# Seeking advice on sprinkler head locations & zones



## kurifodo (May 4, 2021)

Hi,

First time DIYer here following the guidance from https://www.irrigationtutorials.com. I'd appreciate a second (or more ) opinion on zones & sprinkler head locations for my backyard. It is roughly 3000 sqft and almost a nice rectangle, but not quite.

I plan on using drip lines in the beds. I'm seeking advice for just the lawn area at this point.

How many zones would you recommend assuming 8 GPM and up to 75 PSI available on my irrigation mainline and where would the heads be placed?


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## kurifodo (May 4, 2021)

This is what I arrived at after doing my research. Feedback is appreciated before I break ground in the coming weeks.  I've purposely left out the drip line for now.


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## kalcormier (May 9, 2021)

Looks very well thought out.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Heads looks good, but i would split the zones slightly different. Keep the 360 in its own zone. But split the others into left/right or north/south. This will save you in pipes and allows to skew a zone to shorter duration to account for shade.


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## kurifodo (May 4, 2021)

g-man said:


> Heads looks good, but i would split the zones slightly different. Keep the 360 in its own zone. But split the others into left/right or north/south. This will save you in pipes and allows to skew a zone to shorter duration to account for shade.


Thanks for the advice on the zoning. The north/south split makes a lot of sense as I get more shade on my south border due to the fence (not shown).


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## kurifodo (May 4, 2021)

Updates based on feedback. Happy to iterate more if more feedback comes in. Thanks!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I would feed the 360 head from the top valve box. No point in going to the second one and then turn around.

I also like having a master valve.


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## dj80d (Nov 15, 2020)

g-man said:


> I would feed the 360 head from the top valve box. No point in going to the second one and then turn around.
> 
> I also like having a master valve.


add a master valve and flow sensor. lots of good info to get from flow sensor


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## kurifodo (May 4, 2021)

Thanks for the feedback. I updated the diagram to feed the 360 head from the top valve and incorporated a Master Valve + Flow Meter.

Based on the master valve & flow meter addition, I believe I need to branch the pipe supplying the "New Faucets" from the automated irrigation mainline -- the flow meter wouldn't measure what I really want when the faucets are in use is my understanding.

That said, could I get a nod if my modifications (revised branches and pipes) make sense? Any inefficiencies or flat out errors?


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

I feel like with rotators, I'd like to see 4 on the yellow zone, two on the green zone, and 4 rows instead of 3 - this is pretty similar to the layout and dimensions of my back yard, and I definitely wish they had put more heads in.

Or, just 4 rows of 3, including 2 @ 360's that throw a shorter distance in the middle.

I think depending on sun, you're going to get a dry spot immediately around that 360.

Also, that 30' is the farthest its ever gonna throw, under ideal conditions, when its properly adjusted and brand new.


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## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

I would lay that out with rotors. It will be a bit of a stretch for MP rotators to make that 30 foot throw with just 9 heads, but Rainbird 5000s, Hunter PGPs or i-20s will work just fine.

8 GPM seems low unless you are on a very small water meter and an older house. Most newer houses are going to have water supplies that will flow 12-20 GPM. That being said, it is better to plan for lower flows. If you find you have 12 GPM after installation, then you can upsize the nozzles on rotors and get higher precipitation rates, but MP rotators or RVANs don't let you increase precipitation rate for higher flows.


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## kurifodo (May 4, 2021)

bernstem said:


> 8 GPM seems low unless you are on a very small water meter and an older house.


This is my case. My home was built in 1956 and it has a 5/8" x 3/4" water meter. I measured the flow at the nearest faucet to my house mainline, and it produced 8 GPM. I'm not sure if this will increase by tapping into the mainline directly since it has a larger size than the faucet? Best case it does, but I'm going to design for 8 GPM just in case.



SCGrassMan said:


> I feel like with rotators, I'd like to see 4 on the yellow zone, two on the green zone, and 4 rows instead of 3 - this is pretty similar to the layout and dimensions of my back yard, and I definitely wish they had put more heads in.
> 
> Or, just 4 rows of 3, including 2 @ 360's that throw a shorter distance in the middle.


Is the below design what you are suggesting, SCGrassMan? Overall, the lawn gets a lot of sun. Shade covers the southern 5-10' of lawn in Winter and hardly any in Summer for the warmest hours of the day (10a - 5p). I laid out the zones running west to east, so I could control watering the southern (shadiest) area better as g-man earlier suggested.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

@kurifodo yes, that looks much better to me.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

In the area that says capped, place a valve box and a valve. This way you can drain that pipe for winter. Eventually you will use the valve box and add more valves in the future, so it is not wasted.


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