Sunday, September 27, 2009

Landscape Sprinkler System - Learn to Install One

This article is about a system that will water flowers, gardens and trees only.

Identify the incoming water line at your residence assuming this is where the sprinkler system is, if you already examined the sprinkler heads at the store, you know doubt saw that they spray in different designs: 360 degrees, 180 degrees, 90 degrees. Some will allow you to adjust the degree of spray and some will only "bubble up" a small quantity of water.

Spray water away from your house not towards it. Some water is very hard and continued spraying of this water on your house will leave an ugly yellow or brownish color that is hard to clean off.

A typical 360 degree sprinkler head running on normal residential water pressure on a circuit properly configured, will spray a circle about 12 feet in diameter. (Or a 6 foot radius from the sprinkler head, however, the type of sprinkler head you use will vary this number). Plan accordingly. Soon you will see about how many individual sprinkler heads you'll really need to cover the square footage required. 180 degree heads may be the best bet here.

Use 1" T's and hook one in with the appropriate length of pipe running upwards to meet the ground level. Some heads will pop up when they are turned on, so these need to be mounted at ground level.

Install up to 6 of these per circuit for starters. Adjust the quantity once you see how your water pressure is pushing the water through the line. Reduce the size from 1" pipe to 3/4". Finally reduce to 1/2". Most of the time, 1/2" pipe threads will be the size of each sprinkler head.

Include the use of an automatic drain on the bottom of each sprinkler head especially if you know that you are NOT going to blow the system out in the late Fall months and you are located in a freezing climate.

Experiment with different heads to develop the spray pattern you need.

If using automatic valves, simply purchase a clock timer from the box store and run two wires from it to each valve.

A master turn off valve for this sprinkler system is suggested. It should be located in the house.

If other areas need to be watered, run pipe from the 2nd valve to the general area and then branch off again using smaller pipe and misc heads.



Autor: Mike Summy Mike Summy
Level: Basic PLUS
Mike Summy is a seasoned home remodeler, home inspector and a source for help on many do-it-yourself projects around your home. Visit this helpful site...

Mike Summy is a seasoned home remodeler, home inspector and a source for help on many do-it-yourself projects around your home. He is the proprietor of:

http://www.easyhomeimprovementprojects.com


Added: September 27, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

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