# Drip vs Sprinklers for turf



## NewLawnJon (Aug 3, 2018)

Next spring I plan on installing an irrigation system in the yard. Water is expensive hear so a little in water savings can make up for a bit more expense of the system.

Having said that I have done a design with both drip and standard sprinklers, and it seems like the drip while more work to install uses a lot less gallons per minute allowing me to run 4 zones for about 13,000 sq ft of turf.

Having said that are there any advantages of a traditional in ground pop up irrigation system over a drip irrigation system?

Also for a drip system how do you winterize an underground drip system? I am trying to get it all planned now and piece together over the winter.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

I will be following for responses from anyone who might have a drip system. I have thought about installing one for a few reasons. The last time I checked, there are no water restrictions here even if all outside water is suspended. I also think it would be nice to be able to water anytime without worrying about the dogs needing out, needing more pressure due to other water usage, or causing the blades to be wet to long and fungal concerns. However, I do have concerns about how to find leaks, clogs, tree roots, etc. I also like to have the opportunity to wash off/in herbicide or fertilizer apps without having to rely on rainfall.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I've never done a drip lawn system. The challenge of not being able to dig a hole without breaking a pipe seems too much for me.

Less gpm means that you have to run it longer to get an inch of water into the soil. I dont see a big water saving unless you have runoff.


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## NewLawnJon (Aug 3, 2018)

g-man said:


> I've never done a drip lawn system. The challenge of not being able to dig a hole without breaking a pipe seems too much for me.
> 
> Less gpm means that you have to run it longer to get an inch of water into the soil. I dont see a big water saving unless you have runoff.


The argument for using less water is that you are watering the root for more efficiency. I have read some companies claiming 50% water reduction vs. traditional overhead sprinklers.

My main reason for thinking about it is that my town normally does watering restrictions so I can only water from 8 pm-8 am. My water bills are normally $600+ for the yard, so even a more realistic 20% reduction is about $150 per month from May-September/October ($900 per year). I will be installing a deduct meter at the same time for the irrigation to increase my savings, so either system will pay for itself within two years.

The other reason for thinking about it is that a traditional sprinkler system in my yard would require 9-11 zones depending on the heads, along with drip systems for the beds vs. 4 zones for the yard, and 1-2 zones for planting beds. The reduction of zones and simplifying the system is attractive, and not having to run the system from 11 pm 8 am to accommodate the watering restrictions (twice weekly) are attractive. Also with the clay soils in my area the water absorption rate is slow and would likely be a good match to the .6 gph type emitters from a drip system.

The downside of it is that it does put a lot of pipe in the yard (I have clay soils, so I would be doing a 24" spacing with 24" spacing of .6 gallon emitters). If I dig I would be more likely to hit the system. At the same time the digging I plan on doing in the future is to add trees, and it is easy to tie into the drip system if I hit it and add a loop or two around trees.

The other downside I see to it are the lawn treatments that need to be watered in (pre emergent, humic acid, or post emergent). Ways around this are to hand water (I am currently running 8 sprinklers to cover most of the yard overnight), time the applications around rain, or see about using them with a fertigation system.


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## NewLawnJon (Aug 3, 2018)

In all fairness I also have about 250' of sidewalk strip along with a 12'x12' section on the corner that got me to even look at a drip system. I also have about 14-15' between one side of my house and the lot line next to me on a 20% slope (force graded for a walkout basement) that provide challenges for traditional sprinklers compared to drip systems of just spacing the runs out a bit more.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I don't have experience with these systems. At what depth the pipe goes, 6in?

Did the manufacturer provide their test that for water usage? 50% seems like a lot of savings and everyone would be doing this. It is my understanding that the plant uses water based on the ETo. How the water gets there is not part of that equation. Yes there are some losses as the water travels thru the air and gets absorbed but 50%?


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## NewLawnJon (Aug 3, 2018)

g-man said:


> I don't have experience with these systems. At what depth the pipe goes, 6in?
> 
> Did the manufacturer provide their test that for water usage? 50% seems like a lot of savings and everyone would be doing this. It is my understanding that the plant uses water based on the ETo. How the water gets there is not part of that equation. Yes there are some losses as the water travels thru the air and gets absorbed but 50%?


The pipe is 4-6" underground, so not too far down and spaced about 18-24" apart for clay soil. Based on irrigationtutorials.com you apply an efficiency factor to the irrigation system to calculate water usage of 90% for drip irrigation (some companies are claiming 95% efficiency) and 75% efficiency for a spray system (normal rotors are around 60-65% efficient, and a well designed rotary nozzle like the R-VAN would be around 80% efficient).

Running the calculator on the irrigation tutorial site with the ETo my daily water needs in Iowa are 1934.4 gallons/day with a standard irrigation system or 1612 with a drip system for a daily savings of 323 gallons/day. Just running the match based on my water rates I would save $120/month for water compared to the calculation for an traditional irrigation system.

Since I will be hiring a plumber to tap into the water main I will be installing a sewer deduct meter at the same time, and doing the math on that I will save about $120/month on sewer fees so about $240 during irrigation months in savings compared to my current hose and timer system. Water is expensive in my town, so doing the math I would probably pay more for drip irrigation up front, but the savings is supposed to come from the efficiency factor compared to traditional irrigation.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Interesting thoughts by all. I wouldn't spend the money on a zone for shrubs. I was expecting your location to be CA...but IA!? What about a well?


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## NewLawnJon (Aug 3, 2018)

jayhawk said:


> Interesting thoughts by all. I wouldn't spend the money on a zone for shrubs. I was expecting your location to be CA...but IA!? What about a well?


Just from what I have seen for rural well pricing it would probably take a long time to recover the price.

It seems like it is common to do this type of system in the south west (which is where most of my research has come from).


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