How to design a lawn sprinkler system

[@pcofranc]

Excellence! Watched many of your irrigation videos.

[@Iscaper]

Thanks Paul for watching.

[@hockeybuilder1]

Reducing increases velocity. You dont need more Volume you need power to push the water further

[@euphony745]

WOW. YOU ARE A FREAKIN GENIUS. this is absolutely awesome. What is your educational background? I love all of your videos. I really do learn a lot from you. Keep up the good work.

[@Iscaper]

My advice would be if you're going to design sprinkler systems, design a system and then follow the process through to the installation of your sprinkler system design and see if what you put down on paper works with the actual installation. Does the installed system work how you intended with the design, did you design the right heads, did you get good coverage? Seeing the finished installed system working will help you isolate design mistakes and improve when you do the next design.

[@Iscaper]

Thanks Benjamin for the feedback.

[@cameronchristian3477]

Informative video, keeps it simple for the beginner. I am a licensed irrigator in Texas, different regions of the country use different techniques. The main differences/preferences I have: Don't use Schedule 40 PVC...use Class 200 thin wall. Less friction, less cost, much easier to work with. Design zones up to 15 gpm with a 5/8" or 3/4" city meter, less valves, less cost, faster water cycle times. I would not manifold more than 2 valves together for reasons mentioned. Single strand wires!

[@TheConfusedIndian]

Best informative video on youtube.

[@Iscaper]

Most lawn sprinkler systems are fed by a 3/4" water meter so you don't get any more flow than what the meter can produce. Most supply lines & sprinkler valves are 1". You do get a little less friction loss using a 1" supply & 1" valves but the flow would stay the same. You could stay 1" with piping throughout the system but it would increase costs somewhat. You are correct, there is no magic to the T & H's in the circuit lines, you just want to avoid long straight runs. Good comments.

[@him-2515]

Is there a two wire path controller without using decoders?

[@Iscaper]

Thanks Joseph. You just made my whole day. I appreciate the feedback and the comments.

[@ezrajoel870]

Instablaster

[@heroknaderi]

thanks I guess you can use 1 in for main when main line is 3/4 in my childhood home has 3/4 in main and 1/2 in Lateral. whats best for this design the pressure looks low on some heads. Thanks for advice

[@Iscaper]

Thank you, your feedback is appreciated. A good design is the most important aspect of a sprinkler system.

[@spelunkerd]

The more you know about sprinkler layout design, the more difficult you realize it is. And fixing it after the fact is not easy....

[@mhupka]

Excellent, Excellent, Excellent video. So hard to find somebody that is this good. Thank you.

[@Iscaper]

Very kind, I appreciate the feedback.

[@Iscaper]

Yes you need to know your water pressure and flow in gpm (gallons per minute) for the sprinkler system. Not sure what you mean by deepen the water supply line. Most sprinkler systems "tee" into the service line running to the house with a stop & waste valve which feeds the sprinkler system. Running a new 1" service line to the house wouldn't be necessary because you're "teeing" into the service line. The plan I designed was for my house, the sprinkler design for your home would be different.

[@Iscaper]

Thanks.

[@Iscaper]

Good points. I would still rather spend a little more and use Schedule 40 pipe vs Class 200. I've had trouble with Class 200 in the past. 15gpm seems a little high on flow from a 3/4" meter, I would design 8-12gpm to be safe.

[@Iscaper]

Thanks naturescaper, I appreciate your intelligent comments.

[@Iscaper]

I've used Rain Bird drip tubing and emitters since the late 80's with no problems. If you filter and pressure reduce everything works fine. Have you considered the problems that might arise by simply swinging rotors to water planter areas next to the house. I've seen it in my business. Water in the basement and water stains on the brick and windows. A good solution is to use drip lines (not the octopus type) and do individual plant watering which cures the problems.

[@j.d.8457]

What would you charge to design a system for me? I can install and provide measurements just need the design. Thank you in advance.

[@nancystarnes1832]

Thank you, very good!

[@Iscaper]

+Nancy Starnes Thanks Nancy.

[@johnkosheluk1041]

Hi Kerry I learn a lot from your video I have a question what do u think is the best way 2 tie into a city water line 4 a sprinkler sys do u like comp tees or no I don't think the rubber in them will stand up long what do u think please

[@Iscaper]

john Kosheluk Are you tapping into a city main or the main line to a house? Usually the city water department is responsible for all the piping to the water meter. I've had good luck with the brass compression tees if I'm taping into a galvanized or copper main line to the house. I've also used PVC dresser tees to tap in but you need to be careful about over tightening the caps and cracking them. I had to learn this the hard way.

[@johnkosheluk1041]

Thank u

[@richsellskc]

nice video. i m installing my own. wondering how you arrived at 8-11 gpm versus 8-12, 0r 13? Did you measure the flow rate out of your hose bib to confirm 11 gpm? not clear how you picked 11. the 8 I can understand since it is ideal... thanks in advance for your answer. also, will 1" poly pipe be a better choice than 3/4 pvc or poly as far a more room on each zone for sprinklers to add? rich

[@Iscaper]

I looked up the flow rates for 3/4" Schedule 40 pipe. It may be that you can use 11-13 gpm on your sprinkler system depending on pressure and flow available. I used 8-11 gpm because it's a safe range. The danger of using higher flow rates is performance. Remember even if you run 1" piping you still need to design the system to the smallest pipe or fitting size feeding the system. So if you have a 3/4" meter feeding the system and you run 1" pipe, you still need to design for 3/4". I like using 1" PVC Schedule 40 for supply lines and manifolds because most sprinkler valves are 1". I'm not a big fan of poly pipe, it's rated at lower pressure and after years of service it tends to get brittle and crack.

[@johnp82]

Would you know how to draw a slope?

[@hhattingh]

Look no further. After watching this i don't feel as clueless. Thank you

[@davidwright7244]

Great video ! This will be a lot of help. I happen to have same situation with my home, & by the way it also is 10 years old. Thank you for you time & knowledge.

[@Iscaper]

Thanks David for watching.

[@Iscaper]

There is no mixing of heads in this design. Over spraying of rotors into planter areas isn't an efficient use of water. The nice thing about installing drip circuits in planter areas is that you can do individual plant watering and you don't have to worry about plants growing up and screening off water from a spray head.

[@johnleeway7782]

So, I'm confused. I Was instructed to find my flow rate by filling a 5 gallon bucket with a stop watch to determine my available flow rate. Yet, in your video, you use a chart and seemingly pull desired GPM out of the blue sky that you "want to use" and go with that. What am I missing here? I thought your available flow rate is what it is, not something you decide?

[@Iscaper]

There are flow tables you can use that show flow, friction loss, and velocity depending on what type of pipe you are using. These tables help speed up the design process. Here's a link that might help: www.rainbird.com/sites/default/files/media/documents/2018-02/IrrigationDesignManual.pdf Go to page 102 in the technical data section.

[@fredericklandro1650]

Sounds like process engineering!

[@T25de]

1.25 x required

[@gsftom]

Excellent! Thank you for the super detailed information and description.

[@Iscaper]

Glad it was helpful!

[@littlee3468]

This is great design instruction. Why do we reduce from 1" service to 3/4" zone. Doesn't that reduce capacity and pressure. I wonder if staying at 1" throughout the entire system is more effecient? Also is there any magic to the T and H design in the zones. I would think you just attempt to put as many T and H's as possible and minimize the straight line feed. Again, thanks so much for your generous sharing.

[@silkscrim]

Did I miss it? Where and how did you connect all the various zone supply lines to the water source? If you could, reply with the time point in the video. Thank you for the great video.

[@Iscaper]

Supply lines, valves, and zone lines begin at 11:30 in the video. Supply line connects in front yard where stop & waste valve is located.

[@Iscaper]

Yes, fixing a bad design after the sprinkler system is installed is time consuming and expensive.

[@desnowboarder]

kerry, stupid question but I gotta ask. how do you know what sprinkler to choose and then what nozzle to choose. I'm working on my design and finding it difficult to choose so many to choose from and are they the best for my application?

[@Iscaper]

Smaller lawn areas (around 15' wide or irregular shaped) I like to use Rainbird 1804 spray bodies with either 15VAN or R17-24 rotary nozzles. Bigger lawn areas (15' to 30' wide) I like the Rainbird 3504 rotor, and big lawn areas (30' to 50' wide) I like the Rainbird 5004 rotors. Remember not to mix heads.

[@desnowboarder]

By heads you mean spray mixed with rotars

[@Iscaper]

Yes, don't mix spray heads with rotors, and when using spray heads try to use nozzles that are in the same series and have MPRs (matched precipitation rates). So if you use 15VAN, 15F, 15H, or 15Q nozzles, don't mix in 8VAN or R17-24 nozzles with the 1500 series nozzles on a sprinkler zone/circuit.

[@darkshadow2393]

Too many details and this gave me a damn headache. Great job on taking the time to put this together!

[@TheBros2theend]

God bless heal save and forgive you

[@warrenstemphly5756]

I just am tired of dragging garden hose around, do I really have to design a space shuttle?

[@noeeon9910]

Yes

[@brettbell625]

Gday mate! 16:30 to 17:00 . I didn't know what you meant. cheers for the vid

[@Iscaper]

When possible it's good to use a T or H pattern instead of a single long run when designing the piping for a sprinkler zone. It's all about the distance the water has to travel and friction loss in the piping from traveling that distance. For example if you have a sprinkler zone with 50' of pipe it is more efficient to use a T pattern and have the water travel 25' in each direction from the T than to feed the pipe from either end and have the water travel 50'.

[@johnkosheluk1041]

Hi kerry i have a queston can u run a supply line through the yard and tap off the sup line 4 the valvs on city water and do u nead a master valve

[@durjaysingh5765]

kindly advise if 3000 ppm water can be used for rotor sprinklers such as 5004 or 6504 why not come sprayers and rotors what about impact are they better than gear rotor for high TDS ie 3000 ppm water

[@Iscaper]

Not sure what you mean by ppm and TDS. I like the 5004 stream rotor over the Maxi-Paw impact rotor because the 5004 is more reliable. The 5004 also comes with a nozzle tree that makes matching precipitation rates much easier than the Maxi-Paw.

[@chitvanresortajmerindia2909]

total dissolved solids , ppm is parts per million indicates the hardness of water . I am in a semi arid zone with borewell water which is Hard . that is what I meant .

[@ahmadfaqiri7190]

Thanks, this was a very informative video. Next time I watch I will take notes.

[@Iscaper]

Thanks Ahmad for commenting.

[@ahmadfaqiri7190]

I go by Nabi by the way, it's my middle name :)

[@Iscaper]

Thanks for the feedback on my videos.

[@fideleniyitanga7420]

i am the biginner in irrigation because i am still studying in the university but for this domain of irrigation what i need is to know how can improve my skills through this web

[@DoNnEgRoW]

do you round off your dimensions or do you use inches, noticed no inches in your dimensions, thanks

[@juscallmeric]

Hello from the future

[@zaccomusic]

good video hope you keep update :)

[@Iscaper]

Good point, thanks.

[@fazilrahmansaifyassaqzay696]

I will start my training to designing my planing and thanks for it

[@throughthestorm3852]

It looks to me that they are in series; how many sprinklers can you put in series?

[@Iscaper]

Sprinkler systems are done in zones. Heads per zone are determined by pipe size, flow, and pressure.

[@tipico71]

Thank you for this video, is exactly what I was looking for to start my system!

[@Iscaper]

Thanks and good luck.

[@LivnTex]

Video is excellent in providing details for the sprinkler system design. A gold standard. Thank you.

[@Iscaper]

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback.

[@Iscaper]

Thanks Jay.

[@sergiochavez4706]

You explained very very clearly thanks I will see your videos often

[@Iscaper]

Thanks Sergio.

[@desnowboarder]

I was looking at rainbird's website and none of there sprinklers list there GPM rating. how do you know this info????

[@Iscaper]

+drew money (desnowboarder) All the information is in the Turf Irrigation manual Rain Bird publishes. Go to my website iScaper.com and on the Downloads page you can download the manual. Here's a link: iscaper.com/downloads.php

[@desnowboarder]

+iScaper1 thanks

[@avi8rnole]

When planning the supply line do you have any tips? Is there electrical wiring along the supply line to each set of valves?

[@Iscaper]

+avi8rnole I like to size the supply line one size bigger than the piping size required for the sprinkler system. There is a little less friction loss that way. So if my connection point is 3/4", I'll run a 1" supply line. Plus most residential sprinkler valves are in 1". It's also a good idea to drop a timer wire in the trench when running the supply lines.

[@T25de]

Never want to mix heads Question- I’m just curious if different heads in the same zone are ok considering sun/shade variations within the zone borders. Some spots in the lawn also hold or give water dependent on relative elevation.

[@Iscaper]

Different heads are okay if they have the same precipitation rates. If you're getting run off, water less time and more frequently.

[@T25de]

iScaper1 Thanks for the tip!

[@johnkosheluk1041]

good morning Kerry do u think that the rainbird 5004 are easer to set then the 3504 I found out the the 3504 have gears in them that are easy to strip

[@Iscaper]

+john Kosheluk I agree, the 5004 seems to more durable and easier to adjust than the 3504.

[@boolshmool]

truth, feels like the gear is bigger or has more teeth.

[@ylecha2016]

This is an old video but super helpful. Thank you

[@Iscaper]

Glad it was helpful!

[@johnkosheluk1041]

Hi kerry happy new year q i have a job i am about 2 do it had a sprinkler sys allready city water the coustmer had some work done in the back yard and riped up the pipeing i am going 2 fix wen i was at the res 2 give him a est i made a mistake i did not look at the suply line 2 c what size it was he ran a new line 2 the side of the house frome the old line that was cut it had a 6z index valve i am not going 2 use that going 2 use a rb espsmt cont but i have a small problum i texed the cust 2 ask him what size the suply line is whin i saw it coming out of the ground it looked like 1/14to 1/12 so i thought that was kind of big but if figured that thay who put the line in frome the pvb just whent up 1 size frome 1in 2 1/12 so it thught thay wanted more vol i tex him 2 look at theve size 4 me and he sed it is 2in that does not sound right 2 me can u give some advice

[@Iscaper]

Hi John. Some people will install larger piping in their yards mistakenly thinking that if they go to bigger pipe sizes they can run a bunch more heads. You do get a little less friction loss installing bigger pipe but the flow in gallons per minute is restricted by the smallest pipe in the run. For example, if the water meter is 3/4" the home owner can probably only get 8-13 gpm throughout the sprinkler system even if the homeowner installed 1-1/2" or 2" piping in the system after the water meter. What you need to do is figure out or find the smallest pipe size in the supply line of the sprinkler system and then base what you do one that size. If it is the 3/4" meter or the 3/4" line running to the house that the sprinkler taps into then that is the size you want to base you calculations on. Most residential systems are 3/4", once in a while you will find a residential system that has a 1" meter.

[@johnkosheluk1041]

Thank u kerry do u think it would b a good ida 2 put a 11/2 valve 4 a master valve

[@Iscaper]

john Kosheluk It won't hurt anything to go with bigger valves even if the supply line is smaller.

[@pflo1822]

Boy would this be easier to understand if it used proper English. Punctuation is not just a fad.

[@bhattg4471]

THIS IS A GREAT VIDEO IT GOOD TO SEE THIS

[@reggieb9509]

to get row spacing u can dvide legnth by distance of sprayer...it will tell u space and amount of heads needed on that pipe

[@Iscaper]

Good tip, thanks for posting.

[@ITX-HUR]

+Reginald Barnes Kindly explain it further Bro

[@reggieb9509]

1 minute

[@greencity6939]

thanks big

[@gailknickerbocker4222]

Thank you. That was very informative.

[@Iscaper]

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback.

[@jadoongroup2764]

Wear is tha caniction control room

[@everythinghomerepair1747]

did you end up using this for your sprinkler system

[@Iscaper]

+Everything home repair I used parts of the design. The city cut the water pressure so I used the design to redo sections of my sprinkler system in the backyard where I was getting burn spots.

[@arbeatzdcl1418]

Hi Kerry What if the water meter was 5/8 inch instead of 3/4

[@Iscaper]

It means that the gallons per minute in flow you can use will be a little less than a 3/4" meter.

[@taherzid5552]

viry good

[@benjaminjuarez7515]

your the best most detailed irrigator on youtube

[@TheConfusedIndian]

Best informative video on youtube.

[@Satchmoeddie]

Thank you for what other omit, and or want to charge for. From what I have seen 95% or more licensed contractors where I live would do a piss poor job. I need to know the city water pressure, deepen the water supply line, and dig where the plan says to dig. Should I up to a 1" service line from the meter to the house?? I need it done right the first time period.

[@ITX-HUR]

Thanks for Sharing this video Sir. There are some questions if you can reply, that will be wonderful. - As per my understanding , when designing we will start from Drippers and Sprinkler Distribution. Than there we have to select a pipe which should be large enough to full-fill the desired water quantity. Than that will be connected with a main line, Main Line can be connected to other bigger size if distance till pump is bigger. How we will select the pipe?? Than How we will select the Pump and Tank ?? Why we need different sizes of Irrigation Solenoid Valves ??? What is the Hydraulic Calculation for such systems and for Pump. Kindly clear it Sir ?? Best Regards, From UAE

[@Iscaper]

+Habibullah Malik Hmm, that's a lot of questions without specific information. First you need to determine what your water demands will be. For example, if you have sprinkler zones that will be using 15 gpm (gallons per minute) then the pump and piping need to deliver more than 15 gpm because you need to also calculate friction loss through the piping. If you're using pressure tanks for storage in conjunction with a pump, then the pressure tanks need hold enough water that they don't run dry during a watering cycle. If you can supply me with how many gallons per minute the system will require then I can give you more information. You can do this by adding up the gallons per minute from the nozzles/emitters on the sprinkler zone that will use the most water on your sprinkler system.

[@David-ql1hd]

That's an awesome video! Would be willing to design one if you were given a survey and required water pressure/volume information?

[@itech301]

David Kibler rainbird has a service that does this

[@RysskiiSoldat]

thanks, fell asleep, going to use this video to fall asleep anytime i cant sleep on my own! awesome

[@aviationdylan3353]

😂😂

[@fairmaker]

excuse me what is the deference between the perception rate and the discharge which mentioned in the catalog and how can i use both of them

[@Iscaper]

+Ahmed Samir Performance for sprinkler nozzles is measured in flow and precipitation. Flow is how many gpm (gallons per minute) the nozzle produces, and precipitation is measured in inches per hour. On a sprinkler zone you would add up the gpm of all the nozzles to make sure you don't exceed the flow available for the sprinkler zone and use the precipitation rates for the nozzle to calculate how long to water. Most lawn areas require between 1"-2" per week in precipitation to keep the lawn healthy. For example, if you have nozzles on the sprinkler zone that have .61 in/hr for the precipitation rate, you would want to water the sprinkler zone around 2 hours per week to reach the 1"-2" requirement.

[@fairmaker]

thank you very much, these info which you provided me with is very useful

[@Iscaper]

+Ahmed Samir Thanks Ahmed and good luck.

[@jereedison9615]

So does that mean the system only will need to run 17 min a day?

[@itech301]

jere edison it's best to water deeply and infrequently. It will encourage deep roots.

[@amrjamalsoliman1574]

thank you iScaper1

[@Iscaper]

Thanks for the feedback.

[@amrjamalsoliman1574]

i wanna ask you some questions about irrigation systems

[@Iscaper]

AMR gamal Okay, ask away.