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

So would I be correct to assume that if I used 1" pvc pipe for my runs and a short (5ft) 1" poly pipe from my pvc to hb, that this should work? Please advise.


Thanks
Alaniz

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Why is it that most baseball fields/commercial designs with long runs, they reduce the pipe size as the run goes on? <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
To save money!

Like SamIV says, they size the pipe based on the amount of water that must flow through it (relative the how much pressure loss they can tolerate).

However, it thing the main point RVLI was trying to make is accurate...
The tiny 1/2" pipe just can't adiquately feed three sprinklers, especially since the dry run involved 1/2" or 5/8" garden hoses (lots of pressure loss when trying to push enough water to feed three sprinklers).

RVLI

Say there are 6 heads on a zone all with 2 GPM (Galons per Minute) nozzles. This will be a 12 GPM zone. To size the pipe at the first head in this zone, the pipe will have to be able to deliver 12 GPM of water with as little pressure loss as possible. When you go to the next head the pipe will have to deliver 10 GPM. . By the time you get to the last head on the zone the pipe will have to deliver only 2 GPM because that is all the last head is delivering. So this is why pipe can be smaller at the end of the zone. And by decreasing the pipe diameter you also decrease pressure. Smaller pipe, more pressure loss. Not the other way around.

SamIV

Educate me then. Why is it that most baseball fields/commercial designs with long runs, they reduce the pipe size as the run goes on? Conserve flow for the last head?

rvli wrote- "The smaller the pipe, the more pressure, but less volume"

not a true statement........you can not create pressure by using a smaller pipe.

Volume. The spigot is probably only running on 1/2" pipe. The smaller the pipe, the more pressure, but less volume.

I did check the pressure at the spigot and got a 70psi reading. I don't know why it would not work.

Thanks for the help.

Water volume is probably the key, maybe some with the pressure. 5/8" garden hose doesn't have near as much volume as a 3/4" or 1" pipe.

Its sounds like you have a lack of pressure and water volume. Did you take a reading at your spigot on your static pressure?

I wanted to do it inground, about 3in (live in S TX,never gets cold) and put a conection near the HB for a quick connect. Something simple. I would put a Max of three sprinklers on the same line. I tried a dry run with regular hoses, and it did not work. The first sprinkler worked fine but the other two that were connected did nothing.

Example:
S
h
h
ThhhhhhhhhhhhhhShhhhhhhhhC HB
h
h
S
What did I do wrong? Will it work if it is PVC? Or just scrap the whole idea?

Hope this helps. Thanks for the help.