# DIY System Questions



## Gino71 (Jun 21, 2020)

Hi All. I've been lurking on this board for a number of years as I've been trying to get my new construction "starter lawn" in order. One issue I have in my overseeding efforts is dragging hoses all around the yard multiple times. I picked up a 4 port timer which helps, but I still end up needing to move hoses as I can get 100% coverage with just four sprinklers.

I've read about some other members putting sprinklers in ground and running them off the hose bib. I know this not the recommended way to run a system, but I don't think paying thousands of dollars is feasible right now.

Is it possible to piece together a system of multiple zones that I could use the hose timer to drive them? I measured 5.3 gpm at the hose bib and 60 psi. House is 2 years old with 1" pex feed from the meter then reduces to 3/4" inside and finally 1/2" pex feeding the anti-siphon hose bib.

With my specs I was wondering if I could use 3/4" poly pipe to feed hunter prs 30 with either mp1000/2000 nozzles. My thought is if I could keep the gpm around 3 or less per zone I might be ok. I figured I'd need to stay away from mp3000 as they are going to use a lot more gpm. Is this idea something that could work? How many mp1000/2000 on prs30 bodies could I reasonably expect on one zone assuming the majority are 90 degree with a few 180s mixed in? My concern is pressure drop with too many sprinklers on a zone. Basically i was trying to mimic what Rainbird does with its 32ETI kit just with more efficient bodies and nozzles. I could also go up to 1" poly but I'm not sure there is much benefit if the pex feeding the hose bib is only 1/2".

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


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## davegravy (Jul 25, 2019)

Lucky you have 1" to your meter. My old house has 1/2" so only one thing can use water at a time. We have water coordination meetings, lol. Hope to upgrade one day.

I just bought a bunch of 3/4" poly and mp3000s and plan to run off the hose bib. I'm planning 3 sprinklers per zone (two 90s and one 180) and calculated it should be well under the 5.1GPM I get, especially since the yard is 2-3 meters downhill of the bib.

I'm planning to run above ground around the perimeter of my yard, I might bury one line down the middle of the yard so I can get head to head coverage.

Planning a major house reno which will likely include landscaping so I don't want to commit to a sprinkler system layout, but I can't keep burning so much time jockeying sprinklers around the yard and wasting water $$ on overspray and evaporation.


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## Gino71 (Jun 21, 2020)

Thanks for your reply. Are you planning on using regulated bodies? I saw another post here on the forum where the poster was using 3 mp3000s with 40 psi bodies but was experiencing pressure drop and loss of distance on the second and third sprinklers. I think he may have been using 1/2" poly to connect them so maybe that was the issue.

I guess that's one of my big questions is when it comes to limited gpm from a hose bib, is it better to use less sprinklers with higher gpm or more sprinklers with less gpm? I assume the more sprinklers means more pressure drop, but less sprinklers with higher gpm might present flow issues. Then there's the whole head to head coverage to deal with.


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## davegravy (Jul 25, 2019)

Gino71 said:


> Thanks for your reply. Are you planning on using regulated bodies? I saw another post here on the forum where the poster was using 3 mp3000s with 40 psi bodies but was experiencing pressure drop and loss of distance on the second and third sprinklers. I think he may have been using 1/2" poly to connect them so maybe that was the issue.
> 
> I guess that's one of my big questions is when it comes to limited gpm from a hose bib, is it better to use less sprinklers with higher gpm or more sprinklers with less gpm? I assume the more sprinklers means more pressure drop, but less sprinklers with higher gpm might present flow issues. Then there's the whole head to head coverage to deal with.


I bought 40psi bodies, yes.

I don't actually know the pressure at my hose bib, just my GPM. I'm assuming my pressure is typical.

The bodies and nozzles are fairly inexpensive so I decided to buy 4 and try them, and I'll change them out or split into more zones if it doesn't work well (the beauty of doing this all above ground). Hoping to hook them up over the next week so I'll try to remember to let you know how it goes.


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## Gino71 (Jun 21, 2020)

Sounds good. You're right relatively speaking not a huge investment to give it a shot. If you want to check your pressure you can grab a watts test gauge at Lowe's or Home Depot for $10 https://www.lowes.com/pd/Watts-Water-Pressure-Test-Gauge-Brass-3-4-in-Mght-Pressure-Relief-Valve/1001063062

I wondered if the 30 psi bodies were a better idea for hose bib setups due to lower pressure requirements. I know hunter recommends the 40 psi bodies for the mp nozzles but they are expecting a legit setup with ample pressure and flow maintained for each zone. Obviously lower pressure bodies will reduce the distance but I wonder if the tradeoff of running more sprinklers is worth it.


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## Baretta (Apr 8, 2019)

I was actually considering building sections out of 3/4" PVC that I could use then dismatle and store once not in use. Same idea, connect to a garden hose either 5/8 or even 3/4. I would've liked to bury the pipe but I would have to deal with a ton of rock.

As far as head to head coverage goes. I'm not getting any which I have learned to accept. It falls short by a foot or two.

I'm purplexed as you are when it comes to pressure loss. I have roughly the same amount of gpm as you my psi is 80. I have a zone that I experimented a 15x25 section using 6 heads [email protected] and [email protected] not regulated. I may try switching the heads to PRS but I'm not expecting a whole lot of improvement.

In my case I was trying to eliminate having to move oscillating sprinklers around. For some areas of my lawn I still do but now I can setup 3 zones to irrigate using my Melnor 4 zone timer so I don't have get up at 5am to start moving. I'll be setting each zone for 15 minute cycles then again for 30 minutes which gets me pretty close to 1" of water. I may reduce intervals if I irrigate twice weekly. I'm getting more water down quicker using less water which is my main goal. Is it perfect? No. I've laid several tuna cans around to see where areas get less water. Near the heads is where you will find less.

Its going to be trial and error trying to figure of the sweet spot as far as amount of heads you use per zone. Definately use PRS heads. But unless you plan to tap into your mainline before the hose your pretty limited. Read up on the irrigation tutorials if you haven't already. Hope this helps.


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## Gino71 (Jun 21, 2020)

Baretta said:


> I was actually considering building sections out of 3/4" PVC that I could use then dismatle and store once not in use. Same idea, connect to a garden hose either 5/8 or even 3/4. I would've liked to bury the pipe but I would have to deal with a ton of rock.
> 
> As far as head to head coverage goes. I'm not getting any which I have learned to accept. It falls short by a foot or two.
> 
> I'm purplexed as you are when it comes to pressure loss. I have roughly the same amount of gpm as you my psi is 80. I have a zone that I experimented a 15x25 section using 6 heads [email protected] and [email protected] not regulated. I may try switching the heads to PRS but I'm not expecting a whole lot of improvement.


You were using the R-VAN nozzles right? Have you considered mp2000/3000 heads on PRS30/40 bodies? They might be more efficient. My understanding is the R-VANs in general use more flow and need higher pressure. Have you tried checking the pressure further down the line to see what you're getting at the heads.

Seems to me for a typical hose bib setup, 3 GPM appears to be the upper end. I've seen a number of posts of people having trouble when getting close to 3.5 GPM or higher. I would assume in these situations the pressure loss due to increased flow is too much to make the sprinklers perform properly.


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