To begin with, a sprinkler system needs a water source. In the city, this means tapping into your water line, right after your water meter.
Your water line is generally between 3 to 6 feet deep. We begin a sprinkler install by digging down to your water line and installing a brass tee and a quarter turn brass shut-off valve (at the same level as your water line. This is your main shut off valve and it is essential that this valve is turned off during the winter months, so you don't freeze your sprinkler pipes
A water pipe is then run from the main shut off valve up to just below the surface where we install a backflow device, mounted just below ground level in a sprinkler valve box, in accordance with city regulations. This device protects the city water supply and your house water supply from potential contamination from the sprinkler system. We also install a blowout port here for winterization purposes.
From the backflow device, the mainline sprinkler pipe is run to central locations around the yard.
These central locations are marked by green valve boxes, in which we install our first basic component, electric valves. These valves carry out the mechanicaltask of controlling the flow of water to the different watering zones, thus harnessing the limited water supply to effectively and conveniently water your lawn.
Each of these watering zones is composed of an electric valve with lateral sprinkler pipes, running to another basic component, sprinklers, which are installed in such a way as to distribute water evenly over your yard (or flower beds) when you turn your system on.
There are two major kinds of sprinkler heads: First, Spray sprinklers, which provides short-range coverage on sprinkler systems, up to 17'. Spray sprinklers provide a constant fan of water across the entire arc of the sprinkler and as a result provide a higher precipitation rate than rotary sprinklers. Second, Rotary sprinklers, which I must also divide into two types: Multi-stream rotors which provide short to mid-range coverage (8'-30'), these sprinklers rotate solely by the force of the water against the nozzle; and Single stream gear-driven rotary sprinklers which provide mid to long-range coverage: 25' plus. These apply water in a single stream of water which rotated by water moving through a turbine which drives a series of gears which cause the head to rotate. This mechanism is sealed from dirt and debris which makes it very reliable and virtually maintenance free. Rotary sprinklers provide efficient, low precipitation rate watering.
These zones are operated by our last basic component, an electronic controller. Wires are run from this controller to each electric valve enabling the valves to be turned on and off. The controller is the computer in your sprinkler system. It automatically turns the sprinkler system on and off at the desired time you set and runs each watering zone for a period of time which you set. You can also use the controller to run each valve manually. Notably, the controller can be set up with weather tracking options such as rain/freeze sensors to avoid needless or wasteful watering.
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