I'm looking to re-do irrigation gear in the lawns and garden beds but I'm not sure if I want to go 13mm or 19mm or 25mm... Poly pipe or PVC...
In the past I've used 13mm in gardens and that's worked fine when combined with raised bubblers like in the image. They keep above any mulch and the spike can be relocated with ease. Great for trees and shrubs but useless for my wall of Agapanthus across the front.
With 19mm in the lawn it's just dawned on me that the connection back at the tap is only 12mm so am I really getting the right solution? Do I buy larger connectors? Right now I have an oscillating sprinkler manually moved around all areas, which is fine, but I want to install something more permanent - and haven't dismissed a fully automated system yet as prices keep falling..
What do Members use and does it do the job for you?
Does the increase in size merely push more volume down the pipe - does it mean that heads spray further? What's the kpa impact?
Have been looking at the Hunter range of pop-ups, some with rotators (my preference) and some with static..
When designing in-lawn pipe, should I create a closed loop (like a square) or run them all in a straight line?
I personally prefer no sprinklers in the lawn itself - noting to hit with the mower or edger. A friend has the traditional system - round flat disk full circles with quarters and halves at some edges. He is forever decapitating sprinkler heads with the edger and mower - tries to be careful but still sometimes hits.
Problem is the pipe is too shallow to allow for pop ups - so its a balancing act of getting the sprinkler high enough to spray but low enough to not be hit
We have no sprinklers in the lawn - just use a variety of moveable oscillating sprinklers. Have tried just about every type, wave ones are good but aren't easy to fix (I tripped and fell on one), the metal arm rotating ones and others
I bought one of these recently - sprays a good way and is adjustable to all degrees. https://www.bunnings.com.au/gardena-comfort-circular-spike-vario-sprinkler_p3120909
Also bought 10 of these when I worked out the price https://www.stratco.com.au/au/garden/watering-irrigation/plastic-pyramid-sprinkler/ (assuming it isn't just a WA clearance). Will be filling the hollow area underneath with cement to give it some weight.
Also have bought 4 of the traditional Pope Canberra 3 arm rotary sprinklers for $5 each last week - several bunnings have them on clearance due to Pope releasing a new 'click and go' head system that allows you to change the base to use a plastic impact, metal impact, bobble head, whirling vane and the 3 arm rotary - don't know why anyone would want to.
I have used 13mm pipe in all garden beds that are reticulated. Have used those small bubblers - they kept getting kicked and snapped. Starting to have issues with frangipani tree roots bending and snapping the t pieces.
Ok Now you're opening a can of worms! Irrigation is what I do at work, I am a bit short on time this morning, But I can answer you're questions in the next couple days.
Pop ups are by far the way to go, if installed correctly you shouldn't hit them with the mower nearly ever, and are very cost effective if you do it yourself.
By any chance can you bring up like a google earth pic of you're yard so I can get an idea of the area you are wanting to water?
I installed my in-ground system and it’s such a time saver. I also save water because there’s no over spray or run-off. I used metric (blue-line) poly from behind the tap to the manifold and then LD Poly from the solenoids to each zone. All 25mm to increase flow. Hunter Pro Spray bodies with MP Rotator nozzles and I used articulated risers on recommendation from an irrigation expert. They make it very easy to change the height of the sprinkler heads once the ground has settled.
The MP’s are great. I also installed them at my parents place and they have terrible water pressure. I found it easier to just bypass the garden tap, install a ball valve for isolation and a dual check valve to prevent back flow. I’ve got a Smart Controller (Skydrop) and I installed a B-Hyve Bluetooth tap timer at my parents place.
I purchased everything from Dural Irrigation online except for the poly, which I got through my local irrigation store. They just couldn’t compete with the online pricing from Dural for everything else...
OK Nath - here's the overall plan of the property. Google Earth/Maps was so grainy I thought this would be a better option. There is about a half metre fall from left to right.
We had a landscape architect draw plans back in May 1994 not long after we moved in. It was Winter and I wanted ideas for when Spring came along. Since then the changes have been adding tanks on the left, a pool in the back right and my boat in the front right hand side.
Main tanks have a Grunfos pump which still works well. I'll need to do a flow test - but I'm thinking that the areas I'm watering are quite small so I'm fairly confident it won't be an issue. The secondary tanks have a "cheap & cheerful" pump that has been loyal for over 10 years. This is in line to the tanks also with green-stripe. Both systems have independent power and able to fill in either direction.
To date I've been happy to use timer taps and hoses to oscillator sprinklers but it's time to step it up a level.
My overall idea would be to end up with an automatic system for watering the lawns. With the gardens mature, they are topped up so infrequently that running a timer tap is so easy. Running pipe and wiring around the boundaries will be easy.
