# New MP system not sure how long to run it for



## Stylez78 (Sep 10, 2021)

So I had my system installed last fall, Hunter MP rotators, 7 zones, at the time I liked the hole thing about slow and steady no run-off etc and when first establishing my lawn thought everything seemed to go fine but now the more reading and researching seeing I need 1-1.5in a week and some recommendations saying it should be all at once, I have no idea how long to set the zones to run for. The heads I have a rated for .4in per hour so do I have to run a zone for 3 hours just to get close to 1.5in? I honestly don't even think I could do that in 1 day the system would be running for 21 hours.

Am I interpreting this wrong or is there a recommended schedule type setup for these heads to ensure I'm laying enough water down? Thanks!


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## Grizzly Adam (May 5, 2017)

Tuna cans, man. You need tuna cans. Put them on the lawn in one zone, run the zone for 15 minutes, and measure how much water you have. Empty the cans and move onto the next zone. Do a little math and you can figure how long each zone has to run to put down an inch of water. You can water on more than one day a week-- I have seven zones like you and my plan is to water one zone a day.


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## pp6000v2 (Mar 8, 2021)

It doesn't have to be all at once, once per week. "Deep and infrequent" means "not every day, and not just a spritz."

Local watering restrictions may dictate which days and which part of the day you can water. My city has my address allowed to water Sunday/Thursday, before 10:00AM or after 4:00PM currently.

I've done the tuna can test. Stuck about 10 cans that I had collected out in the field of each zone. Ran each zone for 15 minutes, then measured how much was collected in each can. I took an average of all the cans by zone, and then did the math to get to ~0.5" runtime. The type of heads in a zone has a major impact on needed runtime- my popup zones need about 10 minutes, while my rotor head zones need closer to 28-30 minutes. I have a zone with about 1/2 coverage via rotor, and 1/2 coverage via popups. That one has been a challenge to dial in.

I recently replaced my Rain Bird controller with a Rachio 3 that was an Amazon Warehouse item. It took some setting up, getting all the zones configured for sq feet, sprinkler head and soil types, etc. I bought the Orbit catch cups set from Home Depot online, as they were the cheapest that had them. I've since gone through and audited my whole irrigation system, zone by zone. It led to some nozzle changes, head placement, and even capping a couple heads. But each zone is really dialed in.

Do at least some version of a catch cup test. The google sheet linked at the end is very helpful for compiling the data and quantifying your zones.

This was a helpful community posting on the rachio forum:
https://community.rachio.com/t/accu...ed-settings-and-estimating-gallons-used/20252

Linking down through, read this:
https://support.rachio.com/en_us/what-are-advanced-zone-settings-Byh9v81Fv

Then this:
https://rachio.kustomer.help/en_us/how-do-i-perform-a-catch-cup-test-BJi9vLkYD

Which links to this google docs sheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Zci2c_t2rYZk-RQXNwPBhKPme7w42MZvEx5CjirvCic/edit#gid=0


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## Stylez78 (Sep 10, 2021)

Thank you guys both for the suggestions. I looked up the Tuna can and I am going to audit the zones and figure out what is going down and calculate accordingly.

I know in the hot summer months I probably should push towards 1.5 but for right now where temps are still like 65 and down intot he 40's at night 1in a week should be okay?


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## Grizzly Adam (May 5, 2017)

Stylez78 said:


> I know in the hot summer months I probably should push towards 1.5 but for right now where temps are still like 65 and down intot he 40's at night 1in a week should be okay?


That is my plan exactly.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Stylez78 said:


> Thank you guys both for the suggestions. I looked up the Tuna can and I am going to audit the zones and figure out what is going down and calculate accordingly.
> 
> I know in the hot summer months I probably should push towards 1.5 but for right now where temps are still like 65 and down intot he 40's at night 1in a week should be okay?


Read the ET and irrigation guide for how much and often. In summer i do around 0.5in every 3 days.


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