Any suggestions to improve or correct things in this irrigation system design?

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Mini Me

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Here it the overall layout

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And here is a plan I am starting with for this season (resuming the design work started last year)
Ignore the inset detail, I abandoned the idea, I will dig trenches for the pipes
The segment along the house (8-9) might not be a permanent one, I am considering using a hose that I could disconnect when the season is over. The other option is to install permanent pipe in a channel that was left there (it fits exactly a garden hose) and cover it with gravel but I do not plan to dig deep there . Is this a viable option ?

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The spigot level pressure is shown here

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WorthFlorida

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For shrubbery areas only, it'd be perfect for a drip system. If the grey area is for lawn, I suggest Hunter MP rotors head for pop up sprinklers. If you are going to use the 1/2" connection at the spigot and use a controller, I would make it three zones. One zone for the shrubbery and two for the lawn areas. A zone for the rear and the other on the side. Keeping the lawn and shrubbery different, once the shrubbery is established it needs little water. If you want to plan for flower gardens and vegetable, it will allow to control what areas to water.

If the orange is the pipe from the spigot, run it to the side of the home and then along the patio parameter (5?). Should the pipe ever burst or crack do to a freeze or a coupling fails, you don't want it to happen under the brick (pavers) or concrete. Pavers can be easily lifted but it is far more work than just digging a hole under the turf.

The 90 PSI is the static pressure. It doesn't mean that it will be that high when water is flowing. If you do not have an expansion tank on your hot water supply, pressure will build up as the water expands when heated.
 

Mini Me

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The brown rectangle ant the top left is a garden for my wife (tomatoes etc)
Please ignore the orange line that was left there by mistake
Yes the grey area is lawn
The main line connects from the spigot (9) to the distribution box 8 along he house (blue line) and that can't go into the soil or inder the patio
There is a channel there that perfectly fits a garden hose so if I could I would use a garden hose for the main line (spigot to distribution box (8))

The idea is to be able to andjust the sprinkles to either work 360 and water the the lawn and the flower beds on the perimeter of the lawn OR just the flowers and the bushes only after the lawn is well established. I just removed the lawn in October and now I am planning to seed but before seeding it would be nice to be able to put this in the ground
 

WorthFlorida

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That channel is for drainage and using a garden hose be ok since for winter time it can be removed. At 8, how do you plan to distribute water? Several valves? I don't know your budget but using a garden hose and manually changing areas for irrigation will get tiresome. You might want to consider installing a controller and zone valves for a fully automatic system. Many controllers now have WiFi so you can operate any zone manually. Either way you decide to go you'll need a way to drain the system for winter. If the yard is flat then an air compressor will be needed to blow out the water.

Do you have an unfinished basement where the water supply can come from the home near location 8 or near the vegetable garden. You would want a spigot near the vegetable garden for hand watering and convenience.

At your spigot, if that is the outside of the home change it to a frost proof type with a anti siphon device. If no change do use a anti siphon device.
 

Mini Me

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That channel is actually a gap between the bricks and the wall like in the picture below
The spigot is right above the water meter which is in the basement. The basement is finished
Yes controller and wifi, that is the whole point, not to do this manually (including for the garden because she has the garden but I am the one who waters the plants damn it : -)) )
Yes flat and planning to use the air compressor to winterize the whole thing.
I could install a permanent pipe in that space you see below but is it OK if I just cover it with some gravel (it is more for aesthetical reasons
When I hit the edging I will dive into the ground an connect to 8 (the distribution box with manifolds or whatever they are called and the automation stuff) I might chose to keep the controller away from that box and use wires to reach the solenoids that control each line. The windows basement is just around that corner. Is that OK (to keep the controller away from that manifold box and run long wires to the box -I guess it will be one pair for each line)
SuWQL4H.png
 

WorthFlorida

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That gap will not work if you plan to use PVC. The longest pipe length is 20 feet if you can get it and you'll need to use a coupling or two and it won't fit. Just abandoned the thought using it. If you can get to the water main inside the home you want a 3/4" feed, not 1/2". Just tell me your option for where you are going to have the water supply the irrigation. I'll come up with a plan for you.

Orbit makes a nice three zone manifold. Its 1" but you can use a reducer t0 work with 3/4". There is a 3/4" solenoid controlled valve with a anti siphon device but it must be installed above ground.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Orbit-3-Valve-Inline-Manifold-Assembly-57253/202206757
 

Mini Me

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the above spigot is installed right next after the water meter that is in the basement
I am reading this site: https://www.irrigationtutorials.com/irrigation-mainlines/
Among other things they say: "Do not connect your irrigation system to a spigot"
They say "Connect to the house mainline between the water source and the house if possible. "

I think in my case the fact that the spigot is connected where it is voids the above "Don't" correct?
The spigot is literarily the first branch after the water meter
 

Mini Me

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That gap will not work if you plan to use PVC. The longest pipe length is 20 feet if you can get it and you'll need to use a coupling or two and it won't fit. Just abandoned the thought using it. If you can get to the water main inside the home you want a 3/4" feed, not 1/2". Just tell me your option for where you are going to have the water supply the irrigation. I'll come up with a plan for you.
Then I will use a garden hose to connect that spigot to the manifold or distribution box.
The other option is to remove the first line of bricks near the house and to burry the PVC pipe in the gravel. not very deep but just enough to get it under the bricks. I guess that as long as it is not exposed to sun light and I winterize the line it should be fine
 

Mini Me

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Just tell me your option for where you are going to have the water supply the irrigation. I'll come up with a plan for you.
Here are my constraints
-spigot will be the water source; as explained above it is connected right after the water meter
-I will need a backflow valve, installed in the distribution box, there is no room for it inside (finished basement)
- the plant distribution is depicted below
-I need pop up sprinklers I need to be able to mow the lawn easily
-the lot has southern exposure (North at the bottom of the picture)
-soil is medium loam
-the purple line is the main line
-static pressure at spigot end is shown in the picture above (90 PSI)
-the copper pipe that feeds the spigot is 1/2"

u1sTyih.png
 
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wwhitney

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A typical hose bibb has a significant internal constriction, so you don't want one in your irrigation pathway. Even the quarter turn ones I have seen have a small orifice. If you happen to have a full port ball valve spigot, and you can get a full port wye splitter, you can ignore the following:

Looking at the picture in the OP, you have an MIP (3/4" I think) hose bibb screwed into a copper female adapter. So you can shutoff the water, unscrew the hose bib, and then add a full port ball valve for irrigation in parallel with your hose bibb. The no-solder method would be brass nipple, brass tee, etc. But that would stick out from your house more, so you may prefer to remove the copper female adapter and solder on a tee, etc.

I haven't really perused any of the rest of your design.

Cheers, Wayne
 

Mini Me

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In this LeeValley manual on page 2 I am seeing a similar setup
https://assets.leevalley.com/Original/10090/49771-irrigation-design-guide-c-01-e.pdf
PAMnDR2.png


I am not very familiar with the terms used for the fittings and all
Any chance you could post some pictures ? You have a good point I can try to remove the Y connect and replace it with full ball valve
(I googled that)
I am not sure what you mean in parallel. Any chance you could sketch something or post the things I need to put together and I will try to post a diagram
 

Mini Me

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Not sure what I am doing wrong
I just measure the GPM using the bucket test and the results are questionable
a 5 gallons (20 liters) bucket took 100 seconds to fill up, that is 0.5 gal/sec or 3 GPM
That was measured connecting a 1/2 in hose to the above spigot
 

wwhitney

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Your flow rate is low because of the constriction in your hose bibb and your splitter, hence my earlier post.

By parallel I just meant logically, not geometrically. I.e. when water flows out of one valve it doesn't flow through the other. Versus your picture, where the wye splitter is in series with the hose bibb.

Below is a picture of what I did in a similar situation when I wanted to add irrigation to a hose bibb. I had a brass nipple sticking out of the house rather than copper pipe/female adapter, and I chose to do it all in threaded brass, but otherwise the idea is the same.

It was overkill for my one drip irrigation zone for a small yard; in fact the water flow noise when the zone was filling was loud enough that I added a flow constrictor to reduce noise (and extend fill time, but that wasn't an issue). But it appears you have a lot more going on.

Cheers, Wayne

example.jpg
 

Mini Me

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got it thank you. I will come back here when I am near the implementation of this idea to make sure I got it right
 

WorthFlorida

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Here is my first past with three zones. It's similar to your first plan but with a low flow rate from the source the lawn area may need to be two separate zones. I'll be working on that. If you had 3/4" feed directly to the zone valves the lawn area could be one zone. BYW, where is there power on the outside of the home? The controller needs 120v and it can be almost anywhere as long as the irrigation wires can get to the valve box.

Irrigation Option 1jpg.jpg
 
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