Installing a Sprinkler System

[HorseFixer 2,012]

Well I dont have to tell you last year was a Hot One! <_< How often do we all work on our yards in the spring, get it looking real good and then in Aug ya cant stay ahead of the watering and next thing ya know it drys up and thats when the weeds take over! I have done this year after year spent more money on patching bare spots in the yard than you can shake a stick at. The only way to have a nice lawn is to water your lawn PERIOD. So I started researching installing a sprinkler system all the components and I decided to do a layout of my yard. I made several drawings and worked with a place called Trickle Ezze which is a local irragation company and incidentally thay have a branch in Bieglerville P.A (another story) and they approved my final drawing. Im going with Hunter PGP Gear Drive heads on their reccomendation they say they are the best, Irratrol Solenoid valves and an Irratrol PC12 PC based controller with rain sensor. The advantage of this system is that after you enter all your zones data, type of soil, sloap, type of plant in this case grass. Type of sun, shade, etc it will set a reccomended schedual. Now for the neat part, it goes out on the internet snatches the local forcast and takes in consideration humidity, wind speed, sun, cloudy, raining and further tweaks the schedual and updates daily. The stuff they dont think of! It also allows you to upload pictures of the zones you are watering as Icons in the setup menu. Now for the install. Since I have to go under the driveway I sawcut that friday, Yesterday I started in and rented a DINGO vibratory plow and got about 1/2 of it layed in the ground and it started raining the plan is to get the rest of the pipe in the ground today. Since Im renting the Dingo I dont have to return it till tuesday being its a Holliday weekend! Well so much for a relaxing vacation sure would rather be working on tractors! Here are some pics and Im sure more to follow in the next few days.

Cheers ~Duke

[6wheeler 586]

You really know how to have a good time on a holiday weekend . I would assume that the sprinkler system will have some strategically placed heads to wash WH's. Of course, your wife will think it is for watering her flowers . Can you come to Mn.? I could use one of those and I am too lazy to do it myself . Good luck with it.

[AMC RULES 36,955]

Yeah, you should take that show on the road as I want to install an irrigation system as well. Can you help a brother out, NY isn't that far away is it? Definitely looks like you've got it handled. :hide:

[HorseFixer 2,012]

Yeah, you should take that show on the road as I want to install an irrigation system as well. Can you help a brother out, NY isn't that far away is it? Definitely looks like you've got it handled.

I suppose I could hook a Brother up for a 520H and maybe you can throw in a couple more tractors! Hell if ya purchase and deliver a Senior to my door I might even Buy the parts for ya! This thing is kickin my azz Well just about everytime I get on a roll with this project it FREAKING Rains like Cats -n- Dogs its storming out right now and chased us in the house and most likely we are done for the day its 4:30 now and if indeed it does quit will take a few hrs to get rid of enough water so I could get some work done. Need a couple Valves so figured I would go to lowes and make a parts run. Anyway here are some pics.

Cheers ~Duke

[Redbirdman 7]

Those irratoll valves are nice in that you can just reach in the control box and twist the solenoid to turn them on quickly......without messing with the timer. But can I suggest you take one apart before you finish the install just so you know what the diaphram and all looks like...........cause you ARE gonna be replacing them from time to time.. I would even pick up a few spares. Of course the diaphrams always blow out when your away on vacation flooding the yard...

But I do have to consider mine are at least 5 years old and they run year round turning on and off as much as three times a day in the summer months, so they probably fatigue quicker with constant use. But if I had to do it again I would put a 'master' valve in the line to act as a backup .....then when a diaphram blows the master would shut off all the water at the end of the cycle..(if it dont blow out too! )

The problem with sprinkler systems is they grow on you and you are never satisfied (translated: finished)......gramma always says: "if your looking for Pop he will be someplace in the yard on his knees praying to the water gods" so from now on you will always have grass stained knees, soggy sneakers and water spots on your glasses....

ED :hide:

[can whlvr 991]

those dingo tractors are a life saver,ive rented one with a bucket and hole auger,when i cant use myskid steer due to size

[sorekiwi 761]

If it keeps raining like it has in Ohio so far this year, you wont need a sprinkler system.

I hope the weather forecast the machine downloads from the nudie-net is more reliable than the ones on TV!

[varosd 1,185]

After living in the South for a lot of years...it is nice to come back North where a sprinkler system is an 'option'. We had hybrid Bermuda(very thirsty) at one house in NC, then we had Centipede (poor mans grass) at our last house before moving to Central PA. Still gets Hazy,Hot and Humid here, but not like NC where it seemed like 90 degrees, 90 % humidity all Summer long!

Yes, you will continue to fiddle and adjust your system all the time, But isnt that with everything? I had the older system with the large impact heads, not the gear driven rotor heads. A big plus down South was not having to drain the system for the Winter! We had super sandy soil so it was a breeze to trench...Now, if I had to do a system here where we live now...clay, granite, tons of roots!!! :)

[HorseFixer 2,012]

What a hot one it was on memorial day! Geesh I wish it would rain! Anyway it was a hot one the past few days but Got her done, adjusted and working. And she does work sweet. Had to support the backflow preventer and installed 2 6' 2X2 1/4" angle iron and drove it in the ground to support the 1" galvanized pipe, also used 2 3/4" muffler clamps figured I would POR all the metal and paint with aluminum paint. The reason I ran Galvanized pipe was I didn

[Redbirdman 7]

What a hot one it was on memorial day

God that all looks so familiar!.......except in Arizona you would NEVER sit on the grass like that!! For fear of a scorpian stinging you in the butt, or red ants crawling up your shorts and biting you in the ba......

But you sure look like you are having fun

We had a slight freeze around Christmas and the backflows all cracked the plastic inserts (30 bucks each) because they really dont drain completely.

Is that a rock?

ED :hide:

[HorseFixer 2,012]

Is that a rock?

ED

Yep. Ed, kinda a funny story about that rock by the way. About 8 years ago when they built a Lowe's Store here in town while it was under construction I spied a large rock out on the construction site so I stopped. I asked who was in charge and this guy pointed over at this gal and he says she is the superintendant. I walked over to this gal who incidentally had about a 24 waste and 48 chest and she said before I could say anything in a deep voice "How Can I Help You" Well I says I was driving past and seen that BIG ROCK over there and was wondering if I could have it? She says do you have a way to haul it? I said no but I will. She said If you do I can get that Michigan front end loader over there and load you up. So i called a friend of mine and set it up for the next day. So he came over with his dump truck and dumped it off in the front yard where he later nudged it into position. There was also a couple more nice pieces I kept one and the other I gave away. A couple years prior I added a 1400 sq ft addition on to the back of my home for a total of 2500 sq ft and completely redid the roof as I did not like the CAPE CODFISH look as all the homes in the neighborhood have. I liked the 18" overhangs, I also sided the house with triple 3 in clipper gray which I think you will agree that the Big Rock matches nicely. I wanted our house number engraved on the rock and some design so I told MJ to pick the design out that she wanted on it. On the small rock I kinda Bucked up..... We moved into this home in 1986 but I wished I would have had the year we were married on it which was 1982 that way if we ever moved I could take it with us. Oh well so there you have it, I plan on landscaping around the Rock with stone border and crushed rock, and plan on putting up a flagpole and some lighting but for now will call this project completed! Oh and by the way its now overcast and sprinkling out when these pictures are taken, had to turn on the sprinkler and override the rain sensor that had system off.

Cheers ~Duke

[Redbirdman 7]

Great story! And I am one that really appreciates rocks....only momma would not let me ship ours from New Jersey to Arizona...

ed :hide:

[HorseFixer 2,012]

Ed it is crazy what the price is on these big Rocks around here. I have seen many much smaller than this one go for around $1500.00 and they werent nearly as interesting looking as this one. I would wager to say this is a 2K to 2.5K how big of rock did you have shipped anyways? My pal that hauled it estimates its weight between 12K to 13K lbs I dont think I will ever ship this one.

Cheers ~Duke

:)

[Redbirdman 7]

The two that I wanted to ship were only about 500 lbs each..(about the size of a Jackson Wheelbarrow bucket.)....and were sandstone from way up high on a mountain in New Providence New Jersey. I found them when I ran a backhoe (about 20 years ago) and was excavating for a driveway. They were covered with fossil imprints of things that looked like flying crabs. Instead of dumping them in a landfill I brought them home and made a 'table' in a stone wall with them, I drank gallons of cold beer off them million year old crabs! But momma said NO when we moved: they dont belong in the desert.......oh well!

Gee....now you got me nostalgic. I miss them damn rocks!

Duke....treat your rock well,

Ed

PS: for you rock heads heres a site for that famous rock on rt 539 in NJ,,,,,reported to have fallen off a truck on it's way to the jetty in Barnegat Light NJ 50 years ago

NJ famous ROCK IN THE PINES

[HorseFixer 2,012]

Ed, I dont know about the flying CRABS part but the part sounds pretty good to me yeah Rocks like that have alot of character and the one as you described definatley shows they were under water at one time, what was that elevation where they were found? Yeah I dont plan on moving but ya never know what might happen.

Oh and thanks for the heads up on the master valve do dad! I still can do that but will need to put a valve box with solenoid in ahead of zone valve box oh and will need to pull another wire which isnt a bad idea Idea anyways for some added 24V lighting on Rock and flagpole I plan on installing.

Cheers ~Duke

:hide: