Rainbird 32ETI

[Wilson01]

I just purchased the Rainbird 32ETI system for my front lawn. I checked my faucet and have 7 gpm(well water) and I’m not sure how I should place the sprinkler heads. I have a 12’x12’ deck in the middle of my house that extends to my blacktoped driveway which leaves 2 identical rectangular sections of lawn on each side. They are 12’x30’ each. Should I put one head tight to the deck and the other on the opposite end and set them for 90 degrees and then place one in the middle and set it for 180 degrees ? That would leave 15’ in between the heads. I’m thinking of placing them along the driveway side and spray toward my house.
Thanks for any help

 

[WorthFlorida]

A 12x30 plot three heads would be enough. Place any sprinklers head no closer than 18" to the house. At least a foot from the deck. The spray heads of any kind do leak a little water around the pop up seal so don't worry about trying to cover every square inch. These spray heads and almost all others brands and types the distant and pattern are adjustable. Your placement of the sprinklers sound good. One on each end and one in the middle. Each head will cover at least 15' from it. I alway try to spray away from the house or any other structure such as your patio.

The more water (GPM) that is dumped on the lawn, the less time the pump will need to run. After the install run the sprinklers and time it until you see water running off onto the driveway or walkways, if at all. That should be about the max time of watering. The number of days really depends on your lawn situation with shade or no shade. If you notice dry spots after a few day adjust the spray pattern, increase watering time, or add a sprinkler. The pop-up gear driven sprinklers are the best. They are quite and provide good coverage. If you do get a dry spot and want to add a sprinkler, you can add a regular pop-up to the system. Commercial layouts always recommends one type of sprinkler per zone. No harm in residential use.

You may find that with your volume of water and pressure available that the sprinklers may cause a fogging effect, if there is more fog than a large water stream. Backing off on the pressure will help by adding a valve or PRV before the system.

From the Rainbird site:

Technical Specifications

• Maximum spray distance: 32 ft
• Maximum coverage area: 3000 sq ft (depends on sprinkler placement and water pressure/flow)
  • Rectangular watering area with proper head-to-head coverage: 512 sq. ft. at 6 GPM, 800 sq. ft. at 8 GPM, 1152 sq. ft. at 10 GPM
  • Maximum watering area with all heads set to full circle pattern: 3050 sq. ft. at 6 GPM, 4845 sq. ft. at 8 GPM, 6936 sq. ft. at 10 GPM
• Recommended water pressure: 40-75 psi
• Minimum water flow: 6 gallons per minute (GPM)
• Sprinkler type: pop-up gear drive rotor
• Sprinkler throw distance (adjustable): 16’ – 24’
• Sprinkler coverage patterns (adjustable): 40° to 360°
• Sprinkler location: below ground
• Working temperature: 32°F (min) - 110°F (max), timer should not be exposed to below freezing temperatures (32°F)

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Wilson01]

Thank you for your help. I’ll set it up the way you just described and see how it works. One issue I had was my house faces directly towards the sun in the afternoon and the reflection off the windows burns the grass one foot wide by ten feet long as the sun moves toward sunset. I changed my screens to solar blocking screen and now I have no reflection. I will post an update when completed. Thanks again

 

[Wilson01]

I have the system installed except for hooking it up to the timer and adjusting the heads. I have another question though. If this works out and I decide to put in another zone or two how far from the faucet can I run the main line before I place the “T” and start my pattern ? I think I would need 50-60 feet of line from the faucet before the T. So it would roughly be 140-150 feet of line to complete the zone.
Thanks for the help

 

[WorthFlorida]

The main feeder pipe for residential is usually a 1” pipe and branch off with 3/4 or 1/2” pipe to the sprinkler. Distance really depends on the pressure and flow. Going 100-150’ would be no problem. Further you could up the size to 1-1/2” pipe.

While you’re watering and your well also feeds your home with a pressure tank, the pump may be short cycling. If so then you need to install a Cycle Stop Valve. This site has an excellent animation on how it works.
https://cyclestopvalves.com/pages/animations

 

[Wilson01]

Thanks for the help Worth Florida. Well I got everything hooked up and adjusted. I feel like I’m not getting as much flow and distance from the sprinkler heads as I had anticipated. I changed the nozzles from .75 gpm to 1.0 gpm and noticed a slight difference. The 32ETI system also came with 1.5 gpm nozzles but the direction say they require 8 gpm at the faucet to operate correctly. Something I did look into is the supply line to the faucet is 1/2” pex and runs about 15 feet back to a 3/4” copper trunk line that runs the length of my house and connects to all the tie ins(modular home). I’m wondering if changing the 1/2” pex to 3/4” to the faucet if it would increase volume enough to notice.
Thanks again

 

[WorthFlorida]

Definitely will and change the spigot to 3/4”, preferably a ball valve type. Be sure you have a antisiphon device on the spigot. Since you’ll use the same amount of 3/4 “ PEX just add a new run and have two spigots next to one another.

If you’re getting coverage just leave it for now and wait and see if dry spots show up.

 

[WorthFlorida]

I may take back my last statement. I looked over this kit again and since it came with 1/2” tubing changing the house spigot feed with 3/4” may not help at all. It’s probably the 1/2” tubing not giving you the performance you were expecting. Changing the nozzles to the larger size actually lowers the pressure and will shorten the distance of the water spray if the source (including the pipe diameter) cannot provide enough pressure. Just like a garden hose. Wide open spigot and no nozzle on the end of the hose the water pours out a few feet. With a garden nozzle it’ll shoot out 20’ or 30’.

 

[Wilson01]

Ok I see what your saying. Maybe I’ll leave everything the way it is as long as it’s covering the lawn. I might just have to let them run a little longer if I start seeing brown spots in the coverage area. Thanks again