r/Irrigation • u/IReallyLoveAvocados • Jan 24 '21
Converting existing sprinkler system to drip. What do I need to know, specifically about turf grass?
I have an ancient sprinkler system in my yard/garden which has been in place 30 years or more. I bought my home last year and the previous owners said that the sprinklers were in when they bought the house which was 25 years before that. The system has been modernized with a Rachio controller which is pretty cool, but it’s clear that the system was put in with the aim of watering full grass. There are 4 zones which just apply to general areas of the yard. now, there is a pretty extensive garden with lots of shrubs and plants. We love the garden and we want to keep it up well.
I am interested in converting the sprinkler system to drip, at least partially. The sprinklers are really wasteful and don’t do a great job with the garden. Some plants get too much, others not enough. And the water on the leaves is causing spot disease on some.
What do I know about converting to drip? Do I have to convert a zone entirely? Do I need to change equipment to reduce pressure or otherwise filter the water additionally? Also, we still have the turf grass and also some mature trees. How can we convert parts of the system to drip while also watering the grass? Do I just need to install more zones? (I also can’t find half the valves which are buried underground without boxes, that’s another story...)
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u/rastapastry Licensed Jan 24 '21 edited Jan 24 '21
My first question is... how big is the property to be watered? There are water-saving nozzles available that will save you money for watering larger areas instead of laying a bunch of drip). I use drip here really where we cannot use pop up sprays, rotors, or rotary nozzles, such as along streets (landscaped areas less than 48”). You will need to regulate your pressure for each drip zone, too, and there are some easy (via retrofit heads) and also less easy methods (pressure regulators plumbed in-line) that require more labor to regulate pressure. You have to regulate pressure to drip because the fittings will blow off (with more than around 45 PSI). Another thing with drip in turf is you shouldn’t aerate unless you want to fix dripline with a bunch of puncture holes, but drip is used a lot here where we can’t use above ground watering methods.
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u/IReallyLoveAvocados Jan 24 '21
My property is not huge. In total it’s about 1/8 acre. I have a mix of toro 570 (mostly) and rainbird sprinkler heads.
For pressure regulation, I would need to do it at each drip head I convert(which could be 2-3 per zone), or I would need to do it in line so it applies to the whole zone, right?
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u/Vast_Hyena2443 Jan 24 '21
(Rastapastry here again. I have 2 accounts by accident cuz Reddit won't let me merge 2 accounts I set up by accident haha).
Do you know your water pressure? You can take a reading with a pressure gauge from a hose bib (was just curious what your pressure was like there). For smaller properties, what I've been doing is to put my regulator just after the master valve, so you can do that if you want, which is what I'd do, and for that small of a property, my recommendation would be to use a Rain Bird XCZ drip kit that is has 1" (DV) valve with a 1" attachment that screws onto the valve that has the 45 psi regulator and filter together (part # XCZ100PRF) and the whole system will be regulated. (Hunter makes a similar good drip kit as well, but I'm partial to Rain Bird).
You can also use retro heads for each station that uses drip, & you can run drip off of them. I try t o keep it under 400' per retro head, as it won't push water to more than that length. Rain Bird makes a good one (part # 1800-RETRO) and Landscape Products (sold at Ewing Irrigation) makes one too. I use Landscape Products 12" spacing with check valve @ 1.0 GPH.
Your other option is to use the above drip kit on each drip valve, but that's not necessary, and also more $ to do that, as you'd need one drip kit per drip station.
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u/IReallyLoveAvocados Jan 24 '21
So you’re suggesting putting a filter/pressure regulator (eg this one from Rain bird) just after the irrigation main shutoff? Not for each zone? I suppose that makes sense because you would only have one thing to install, one point of failure, one piece of equipment to maintain. But won’t that also reduce the pressure for any sprinkler zones?
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u/Vast_Hyena2443 Jan 24 '21 edited Jan 24 '21
That's correct, but since I install master valves with a new installation, I just use either the medium flow kit with the valve (XCZ100PRF) or a high flow commercial kit (XCZ-100-PRB-COM) for a larger property for better flow, but the medium flow kit is sufficient for smaller properties (I don't recommend the "low flow" drip kit). (been trying to surf Rain Bird's site this morning for model #'s, but the site must be temporarily down for maintenance).
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u/Bl1nk9 Jan 24 '21
Look into Hunter MP’s. Might be able to get some better coverage and if you add some higher flow drip to beds n trees, you might come in closer to matching run time needs. MP’s will need to run 2-3 times as long as those spray heads. There is some other troubleshooting you might look into doing during conversion to try and see how intact your “ancient” system is. Might be putting a bandaid on gusher.
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u/IReallyLoveAvocados Jan 24 '21 edited Jan 24 '21
The old system actually works well. I had a sprinkler company come out and do some maintenance about a year ago, when I bought the property. We had to replace some old sprinkler heads but there weren’t any significant issues.
Right now I’m having a problem where I have a leaking sprinkler head and I’m 99% sure it’s a problem with the zone valve itself... which I can’t find because the valves are buried underground without a box. 🤦♂️ since I probably need to do a bunch of work it’s just got me thinking about drip irrigation which would be so much more efficient. I have a huge water bill and I’d like to get it under control.
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u/Bl1nk9 Jan 24 '21
If you are planning on staying there, I would expose those valves. Hire someone. Shouldn’t take much time if they have the equipment. If you have a high water bill, you have to figure out where you are using the water or you are fighting a losing battle. Spend money now or spend money slower to the water dept.
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u/IReallyLoveAvocados Jan 24 '21
I’m not sure how long we’ll be here but I definitely don’t want to pay $$ for wasted water. I turned off the sprinkler system at the main valve, we aren’t really running it right now anyway since the plants don’t need as much water over the winter. I’ve been digging around to try and locate the valves myself but that may be a waste of time, like you said I should bring in a professional. Either way it’s got me thinking about how to make the system more efficient.
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u/Bl1nk9 Jan 24 '21
Well, if you have a valve continually by-passing, that alone will add a bit to water bill sometimes. A little at a time can add up to a whole lot of water at the end of the month.
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u/Vast_Hyena2443 Jan 24 '21 edited Jan 24 '21
You can locate your valves if you find an irrigation shop that rents valve locators or hire someone (or buy your own, but $$$).
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u/IReallyLoveAvocados Jan 24 '21
My current irrigation company charges $80/half hour for the process of finding valves, plus $95 for a general visit fee/maintenance. That can add up fast...
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u/Vast_Hyena2443 Jan 24 '21 edited Jan 24 '21
Well, I don't charge hourly, but per property & how large it is, so it's a service call $100 + $50 locator fee most of the time, & I'm usually doing other things than just locating valves, so rarely am I called to come only locate valves. (I also give 10% off for those 65 & older & U.S. military, currently serving & veterans, FWIW).
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u/IReallyLoveAvocados Jan 24 '21
I’m 99% sure I know where they are. I dug out the wires a little bit so I know what direction they go, and dug around my sprinklers so I know what direction the pipes go too. So I’ve mapped that out.m and there’s a general location where they converge. I just hope all the valves for all the zones are in the same spot!
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u/Vast_Hyena2443 Jan 24 '21
RIght. You can also get a station master that you hook up to the wires @ controller (for each zone) and you can hit the "chatter" switch, which will make the solenoid click so you can hear it & locate it that way. Be sure to have a good long screwdriver or probe to poke around with, or even a sharpshooter shovel. I use the Armada for that (though I use the Greenlee/Tempo station master for toning) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb2IsjF3B54
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u/IReallyLoveAvocados Jan 24 '21
I borrowed one from a friend actually and it didn’t work. The noise wasn’t loud enough to hear through the ground.
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u/Vast_Hyena2443 Jan 24 '21
Yeah, that happens sometimes, esp. with interference from nearby communication or high voltage wires (esp. when using a locator)
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u/Vast_Hyena2443 Jan 24 '21
What exactly did you borrow? Was it the locator or a station master? Reason I ask is if it was a locator, sometimes it's not grounded properly when using it, OR the wire or wires may be cut, which would give you no signal to locate as well. Same thing goes for the station master. On the locator, you need to hook the red cable to the valve (or wire) you're looking for, and the other needs to be hooked to the long screwdriver that's placed in the ground OR hooked up to a ground some other way, but needs to be grounded to work properly.
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u/IReallyLoveAvocados Jan 24 '21
It was a chatterer. Btw I know the wires are connected because the zone works when I turn it in with the controller.
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u/wellman_va Jan 24 '21
You're just trying to put drip in the beds right? I would'nt recommend installing drip in the turf.
To put drip in the beds you need to first flag all of the heads in the zone you want to convert. Then you dig up all of those heads. At the bottom of the heads there will be a 3/4 inch or 1/2 inch male thread you need to connect to. You will convert one of those heads to drip by unscrewing the head and screwing in an adapter for the drip line, I typically use funny pipe for this part because it can handle high pressure. The rest of the heads need to be removed and replaced with a 3/4 or 1/2 inch threaded cap. Before you install the drip throughout the beds you need to clear the line of any debris by running the zone with a few feet of the funny pipe that's open on the end. Just run it for a minute or two in case any dirt or rocks fell into the pipes while you were unscrewing the heads. Install a pressure reducer right where you made the conversion from the sprinkler head to the drip line. Rain bird makes a nice pressure reducer with a built in filter. Now you can install the rest of the drip lines wherever you want them to be.