# Blu-Lock Above Ground Irrigation



## jemerson2196 (Jul 16, 2019)

Just ordered the below. Did i miss anything (besides the controller)?

Above ground this year to see what coverage is like before I start digging trenches. Updates to follow.

It will be interesting to see if 3/4 laterals work. I really wanted to go with 1 inch but the adapters to hook up to the above ground stakes was getting insane (male fitting to female to male to female :? ). Whats nice is i can just change to one inch if it doesn't work correctly. My GPM is only 6, PSI is 75 at the spount with max feet of 160ish so I should be OK. mainline will be PVC which I will deal with making this weekend.


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## hsvtoolfool (Jul 23, 2018)

Draw out your plan, and sum the GPM for the nozzles so that each zone does not exceed 6 GPM. Also include friction loss for the size and length of pipe. The math is easy. You're planning for 8 zones with only 16 spray bodies, so that's a good sign that you've done your homework. But it may be some zone-overkill.

The 6 GPM flow rate is a significant limitation on the total heads per zone that can run together. Most of the nozzles in your list hover around 1 GPM, while the longer throws are much higher...

(Per nozzle GPM at 40 PSI)
Side strips = about 0.5 GPM
MP2000 90° to 210° = 0.86 GPM
MP2000 210° to 270° = 1.10 GPM
*MP3000 90° to 210° = 2.12 GPM
MP3000 360° = 3.64 GPM
MP3500 90° to 210° = 3.29 GPM*

Don't trust the above GPM values as gospel. Look them up yourself if you haven't already. These are also worst-case numbers for the largest radius setting. You're likely limited to no more than 5 or 6 heads per zone with the little ones, but experimentation is wise and may let you get by with more heads on a zone in certain cases.

In contrast, the MP3000 and MP3500 nozzles each use 1/3 to 1/2 your available flow. Those zones will almost certainly be limited to 1 or 2 heads depending on how you mix-n-match them. For example, you can't run two MP3000 360° at the same time but you can probably run one with a single MP2000 210°. The MP-Rotator relatively low flow rates are very forgiving.

I avoided the longer throw MP3000 in my layout for two reasons. First are the higher flow requirements. I have plenty of flow, but I didn't want to risk water hammer issues with my first DIY layout. Second and more importantly, is how wind affects the MP Rotators over 20 feet. The streams are pretty thin compared to an I-20 true rotor's cannon. My grid was mostly 15 footers, which meant MP2000s dialed back with about 2 feet overlap.

By the way, side strips are the least efficient nozzle for any irrigation brand. A wide, narrow pattern is a very tough design problem. So plan on more side strip heads than normal with tons of overlap (25% to 30% overlap!). Also plan to water a street zone more often than other zones. Asphalt and concrete cooks off moisture quickly in Summer and I didn't account for it enough. This was the only mistake I made in my layout, and I'll have to add another head to catch a dry spot next to my driveway. I'll do that next year when I start sand leveling.


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## jemerson2196 (Jul 16, 2019)

hsvtoolfool said:


> Draw out your plan, and sum the GPM for the nozzles so that each zone does not exceed 6 GPM (*thanks, did this in sketch up*). Also include friction loss for the size and length of pipe *(did this as well, should be OK with 3/4)*. The math is easy. You're planning for 8 zones with only 16 spray bodies, so that's a good sign that you've done your homework. But it may be some zone-overkill *(agreed, I am thinking about running pipe directly from where water comes into the house to get more GPM but not a project for this year)*.
> 
> The 6 GPM flow rate is a significant limitation on the total heads per zone that can run together. Most of the nozzles in your list hover around 1 GPM, while the longer throws are much higher...
> 
> ...


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## jemerson2196 (Jul 16, 2019)

See above in bold


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## hsvtoolfool (Jul 23, 2018)

jemerson2196 said:


> ...I am thinking about running pipe directly from where water comes into the house to get more GPM but not a project for this year...


Oh, that explains a lot about your GPM. I wouldn't worry about water hammer if this is just temporary above ground irrigation. The hose will twitch (and may eventually burst) if there's bad water hammer. But if you're only running 2 heads at a time off a hose bib, then you'll be fine. I was thinking that you were testing the final install above ground.

I like your idea to use the I-20 rotor for the long throws. You can get 1.2 GPM nozzles for the I-20 that goes 30 feet at 40 PSI. Compar that to the MP3000 3+ GPM! Of course, you'll need to run the I-20 twice as long to get the same precipitation as the MP3000 though. The MP Rotators spray their entire area all at once, while rotors fan a single stream back and forth. So keep that in mind if you mix-n-match. I'd keep rotors on a separate valve for that reason alone.


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## adgattoni (Oct 3, 2017)

Is 16 heads enough coverage for your 10k square feet? Are you going for head to head coverage or one head to cover a given area? I recently got some voyager II heads for a DIY above-ground system, and I've been surprised how much water gets thrown on the outer side of the arc. If I were putting these things in the ground I'd definitely go for head to head coverage. Otherwise the area around the head itself will always be underwatered.


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## Teej (Feb 27, 2019)

Were you ever able to complete this? Hopefully this isn't too old of a thread to check back in on, but I'm currently looking to build a DIY above ground system to hold be over until in ground irrigation comes next year.


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