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

1/2" swing elbows for the sprays
3/4" swing elbows for the rotors

If I use the swing pipe method to attach to the lateral lines what fittings do I need to get? I am going with the hunter I-20 and ProSprays. These will be 4 inch buried at 10-12 in. I looked at the product info pdfs but am unclear which fittings i need to order to use the "funny" pipe.

it is easier tom, but its not horrid advice. if you can keep from driving over them with your car(take driving lessons) the heads will be fine. although on the heads near a road or driveway it is a good idea to use a swing joint or funny pipe. but not throughout the entire lawn. (middle areas). i have never had a problem with heads or poly breaking from just the weight of a mower or people. but if a car drives over a head, chances are its gonna break no matter what! so its not horrid advice period tom. your just an idiot.

So your suggesting using risers off of poly pipe?

Horrid advice, period.

2 swing fittings and a 1 foot section of funny pipe may cost 75 cents tops, and gives the head much better flexibility. The system will also install faster as one does not have to place the poly pipe EXACTLY where the head will go.

remember that you only need to use funny pipe and/or swing joints if you are installing on hard pvc. if you are using poly pipe, you dont need them. also remeber that if a "car" runs over a sprinkler head.......the actuall head may and probably will break. but it does help to install heads on funny pipe. but its gonna cost ya some extra money that you may not need to spend if you are installing on poly pipe. nc state brings up a good point if you are using pvc. but if its poly you dont need swings joints or funny pipe if you can get the poly down deep ebough to install the heads right on the pipe.

I have not been able to get to a PC lately - Thanks for all the input. I will go back and verify the flow test - the guys from the city ran the test at the meter (on the street side with the meter removed). My supply line at the meter is 3/4.
Where can I get details on the use of the funny pipe - fittings needed etc...
Again - thanks for all the advise!!!

guys sorry to jump in, i like to know if you buy rainbird product from online or from sprinkler warehouse would it be of better quality than getting it from HD/Lowes?.

If you have received a design from Rain Bird that refers to Home Depot or Lowes (Home Improvement or consumer grade) type parts, you can go to the following link and get the part numbers converted over to the recommended Professional Series parts:

Covert Consumer Grade part numbers to Professional Series part numbers

Never install the low quality home impriovement or consumer grade parts when you can get the Professional Series parts for the same price or less.

I would have to disagree with Lush on the swing joints... If you hard pipe sprinklers into PVC and put them at grade, you are much more likely to have broken pipes when cars, lawnmowers, bikes, or anything else runs over them a few times. You could save money by not using "real" swing joints and using a short section (< 12") of funny pipe to run from the pvc to each sprinkler head. With the funny pipe, if a car runs over the sprinkler next to the driveway, it will just push it down into the ground and not break the PVC.

I agree with lush that the HD and lowes stuff is crap. Get some quality Hunter parts from your local distrubitor or online. If the pro-c controller is a little to pricey, the SRC would work great... it is much better that what the Depot sells.

What size is your water meter and supply line that you can get 24 gpm out of?? That seems kind of high.. As for the 6 ft. of elevation, that is only a 2.5 psi pressure loss (or gain) due to elevation. You will have more of a pressure loss through your backflow or valves.

anything that home depot or lowes sells is garbage!!!!!!!! spend the extra money and get hunter pgp rotors, hunter 4 inch sprays, toro is also good for sprays but dont get the crappy ones they sell at lowes or home depot. hunter srv valves, hunter pro-c controller. dont use any swing joints or funny pipe, just did the pipe deep enough to install the head at the proper level. (you will save some money). 63 psi is decent but 24 gpm is very high which is good. you must have a 1 inch service or larger. if so you can get 6 rotor heads a zone no problem and 15- 20 sprays per zone. good luck