IRRIGATION


Use these 5 tips to strengthen your system installation process. I


nstalling an irrigation system that is well-designed, effective, efficient and built to last is every contrac- tor’s ultimate goal. Tese simple tips from irrigation professionals will help you navigate the process, avoid common pitfalls and ensure that your irrigation system installation is able to withstand the test of time.


Do your homework


Before the trenching begins, there is plenty of work to be done to ensure that the end result checks all the boxes. A designer needs a variety of data in hand before an efficient and effective irrigation system design can take shape, says Keith Klusmeyer, a landscape and irrigation designer at Bergman Nurseries in Quincy, Illinois. “You’re going to need the gallons per minute the system


is capable of running, the static pressure of the system with nothing running and the service line and service meter


size,” Klusmeyer says. “Once you have that info, it makes the overall design process easier to come up with.” Tere are a few different ways to determine the water


capacity on a job site, from a pressure gauge that attaches to the spigot, to the old-fashioned bucket test, to some basic number crunching. “You can stick a bucket under the faucet and time how


long it takes to fill up a 5-gallon bucket or you can go in and do the math,” Klusmeyer says. “What size is your ser- vice line coming in? What size meter do you have? Tat will give us an idea of our gallons per second.” Failing to properly calculate the water capacity can have


serious implications on an irrigation installation, no matter how well the system is designed. While the system might throw water, it will not operate efficiently, which is the name of the game in irrigation today. “If my heads are supposed to throw 30 feet and I don’t


have the pressure, it is going to go 24 or 25 feet,” Klusmeyer says. “If I based my design on head-to-head coverage, I’m not efficient with my system. Before we start the installa- tion, we want to do the homework to make sure that once the system is installed, it will run efficiently.” With the necessary calculations in hand, product data


catalogs produced by most manufacturers serve as an in- valuable source of information, as they are a comprehensive resource about the various products. “Use those product catalogs to tell you everything you need to know when designing a system, from how far the head will throw to the pressure circumstance and friction losses,” Klusmeyer says. “Catalogs from suppliers are very important to us because it gives us all the data and infor- mation we need.”


Plan for expansion


Installing an irrigation system that fills the current need is good, but installing a system that can accommodate the needs of tomorrow is excellent, says Andy Slack, the owner of Slack Landscape and Irrigation Consulting in Buckeye, Arizona. He encourages irrigation professionals to think big when it comes to design and installation. Allowing for the ability to expand a system in the future requires a small investment up front, but it saves tremendous time and ex- pense when and if a system requires expansion. “Overdo it when it comes to design, and overdo it when


Prior to digging to install, make sure you have the right calcula- tions done for an efficient and effective irrigation system. Start with the gallons per minute the system is capable of running. Photos: All About Irrigation


it comes to installation,” says Slack. “If you need to add onto the system in the future, it won’t be able to perform very well if it doesn’t have any overage in it.” Te trick is figuring out just how big to go. Slack says with piping, he typically chooses the next size. For a job that calls for a 1-inch pipe, he would use a 1.5-inch pipe. When it comes to wires, Slack says he also ensures that there is room to expand with time.


Spring 2022 Irrigation & Lighting 25


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