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

yes, I have a 2 hp pump for each application

Is this a two-pump setup? One pump fills a tank, and a second pump sends water to the emitters?

OK her goes. I really have enjoyed this dialogue.

We have about 2.5 acres of avocados about 240 trees. The previous owner had a water tank high enough on the hill to supply the water needs for his purpose without regard for the actual needs of the avocado trees and because he was getting resonable crops he didn't bother to modify the system. It consists of a bubbler head that projects about 2-3 ft of water and amounts to about 150 to 200 gals a month for each tree.

We now have a 10k water tank which is basically at the same level as our fields so we have a 2hp pressure pump to push the water to the trees. The well is supposed to give us 10 gpm but still needs some tweaking as we are only getting 5+ gpm.

After studying all the different sprinker heads we opted for the Dan 2001 PC which will put out about 12.5 gph (blue base/red spinner)across a wide range of pressures.

We chose this brand because of the pressure compensation which will help deliver equal amount of water regardless of the beginning or end of lateral verses pressure regulators on each of the laterals.

The current system has 6 valves and I am looking to make it 7 and reduce the number of trees on each lateral, giving each more water for a longer time and attempting to cover more of the drip line area.

I am changing the supply sizes to get more volume and reduce the flow and losses and providing adequate pressure to each of the heads

I know that this is still not enough water but with my constraints on water I need to make sure that the tank has enough water for all the trees. With the new sprinkler heads I hope to water 80 to 100 % of the canopy instead of the 4 to 8 sq ft. at the trunk of each tree. These are mature trees and 300 to 400 sq ft canopies.

This has been a good learning experience for my wife and I and we are constantly looking for better solutions to make our trees as happy as possible

Thanks again

There might be better solutions. How many acres are under irrigation right now? What sprinklers are being used? I have dealt with systems that needed to have a rest period for well recovery. The systems were poorly designed, or sometimes, a replacement pump had a flow that exceeded the well's capacity.

Thank you for your help. Looks like I will buy the Hunter ICC. Everyone I talked to seemed to like it and now that I have a solution to my complicated watering scheem, I am much relieved.

Once again thank you.

It sounds like you figured it out. I had to read what you wrote a few times to follow. So you're basically running everything with one start time. Good job. I knew there was a solution in there somewhere.
As far as the 2 hour on ABC goes, that can't be right. I think it's somewhere between 6 and 8 hours max per zone. There's really no need for that because I think you already have a good plan. 13 stations. Wish I'd thought of it. =) I'd like to make one suggestion though. You're trying to run the clock exactly 24 hours a day. There might be a slight delay between each zone. Over time your start time wont be the same. It might say the same time but it will come on a few minutes later. So, if you set two or three of the delays one minute less, the time zone 1 comes on will remain constant. Good luck!

First I want to thank Mr fixit and Boots for your responses.



I was having a tough time with the delay for the Hunter ICC but I think
I have figured it out. So, I would like to run it by you and see what you think.

First I will program station 1 for 12 hr with program D and then I will use the program delay between station which is up to 10 hrs. by setting it for 5 hr and 59 min. Next run station 2 for 2 min and the delay program will run for another 5 hr and 59 min and then station 3 will run for 12 hrs on D and so on. I should be able to do this with 13 stations and the cycle should repeat itself since I am only going to program 1 day a week.

Let me know what you think.

The Hunter ICC will allow for only 2hr on AB&C and I would need 5 channels per sprinkler using the 150% seasonal.??

Thanks again for the help and especially getting me to think about solutions..

If more irrigation is to be added, then maybe it's time to fit the new work to the existing well, and to look towards reworking the existing system. Then you can run continously, and just use a controller with drip capability, like the Hunter ICC (on its program D) ~ If you don't need rest periods for the pump, life will be simpler.

An 'empty' zone is just programmed for whatever recovery time the well needs. No wire is actually connected to that zone on the controller.

Hi, I'm confused too. Maybe the schedule I suggested before wont work because program D will run at the same time as program A. So skip that idea. I was trying to get you the least number of stations needed. I'm almost sorry I answered this question because I'm thinking too hard. =) Buying a bunch of controllers probably isn't a good idea. Here's one problem with that. The time of day will change.
For example, you have them all sequenced in the beginning. All the controllers say 5 pm. Come back in 6 months and they'll all be different. They could be as much as 15 minutes apart. I don't recommend going that route. I'd stick to one controller. It wont cost that much more to save you heacaches down the road.
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Ok, here we go again.
I wish I could remember what the max run time is for a station on programs ABC. I believe it's 5.9 hours on the Pro C. So I'll figure it using that as a reference.
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You'll need 28 stations. All set to run 4 hours on program A. You'll be using the seasonal adjustment of 150% so each one will run 6 hours. Station 1 and 2 will run for 6 hours to valve number 1. Station 3 and 4 will run to an empty zone. That's 4 zones for 1 valve.
Just repeat for the remaining 6 valves for a total of 28 zones needed.
Good luck!

I have looked at the Hunter ICC and it does look like a nice unit. But I am still confused by your solution. How is the empty zone programmed? If I can get some more water out of the well I will want to water for less time and put more water on the trees but I still the 12 hours between station starts so they all go on and off at the same time otherwise the cycle will change each day. I know what I am trying to do is not the norm for sprinklers and there is no ready solution. One idea that I had was simply to by sone less expensive controller and program each one on its own day and that way I don't have to try and trick the controllers into doing what I want. As far as the cost buying 6 or 7 controllers is cheaper than one of the controllers with all the features, most of which I don't need. What I am trying to water are avocado trees and the need about 300-400 gal each a week during the summer. Right now my well will only support about 180 gal. I know this is less than I need but that is all the trees have been getting in the past and they seem to do just fine.
Thank You,
Looking forward to you replies