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

Rainbird indicated they made an error and said that 3/4 inch elbows and tees is what should be used instead of 1 inch tees and elbows.

Depending on your gallons per minute and distance will affect your pressure loss. It is a safe bet to stick to the 1" all the way to the valves or in the mainline, If that is what they specified. You will need 1" to 3/4 reducer bushings after the valve that are easy to work with.

Dan

I got all the other covered; I am finding the list to be vague at best regarding the pvc coupling; they suggest I use 1 inch tees and elbows in the valve box but fail to mention the purchase of 1 inch pvc to go in between tough for someone new who likes to follow things to the T; Since I am using 3/4 in pvc and 3/4 valves would it be ok to use 3/4 inch tees and elbows in the valve box or will it put too much pressure on the valves? Of course there is the rainbird hotline which is $10.00 per call? Thanks for the list. Kelly.

I agree with the earlier post. I would like to add that here in Houston the supply houses (all of them)will always make mistakes on the order or deliver the wrong stuff. It is hard enough to deal with this when your time is money and you need the order to be correct, but being a newbie makes the situation a little harder to deal with in my humble opinion.

If this is your first irrigation system get ready for Wire, wire connectors, male adapters, valve boxes, electrical tape, Teflon tape or paste, Pipe insulation, Christies Glue, and Funny pipe and Funny Pipe Fittings . I am sure that rainbird included the valves, heads, nozzles, timer, rainsensor. You may want to get a Quick cutter for the PVC up to size 1" or 1.25" it is a lot easier to use than a Hacksaw.
I think I covered the basics, but I may be leaving something out.
Good Luck

Thanks for the advice; Something is definitely not right; After looking at the rest of the plans it appears that I have parts on the shopping list they gave me that I will not even use: I will call them and ask them: it seems that if I just switch to 3/4 inch elbows and tees and use pvc cuttings vs the couplers everything will fit snug; not too tight or loose. They may have screwed up my list. I appreciate your response and will post what worked for other beginners who may run into this. Kelly.

What brand of fittings are those? Both sides should be exactly the same. I suppose you have to go with what's available in your area. I use exclusivly Spears fittings. Having a deeper socket makes me feel more at ease with my work. It's the reason I shop at Ewing and not Hydroscape. The K-mart here used to carry Spears fittings so you could try there. I'd just like to add that since you're new to PVC fittings that maybe the part you think is loose maybe the correct size. If you can push the pipe all the way in easily without glue then it's definetly too big. It should go about half way without glue. I'd rather have a fitting too tight than too loose. You probably have nothing to worry about though, the glue will fill the gap.

I submitted a design to rainbird and purchased all of the parts and am starting to see how everything is going to fit together. I have never worked with PVC schedule 40 and notice on the pvc couplings that one end is loose and the other is very tight. The tight side of the coupler has a little bump on it where as the loose end does not. The loose end almost feels too loose while the tight end feels too tight. Is this normal? I am trying to follow the picture and use the PVC recommended. ( I have 3/4 inch valves and it appears they recommend 1 inch PVC Slip Tee with 3/4 inch coupling in between which hooks on to a 1 inch slip then 3/4 inch male which fits into the 3/4 inch female valve. It would almost seem easier to use. Any help much appreciated.