Admit it, you are clueless as to how long you should water and when. There is no shame in that. Recently I sat down using some math and sprinkler guy skill and came up with a starting point. I say starting point because every landscape is different. There can be many different micro-climates in one yard! So the key is to start with a simple program and adjust it over time to fit your unique landscape. Program with July in mind. […]
The Advantages of Netafim
What is Netafim anyway? Netafim is now a global company that pioneered drip irrigation back in the mid-1960s in Israel. Netafim is a brand name, but we sprinkler guys use the word as a common noun, like Kleenex or Q-tip. Netafim™Techline® is tubing made of rugged polyethylene plastic. Pressure compensating emitters are welded to the inside wall in spacings of 6″, 12”, 18”, and 24” apart. It comes in 12mm and 17mm diameter. We use the 12mm tubing with the […]
Maybe Your System Needs Years Of Therapy.
I was struck with an overwhelming feeling of empathy for my therapist the other day while inspecting an apartment complex’s irrigation system. I thought to myself, “There are so many things wrong here, it’s going to take years to fix!” Often irrigation systems, like children, begin life full of hope, potential, fully functional! Then over time neglect, abuse, apathy set in. Years go by with warning signs ignored. The system, like an impressionable adolescent, falls in with the wrong crowd. […]
Tips For The Do-It-Yourselfer: DON’T!
The reason I discourage people from doing their own sprinkler work is because I care deeply about them. Valve boxes may contain deadly snakes, spiders, and baby alligators. Valve control wires carry thousands of volts of lethal electricity that will kill you dead if you even look at them wrong. Hundreds of people lose an eye every year attempting to nozzle dangerously high-pressure pop-up heads. Many more lose fingers by accidentally gluing them onto PVC pipe. Okay, so maybe none […]
Rain Sensor Problems?
I hear a lot of complaints about rain sensors not working. Usually the problem is easily figured out. It’s important to understand what a rain sensor actually is and isn’t. The term ‘sensor’ itself is misleading. Rain sensors do not ‘sense’ rain. Merriam Webster defines ‘sensor’ as “a device that responds to a physical stimulus (as heat, light, sound, pressure, magnetism, or a particular motion) and transmits a resulting impulse (as for measurement or operating a control)” This is not […]
Possibly the worst DIY Sprinkler Video on YouTube
http://youtu.be/KyL-UrFKlzQ What NOT to do. This may be the most criminally ignorant of any DIY irrigation video ever produced. This dude lays out an array of garbage purchased from the big box store, and claims for around $200 you can build your own sprinkler system. Follow his advice and watch your investment turn into thousands of dollars of major repairs, possible property damage, a huge water bill, and the good chance of contaminating your neighborhood’s water supply. Fortunately most of […]
Veggie Beds
There are two ways we like to set up veggie beds. Micro-spray heads, or dripline. There are advantages to both, depending on how and what you are growing. Micro-sprays cover bigger areas with smaller herbs. Dripline might be better for taller crops that would block spray patterns. Each micro-spray has a shut off valve just under the nozzle. This is a small black knob with an arrow on it. You can adjust the spray or shut off the head completely […]
Sometimes you just have to mix up a zone.
Last year I was installing a new system for a client who was very observant and possessed some surprising sprinkler savvy. She noticed that I was installing Netafim dripline in a small area on the same zone as some MP Rotators. She challenged me right away, correctly noting the design flaw of mixing sprinkler types of differing precipitation rates. “Jeeze Louise! Where did this lady get all this sprinkler science already?” I asked myself. I found out later she had […]
How to talk like a Sprinkler Guy (plus a little history about kangaroos and the Yucatan Peninsula).
The following is exerpted from a site called OMG facts http://www.omg-facts.com/History/The-Yucatan-Peninsula-translates-to-I-do/51638?id=51638&c_val=1 “In 1517, the Spanish explorers were trying to communicate with the Mayans. They asked for the name of the region, but the Mayans couldn’t understand them. They simply said something along the lines of “I don’t understand you” in their native tongue. It ended up sounding like “Yucatan” to the Spaniards, and they continued to call the area by that name. The same thing happened in Australia and the […]
Fixing A Low Pressure Problem
There are a few ways to fix a poorly functioning zone. We want to check a few things first. I’ve spent hours troubleshooting a low pressure zone only to discover the main water meter at the curb wasn’t open all the way. The last person using the meter opened it enough for household fixtures to work, but a sprinkler system requires a lot more flow. If we know our main supply is wide open and there aren’t any hidden mysteries […]
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