Outdoors

[MikeyNeedsHelp]

Guys,

I have an 8 zone lawn sprinkler system. One zone covers an 8' wide strip on top of the retaining wall that runs the length of my driveway. The current system uses 2 drip lines running about 130', fed by a 3/4" supply line that terminates right in the middle of the run. I want to run a t off of the primary supply line and feed 10 15' sprinklers  - 4in one direction and 6 in the opposite direction. 

My primary question is : Can I construct this whole zone using funnypipe for the feed line as well as the connector lines? Starting at the termination of the 3/4" supply line with a 3/4" to funnypipe T fitting connect a total of 10 sprinklers via 12' sections of funnypipe. I would connect each section with a T to connect the 2 sections of funny pipe with a 6" to 8" section of funnypipe to connect the sprinkler.

I know that this is not the traditional way to plumb the system but it sure would be simple to construct if it will work. The big questions I see are:

• is the 3/8" ID of Tort Super Funnypipe sufficient to supply the flow required?
• Is funnypipe durable enough to be used this way/

Any help will be truly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mikey

[HD116]

Greetings Mikey,

My name is Tom, known here in the community as HD116. First allow me to welcome you to the community! I think you will find it to be a useful resource. We discuss crafts, projects, tools and techniques as well as provide home improvement advice for do it yourselfers.

Thank you for your question. It would be nice to see a diagram and know if you are extending the existing zone or are abandoning the drip lines. That being said I will try to address your questions and give you some food for thought.

The easy question is about funny pipe. Yes, it is ideal for this application as it is easy to install, flexible, requires no glue, and can handle up to 120 PSI.

With regard to flow, there are quite a few considerations that have to be addressed.

1. Water pressure available - Even though your water pressure maybe 50-60 PSI at the source, it is unlikely that you will have that at the heads. It will usually be closer to 30-40 PSI at the heads.
2. Look at the nozzle performance charts (link is to an example) to determine the GPM's required by the heads used in your design. That willl assist in dictating how many heads you can use.
3. Always err to the fewer number of heads to ensure efficient operation.
4. Consider a bigger supply line if more heads are needed for your system.
5. Finally, I have never seen a system in my years as a Home Inspector that had a zone with greater than 6 heads. And on those zones they were smaller (45 and 90 degree) flow heads that used less GPM's.

I would take the time to sketch out your existing system and post it here or take it to one of our plumbing associates at you local store. In addition to the diagram, please provide information on the PSI at the source, types of heads desired, and if the existing drip lines are being abandoned. It will give us better information to be able to assist you further.

Finally, there is a host of information on irrigation on our website, including an Irrrigation Buying Guide where you can get further information.