SPRINKLER TALK FORUM - You Got Questions, We've Got Answers

Hey,
Definatly make it a point to attach to the mainline either outside, or in the house depending on where you are located. You will have much better results and performance

Thanks
Ray
Rays Above and Beyond Automatic Lawn Sprinklers

I also agree with RVLI. I go by the old saying"IF its a job worth doing its worth doing right" Good lock.

Thanks,

Pete

Hi Xliang,

I agree w/ RVLI, you should connect the water supply into mainline. There is aways a way to get into water meter. I never image that the finish basement w/out keeping water meter/ and main valve accessible.

Also, don't forget to install a backflow preventor. It is required by law for safety of your family. (Check local code)

Hope this help.

Hi Xliang,

I agree w/ RVLI, you should connect the water supply into mainline. There is aways a way to get into water meter. I never image that the finish basement w/out keeping water meter/ and main valve accessible.

Also, don't forget to install a backflow preventor. It is required by law for safety of your family. (Check local code)

Hope this help.

Thank you very much for your help. I will see if I could attach to the mainline.

I think I would still connect to the mainline. It will probably get your more GPM, and maybe even more pressure.

Backflow Prevention---There are different backflow prevention devices from keeping water from siphoning through the pipes into your house. What happens is, say there is some fertilizer on the sprinkler head. It will go through all of your pipes in the system and will eventually get into your house. These devices connect to the mainline and prevent water from coming back into your house.

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>I still have trouble in understanding the flow balance. I read some books, which state that balancing flow is necessary to prevent the dry or wet spots. Taking Hunter I-20 Ultra as an example, if I use Nozzle 1.0 for the two quarter circles, 2.0 for the half circle, 4.0 for the full circle, the total GPM is 8.6. Since the Nozzle 1.0 cover the quarter circle 4 times when Nozzle 4.0 finish one full circle, I guess the water is evenly distributed: the corresponding GPM is 4x1.2 (quarter circle), 2X2.0 (half circle), 1x4.2 (full circle). Am I correct?

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yes that is correct

Hope I helped here.

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Here are the answers to your questions-
Thanks a lot.

(1) Connect to your mainline in your basement or out side after the water meter depending where you live. If you use the faucets, you do not have backflow pervention. When you connect to your mainline, you have the capibility to get all the pressure and GPM's

Since my basement has been finished and the mainline outside is diffcult to modified, I plan to combine flows from two faucets into one source line for the springler system. I have tested this combination and achived 10 GPM. Is that a problem? If I have to use the mainline after water meter, I may have to get some plummer to work on.

In addition, what do you mean by "do not have backflow pervention"?


(2) For this you should really check into what you GPM would be from the mainline, not the faucet. Let me know when you find out. But how to find out what nozzle to use for your rotors, take the nozzle GPM times how many sprinklers you have. Make sure the GPM for the four sprinklers is under 10 GPM, or how many GPM you may have.

I still have trouble in understanding the flow balance. I read some books, which state that balancing flow is necessary to prevent the dry or wet spots. Taking Hunter I-20 Ultra as an example, if I use Nozzle 1.0 for the two quarter circles, 2.0 for the half circle, 4.0 for the full circle, the total GPM is 8.6. Since the Nozzle 1.0 cover the quarter circle 4 times when Nozzle 4.0 finish one full circle, I guess the water is evenly distributed: the corresponding GPM is 4x1.2 (quarter circle), 2X2.0 (half circle), 1x4.2 (full circle). Am I correct?

(3) The rotors really have nothing to do with the controller, but yes you can use different brand controllers with different brand rotors. This goes for sprays and valves, too.

Great.

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Here are the answers to your questions-
(1) Connect to your mainline in your basement or out side after the water meter depending where you live. If you use the faucets, you do not have backflow pervention. When you connect to your mainline, you have the capibility to get all the pressure and GPM's

(2) For this you should really check into what you GPM would be from the mainline, not the faucet. Let me know when you find out. But how to find out what nozzle to use for your rotors, take the nozzle GPM times how many sprinklers you have. Make sure the GPM for the four sprinklers is under 10 GPM, or how many GPM you may have.

(3) The rotors really have nothing to do with the controller, but yes you can use different brand controllers with different brand rotors. This goes for sprays and valves, too.

I am planning to install the splingler system in September. My facet has 55 PSI and 10 GPM (when I combine two facets, otherwise only 6 GPM). I need to choose Rotors between Rain Bird and Hunter. A few questions:

[1] Is it ok to combine two facets to increase the GPM? Is there any potential problem I need to prevent for this combination?

[2] In a typical zone, I have 2 quarter, 1 half and 1 full circles. How can I choose Rotors with specific nozzles to balance the water flow in the same zone. From your web info, I found

Rain Bird 5000 Standard Angle has Nozzles(GPM): 1.0(1.23), 1.5(1.60), 2.0(2.56), 3.0(3.95), 4.0(4.96), 6.0(7.03)

Hunter I-20 Ultra has Nozzles(GPM) has Nozzles(GPM): 1.0(1.2), 1.5(1.6), 2.0(2.0), 3.0(2.7), 3.5(3.4), 4.0(4.2), 6.0(5.5), 8.0(7.6)

Which set shall I choose?

[3] Can I use Hunter's rotors while Rain Bird's controller?