Building a watering system

[jriddell88]

Thanks Grim.
As long as most water is out of the system and valves are left open to allow for any ice expansion it ahold be ok. My concern was more with the emitters, mister heads manifold etc. Any thoughts or experience specific to that?

I finally got mine hooked up , decided to hard pipe water lines underground to my benches and then start from there. What I did for winterization was got a rubber fitting to go over the end and inserted a blower from a compressor , opened up the end and will just blow it out. Needs to be air tight where the blower is hooked up and will blow it out no problem , should be fine Even if there is a little water, you just don't want it to be full . When it freezes it expands and will bust the pipe same as your plumbing. Little water won't hurt

 

[GrimLore]

My concern was more with the emitters, mister heads manifold etc. Any thoughts or experience specific to that?

They were always at he highest parts of the system and drained good so I never removed them or did anything to protect them. They do of course loose their color as all else exposed. I was told to cover the main inlets to prevent bugs such as spiders from making a home with nylon but never did... I guess it might be a good idea for some.

Grimmy

 

[Owen Reich]

http://www.hummert.com/product-details/29215/tri-flo-spray-stick

This is the style I like; there are many options. The 160 degree type works and is a cheap option for large systems. I've built residential, commercial, nursery, and bonsai only systems. Hummert is just one supplier, so a few minutes of irrigation supplier searches will save you more for spray stakes or misters.

Great walk through above by Mark. The only thing I worry about are spray shadows from trunk(s) when using one sprayer. Moving the sprayer from time to time is often effective.

For most nursery stock plants, I used Netafim spray stakes as different colors are different gallons per hour. They are not adjustable.

 

[markyscott]

http://www.hummert.com/product-details/29215/tri-flo-spray-stick

This is the style I like; there are many options. The 160 degree type works and is a cheap option for large systems. I've built residential, commercial, nursery, and bonsai only systems. Hummert is just one supplier, so a few minutes of irrigation supplier searches will save you more for spray stakes or misters.

Great walk through above by Mark. The only thing I worry about are spray shadows from trunk(s) when using one sprayer. Moving the sprayer from time to time is often effective.

For most nursery stock plants, I used Netafim spray stakes as different colors are different gallons per hour. They are not adjustable.

Thanks Owen!

 

[markyscott]

Last step - here's one way to build a battery operated, 2 zone timer. I like using two zone timers because it gives you some flexibility if you need to go to twice a day watering. You'll need some parts:

A 2 outlet faucet timer:


A faucet "Y" connector:


A female-female hose coupling:


Two male-male couplings:


And two hose leaders:

 

[markyscott]

All of the couplings attach to the faucet "Y" connector like this:



The leaders connect to the two faucet outlets of the timers like this:


Connect the leaders to the faucet "Y" connectors like this:


The timer end connects to the faucet and the "Y" connector end connects to the hose. Direction matters. Now you can set the clock and the start time and duration for the two zones. With this set up you can water up to two times a day - for my full-sun exposure trees I water in the morning and in the evening. It takes about two-three minutes to completely water my plants with the setup I described in this thread. Sometimes it's nice to just watch it happen.

But a word of caution - this is no substitute for putting your eyes on the plants. I recommend checking them every day and looking for any problems. Anything can happen - a squirrel can knock out an emitter, something can get clogged - really pretty much anything that can go wrong, will. When I leave for vacation, I set up the timers and have the house-sitter check everything every day.

 

[markyscott]

Installed



And just in time. It was 99 degrees yesterday. Luckily it was also eleventy million percent humidity, which cuts down on evaporation significantly.

 

[GrimLore]

I will post a simple two yard setup in a few days after our sod and the neighbors is complete. Similar stuff, just using impact sprinklers to suit the job at hand. I am overseeing a Maple transplant to their new house as well... Why is it when people see a few Bonsai pots you become an expert on all things green?

Grimmy

 

[whfarro]

.....Why is it when people see a few Bonsai pots you become an expert on all things green?

Grimmy

Except money.. $$$

 

[whfarro]

@markyscott
Thank you big time for this step by step, part by part thread. It's full of great info, pictures are worth a million, including the necessary breaks for a beer or two. This was perfect timing for me as my wife and I are planning a few days away and my Brother in law who is usually my watering slave, moved to TX after his divorce last month.

Thanks again.

 

[markyscott]

@markyscott
Thank you big time for this step by step, part by part thread. It's full of great info, pictures are worth a million, including the necessary breaks for a beer or two. This was perfect timing for me as my wife and I are planning a few days away and my Brother in law who is usually my watering slave, moved to TX after his divorce last month.

Thanks again.

He didn't move to Houston did he? I could always use another watering slave.

 

[whfarro]

He didn't move to Houston did he? I could always use another watering slave.

Haha...No, Austin.

 

[PiñonJ]

Installed

View attachment 108597

And just in time. It was 99 degrees yesterday. Luckily it was also eleventy million percent humidity, which cuts down on evaporation significantly.

Just curious, why all the plumbing, when you can buy multi-start-time and/or multi-zone valves. I got one made by Dig last week with up to four start times. I'm using all four, because we're in the 90's now, and it got down to 2% humidity yesterday!

 

[markyscott]

Just curious, why all the plumbing, when you can buy multi-start-time and/or multi-zone valves. I got one made by Dig last week with up to four start times. I'm using all four, because we're in the 90's now, and it got down to 2% humidity yesterday!

Is it battery operated?

 

[Tieball]

Here's what the emitters look like "in-action"

View attachment 106894

You see they spray down. Keeps the foliage dry and minimizes overspray. Each stake has a valve you can use to adjust the spray. Three minutes tops, and the biggest pots are watered - cuts down a lot on water usage.

Ok - back to brewski's.

Very cool. Thanks for pulling this together. The photos explain your words perfectly. Mighty fine work!

 

[markyscott]

Very cool. Thanks for pulling this together. The photos explain your words perfectly. Mighty fine work!

Don't forget the brewski's.

 

[PiñonJ]

Is it battery operated?

Yes, it takes a nine volt.

 

[markyscott]

Yes, it takes a nine volt.

That sounds like a great option for my next upgrade. Thanks for the tip.

 

[PiñonJ]

That sounds like a great option for my next upgrade. Thanks for the tip.

I got it at Home Depot. Their selection wasn't as good as it used to be. I have an old Orbit unit that has up to three start times and up to four zones (it came with two valves and extra valves could be purchased for the same controller, just needs a four outlet hose manifold). I haven't looked on Amazon, but I'm sure there would be many options online.