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Pressure/Flow Related Questions

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TMD

Active Member

Posts: 5

1

Tuesday, April 15th 2003, 3:40am

Pressure/Flow Related Questions

I live in Southwestern Ohio, and have decided to install a sprinkler system. There are a few issues that I haven't quite worked out yet.

1. My supply line is 3/4 from meter to house. Some have told me to connect inside the house, right after the supply line enters. Others (on this forum) appear to prefer tapping in to the supply line outside the house. Which is better and why?

2. I suffer from low pressure at times (40 psi when good, ~25 psi when bad). By my calculations, I can get 3 rotors per zone for good pressure times. Should I install a booster pump? If so, what kind do you all recommend?

3. What type of lines are the preferred for my area, PVC or Poly?

FYI, I have ~1/2 acre to irrigate, most of it open. However, I have some tricky areas that will require pop-ups instead of rotors making my total head count pretty high. I's like to stay below 16 zones due to watering time issues.

Thanks in Advance-
TMD

RVLI

Supreme Member

Posts: 462

Location: USA

2

Tuesday, April 15th 2003, 2:02pm

In your area, the mainline entering to your house from the outside should be somewhere around 6 feet deep, I don't think you would want to go that deep so just stick with tapping in after the mainline in your basement. The reason some people tap from the outside is because they live in a warm climate and the line isnt buried deep at all, and saves them time from tapping inside the house.

You should design your system to run at WCS(Worst case scenario) so for your system, you should design with 25 PSI instead of 40, and the least GPM you get, that way if you design at 25 PSI, your system will still run efficiently, and even better when the pressure is higher.

In Ohio, I would tap in the mainline, run copper to the outside where you run to your backflow device, then use PVC for the mainline from backflow device to the valve manifold(s). For the lines running to the heads, use 100 PSI rating poly.

TMD

Active Member

Posts: 5

3

Wednesday, April 16th 2003, 3:26am

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I certainly appreciate it.

I kinda figured to design for the low pressure situation, but that leaves the number of zones rather large. Should I use a pressure boost pump? Anyone use these before? What is the experience, what type, size, etc?

Thanks again

RVLI

Supreme Member

Posts: 462

Location: USA

4

Thursday, April 17th 2003, 3:05am

I have had one situation that in the back yard where the well was, the elevation changed 20 feet. So I had the well digging company put in a booster pump, and it helped significantly. I would suggest that you call your local licensed and authorized well company and ask them what they would recommend for you.

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