still wondering:
What is the most efficient solution to supply irrigation from both the rainwater tank and the mains water?
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