How to Check the Flow Rate of your Water Source (GPH/GPM)

[@JesusistheonetrueGod]

This is invaluable information.

[@dripdepot]

I wish I could upvote this more than once! This is indeed where every irrigation system starts and it informs many decisions that come after. Thank you for the great comment!

[@drugwars14]

Great host, great content, great video production. Keep at it dawg!

[@DanielleCampbellPhotography]

I just set up my drip irrigation for 7 beds and not every bed is receiving water. Is this tied to a pressure issue? I used 70ft 1/2 in tubing, pressure regulator is 25 PSI. Should I install a second set up and cut the irrigation in half?

[@dripdepot]

Danielle, this could indeed be tied to pressure or to flow -- before zoning the system, there are a couple ways you can check this to confirm. If possible without too much hassle, you could set it up so that the beds that are getting water are bypassed -- then you can check the beds that are getting water. If they begin emitting water as they should, zoning the system would likely fix you right up. Another thing to check, and this might be more inconvenient, is to test the flow rate of your water source versus the flow rate of your system. To check the flow rate of your water source all you need is a timer and a bucket -- time how long it takes to fill the bucket with water and then plug the numbers into the Flow Rate Calculator at this link: www.dripdepot.com/irrigation-calculators The flow rate of your system is simply the sum of all emitters operating at once -- for example, if you're using 400 of 1/4" drip line with a 0.5 GPH emitter spaced every 12", the system flow demand would be 200 GPH. Generally, you want the flow rate of your water source to exceed the flow rate of the system by about 20%. I'm happy to help with any of this if you have any questions! :)

[@tobruz]

Question If I am to use a pressure regulator for my system as recommended shouldn’t I be measuring flow rate with the regulator attached?

[@dripdepot]

Also a good question :) While I think it's not a bad idea to do so, the results won't be completely reliable -- the reason is, a regulator doesn't engage unless two factors are present: pressurization and flow. If you were to connect the regulator, turn on the faucet and flow test out of the regulator, you would only have one of those two factors present (flow), so might get unreliable results. You're on the right track though, as everything added to a spigot causes some flow restriction (which is why I think it's not necessarily a bad idea to do so anyway), even if it's minimal as is the case for most head assembly components. When testing flow for an irrigation system, I do recommend leaving some cushion between the flow rate result and the flow of the system. For example, if the spigot tests out at 200 GPH, I wouldn't install 200 GPH in emitters on a single zone, as unaccounted for small losses could cause enough loss of flow that some emitters may not work as they should. While it's not scientific, I tend to leave 10 - 20% between the flow of the water source and the flow of the zone or system. So far I've had great results going that route (though again, it's only anecdotal, so not scientific, but has worked for me) :) Thanks for the second great question!

[@tobruz]

@@dripdepot thank you

[@tobruz]

@@dripdepot I am super impressed with the quick response time and detail answers to my inquiries- BRAVO!