# In dire need of help on a DIY irrigation system



## Demosthenes9 (May 30, 2019)

I'm sure I'm going about this thing all the wrong way, but only way to really find out is to jump in, look like an idiot and hopefully have some folks correct the error of my ways.

Guess I'll start from the top. Small back yard with irregular shaped "grass" areas, two huge oak trees, tons of shade and water draining from all surrounding yards and running through mine when we have a good rain.

Intended plan of attack (as of now):

Till up the entire back yard. 
Lay landscaping timbers along the back fence line to block flow of water from neighboring yards.
Come out about 8 ft from the back fence and put in a front edge using some retaining wall paver/bricks that I scrounged. 
Seed all the "grass" areas with some Creeping Red Fescue that I picked up at the local mom and pop hardware store. I specifically told them I needed grass that would grow in the most shaded outdoor area they could imagine. That is what they gave me. Not sure of the specifics of it as the seeds are in a brown paper bag.

A quick bit of backstory. Getting grass to grow back here has always been a challenge for me. Mostly because I have no idea what I'm doing. I've had it sodded twice. Laid my own sod several times. Have walked through with various bags of seed just sprinkling it around with a hand spreader. End result ? Big dirt patches. I believe a large part of it has to do with watering. I have no idea if I've watered too much ? Or not enough ? Or done the wrong way ? With the irregularity in shapes/areas, watering has definitely been an issue. Between moving a sprinkler around, messing with the settings to direct water, moving hoses, yada, yada, yada.

Thinking about this, knowing that watering would still be a concern with new seed, and having just put in a Rainbird drip irrigation system for hanging baskets, It dawned on me that maybe I could DIY an inground sprinkler system. Sure enough, Rainbird had a little kit and the idea took hold.

I'll try to wrap up here. Being on a seriously tight budget, I'm wanting to do this using Toro 570z 4 inch pop up sprinklers as I can basically get them for free. As I understand it, the spray heads can be changed out to get the 570z's to do about any pattern and spray radius up to 15 feet. Am looking at "blu lock" pipe as it seems the easiest to use, but I'm not firmly attached to that notion.

To control/run what I'm thinking will be a simple system, I have some model of a Melnor single nozzle timer, but I also have an Orbit 4 Outlet Integrated Watering System available.

Attached is a really bad drawing of my back yard. I've tried to list distances that made sense to me. Probably much better ways to have done it. Just ask and I'll get any measurement that is needed.










BTW, I'm also trying to do this on a really, really, really tight budget. I'm not looking for a "crème de la crème" system. I tried inputting all the measurements into Orbit's design system and it came back telling me that I needed something like 18 sprinkler heads and 5 zones or something like that with a cost around $1000. Do I absolutely HAVE to use head to head coverage ? In what seems like such a small area, it just seems like over kill. Like on the 4 x 20ish section at the lower left. Would multiple heads with strip type nozzles be a must ? Or would 1 side strip with a 4x24 pattern be fine ? Bascially, while I often go for overkill and doing the job the absolute right way, there are times where you just do the bare minimums to get by. This is one of those times if possible.

I could be wrong here, but I'm thinking there has to be a way to do this somewhat simply, with water going directly from the controller to pipe without involving valves and what not. A kind of "build your own version of Rainbird's 32ETI

If rotors would be preferred to pop ups, any thoughts on Yardworks brand rotors ? (Short version is that the Toro's and Yardworks are free after rebate from Menards. It's in store credit, but still free. Costs would be in piping, spray nozzles and fittings, but I have to buy those anyways.

Anyways, I'd appreciate any advice that I can get. Even if it's to tell me that I'm doing everything wrong right from the start and that there's a better way to do it.

Oh, I should add, the back strip by the fence will be a raised bed of sorts that will probably get Hastas or other types of plants that grow well in the shade. Maybe some ground cover? Being clueless, I have no idea if spray heads in the "grass" areas should extend to spray the raised bed as well ? If that area should get it's own heads ? If I can branch off the system and put in drip irrigation there ?

Thanks,

Dave


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## Demosthenes9 (May 30, 2019)

Also, there's a 26 ft long garage along the left hand side of the drawing. The patio runs right up to the wall. At the bottom foot of the drawing, there's a 35 foot wide deck. Water spigots (2) are at the edge of the deck, roughly at the bottom of the strip between the patio and the shed.


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## Demosthenes9 (May 30, 2019)

Revised drawing showing location of spigots, garage, deck as well as some ground cover currently growing that I had over looked.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

You do not need to use head to head coverage.

The areas that do not have it will dry out, die, and fill with weeds that will be a similar color to grass.


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## Demosthenes9 (May 30, 2019)

SCGrassMan said:


> You do not need to use head to head coverage.
> 
> The areas that do not have it will dry out, die, and fill with weeds that will be a similar color to grass.


Hehe. That answers that. Thanks! Wasn't sure what the gap was, or if there was one between "best practice for an immaculate lawn" and "meh, this will work". But, head to head it is.

I'm guessing that I'll need to set the heads up in zones after all as there's a limit to how many could be run at one time. The more I look into it, the more complex it's getting. The damned Rainbird listing at Amazon made it all seem so simple.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Take a look at my lawn journal. You can see in my hell strip what less than head to head coverage looks like. I get angry every time I see it.


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## Demosthenes9 (May 30, 2019)

SCGrassMan said:


> Take a look at my lawn journal. You can see in my hell strip what less than head to head coverage looks like. I get angry every time I see it.


You've been through quite a journey. I read through your 2019 one then went and found the 2018 one as well. You definitely have me sold on the head to head coverage. Reading through some of the other threads, like your "blu lock" one, and someone else's "side strip" one, it looks like the "bare minimum" is 2 heads covering an area, but more would be even better?

I've tried to take what little I've learned into acct and have been toying around in back. For the 4 x 20'ish strip between the deck and patio, I'm looking at Toro side strip heads (4-SST) about midpoint on each long side. Each of them are about 4 x 24, so that would give that strip 2 head coverage. BUT, I've also read that strip heads should be offset from each other ? So, maybe I should go for one 4x24 side strip at the midway point, but put end strip sprays (4-EST) at each end ? They each say 4x15.

At the back part, I'm looking at 180 and 90 degree spray heads that say they have a radius of 15ft. I'll mark on my diagram so there's a visual. The thought is that with the back being 46 feet across, I can put a 15ft spray in each corner along the back with a 180 in the middle of the run. I'd do the same along the top edge of the patio. The numbers seem to work, especially considering that along the back fence and by the garage, the distances will decrease a bit as those areas will be shrub beds / ground cover, which I'll address some other way. Haven't decided whether to use shrub sprays there are drip irrigation sprays.

I'm guessing that with more heads, I'm going to need to split them up into different zones. The Orbit and Rainbird kits I have seen both have 6 heads running through 1/2in pipe. I'm presuming that 1/2in can run those 6 heads and that my spigot will be an ok water source. That might be a flawed presumption ? Reading other threads, it dawned on me that maybe I should run 3/4 or 1 inch pipe for the laterals and just use 1/2in for swing joints ? I haven't put a tape to it, but I think the longest run i'd have would be about 60 feet from the spigot.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Yes offset the strip spray heads.

I wouldn't do any part of an irrigation system except for drip lines in half inch.

For most people 3/4" is probably fine. To determine heads per zone you need to know how many GPM you're getting from the feed point. Don't do it from a hose tap as that's likely 6-10gpm and misleading.

You can generally ask the town water company and they can give you a pretty good idea based on meter size etc.

And yes it's been quite a journey! Still working on it and doing stuff. We're scheduled for 10 days straight of rain, so I'm going to hit it with more fertilizer.


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## Demosthenes9 (May 30, 2019)

SCGrassMan said:


> Yes offset the strip spray heads.
> 
> I wouldn't do any part of an irrigation system except for drip lines in half inch.
> 
> ...


I'm a bit confused about the bib / feed point thing. From looking around, it would seem that Orbit and Rainbird are both pretty reputable companies. Each of them sell kits that run on single outlet timers connected to a hose bib/spigot. Do these kits not work very well ?

When I came across them, my idea was to do a "build your own" kind of kit since I already have a 4 station Orbit integrated watering system timer. With 4 outlets, theoretically I could run 4 zones, albeit one at a time. Am I just all wrong about this ?


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Expect 5-10 GPM at the absolute max from a hose bib.

The feed point would be if you tied in to your water main and set up a permanent irrigation system.


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## Demosthenes9 (May 30, 2019)

SCGrassMan said:


> Expect 5-10 GPM at the absolute max from a hose bib.
> 
> The feed point would be if you tied in to your water main and set up a permanent irrigation system.


Gotcha. Thanks for all the info ! Tried to call the water company today to check on a couple of things. 30 min wait time. I'll have to try to call them later. Will be checking on a separate irrigation meter, back flow prevention requirements, as well as water pressure and flow. I'm going to pick up a pressure gauge and get a bucket to see what I get at the bib.

Once I find pressure and flow rate at the bib, theoretically, do I just add up the stated GPM on the sprinkler sprays that I'm looking at ? For example, on what I'm considering as "zone 1", there would be the 4-SST at 0.65GPM and a pair of 4-EST's at 0.45 each would cover my strip1 from hell. Another pair of 4-ESTs would cover my strip2 from hell. That's 5 heads in total. The four 4-Ests would add up to 1.8gpm and the 4-SST would add an additional 0.65 for a total of 2.45 GPM. Is that the way you calculate things to determine the number of heads you can run in one zone ?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Yes, the total gpm heads in a zone cannot exceed your system capable gpm.

Have you looked at the tutorial in www.irrigationtutorials.com? It is really good.


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## Demosthenes9 (May 30, 2019)

g-man said:


> Yes, the total gpm heads in a zone cannot exceed your system capable gpm.
> 
> Have you looked at the tutorial in www.irrigationtutorials.com? It is really good.


Thanks G-man.  I wasn't sure if the sprinkler bodies had some number that had to be factored in as well. Thanks also for the link to the tutorial. I stumbled across it from another thread and have just started reading it.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

For instance, I have a site I'm putting irrigation in for that has 25 GPM. I'm going to design for about 15 GPM and add up all the heads. This one is a bed and breakfast so I have to account for people possibly taking showers at weird hours to go to the airport etc. I try to be at 1/2-2/3 of the measured flow rate. That's a preference and not a rule.

If in doubt, put in another zone and more heads. If the head says 15-21 feet figure on 15.

You also want to pay attention to the inches per hour, because that's how you'll set up the system. You're programming it by the amount of water the grass needs, not "I ran it for 30 minutes".


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## Demosthenes9 (May 30, 2019)

Thanks again SC.

Here's what I'm coming up with so far.


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## Demosthenes9 (May 30, 2019)

I should have mentioned that around the shed, there's about a 2ft area of shrubbery. Don't know why I didn't factor that in from the start. Each block on the grid = 1 ft.


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## Demosthenes9 (May 30, 2019)

Amongst many of the things that I'm completely unaware of, is it a problem to put 2 spray heads close to each other if they will be running at the same time ? For example, if you have two end strip spray heads with 15 foot radius and you place them facing each other at a distance of 5 feet, will they interfere with each other ?


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## Demosthenes9 (May 30, 2019)

So, based on the advice I've gotten, I'm looking at 12 heads currently for mostly head to head coverage. I plan to order 20 or so Toro 570z 4inch pop ups. Will figure out the mix of spray heads with the initial order (quarter, half, etc). I'll replace some of those nozzles with specialty side/end strip ones where needed. (Reason for this is that Menard's sells 4 different versions of the 4in 570z (different spray patterns), and only some of them are free after rebate.

Also based on advice given, I've shelved the idea of trying to run everything off of 1/2 Blu-lock. I'm going to go with 1inch Blu-Lock laterals and use 1/2in to fashion my own swing pipes instead of trying to come right off the laterals. This will give me some flexibility in head placement if needed. Before I do any digging, I'll lay out my pipes, connect the heads and do some testing to make sure that head placements are good, that I'm getting good coverage and that I haven't overloaded any zones. Speaking of zones, zone 1 will be the 3 heads at the bottom between the patio and the deck, along with the 2 heads covering the strip between the patio and the shed, for a total of 5 heads. I'll set up and test that first. IF everything is good, then I'll move on to zone 2, which will be 6 heads covering the back part. 4 90's and 2 180's. A total of 6 heads on that zone.

This will leave me with 1 head unattached, the one marked with the red triangle on the right side of the shed. I might try to tie that into zone 1 bringing it's head total up to 6. Or maybe see if zone 2 can handle a 7th. Or, I might just run a third zone for that one, especially if I notice that coverage is lacking somewhere and more heads have to be added. I'm being mindful of SCGrassman's statement that if it says 15-21 on a head, to figure on 15.

While reading through some other threads, I stumbled across a link and found that Menards has Orbit 1" Male Threaded In-line Jar-Top Sprinkler Control Valves free after rebate. I think I'll grab at least 3 of them to have on hand for phase 2 later down the road. For now, the idea is to bring the 3 1inch Blue lock lateral pipes up out of the ground, and figure out what adapter fittings can be used to connect them up directly to my Orbit 4 outlet timer.


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## Demosthenes9 (May 30, 2019)

Here's an update if anyone is interested.

I listened to all the advice given, then only used some of it. The biggest constraint was that I really was trying to do this on a shoestring budget. I'm talking under $100. FWIW, here in my neighborhood, most lawns grow quite nicely with almost zero maintenance in terms of watering, fertilizing, yada, yada, yada. IF/when serious dry spells hit, folks would need to water. But for the most part, lawns are trouble free.

That's the way it is with my front and side yard. The back yard is kind of a special case in that it has very heavy shade, roots from two enormous oaks and I'm starting with bare dirt and will be sowing some grass seed that needs to stay watered at least for a while until it takes hold.

I still couldn't shake the notion that the folks at Orbit and Rainbird kind of know what they are doing. That they both sell kits that run right off the hose bib, uses 1/2in pipe and comes with 6 rotors. So, I experimented. Grabbed up a couple of 50 ft rolls of 1/2 Blu Lock, 13 Toro 570 heads and various sprays. The irregular way my yard is laid out kind of naturally divides itself up into zones. I proceeded to run pipe in the first area closest to the bib and attached 3 of the heads. I hooked the pipe up to the end of my garden hose and all three heads popped up full height and they appeared to be working just fine. I spliced some more pipe in, added 2 more heads and turned the water on. This time, most of the heads only came up part way. Obviously, this wouldn't work. I surveyed the situation and remembered the talk about "friction loss". Not only was I trying to fire 5 heads and 35 feet of pipe, the water was having to travel through 50 feet of garden hose to start with.

So, I took the garden hose out of the equation and all 5 heads fired up to full height and appear to be spraying as intended. Success! I then laid out the next set of 4 heads, connected them together and tied that run into the existing one with a short jumper pipe. When I turned the water on, many of the heads again only went 1/2 way up. No go! I removed the jumper pipe and ran a 20 foot section to the hose bib. With the water turned on, all three of the heads popped up to full height. I filed that bit of information away then proceeded to lay out and connect up the last three heads. I connected that circuit into the one with the four heads that I had just tested and after turning the water on, again, only partial extension. I disconnected the jumper and ran a 30ish ft piece of pipe out and tested again. All three heads popped up to full height.

As it stands right now, I have three zones. Zone1 has 5 heads. 2 of them have left/right 4x15' corner strip sprays, the middle one has a middle edge 4x24ft spray, and the remaining 2 heads are end strip 4x15's that are facing each other from opposite ends.

Zone 2 has 4 heads. 2 90 degree sprays, 1 VAR at just over 180 degrees and a side/center edge strip with a 4x24ft spray.

Zone 3 has 3 heads. 2 with 90 degree sprays and 1 with a 180 spray.

I've run each zone for a bit on dry dirt and can see that all the ground that I meant to water is getting wet. I haven't placed any cups out yet to check overall spray distribution. As it stands right now, I have 12 heads placed, lost count of the number of fittings and have run about 150 of 1/2in BluLock. Two things that are definitely helping me come in under the $100 budget are 1.) Free after rebate Toro 570 heads and a number of the sprays (strip sprays didn't have a rebate) and that I picked up the 4 outlet Orbit for $10 on FBMP.

Anyways, thanks for all the help, knowledge and advice. Even though I didn't take it all, I do appreciate it and I did employ some of it.


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