Planning Your Layout for a DIY Sprinkler System
| Step 1. Plan Your Layout It may seem like you’re jumping ahead of things to immediately plan your sprinkler layout, but when using Rotator Nozzles (and any other Rotor or Spray Head) we usually start with the sprinkler head layout and work backwards to the water source. The first step of planning your layout is to start with a decent scaled drawing of your yard. We will start our example using our sample yard below. Although the layout is simple the same principles will apply for most properties.
Once you have measured out your lawn you can begin the process of placing Sprinkler Heads on your yard layout. As all Rotator Nozzles (from K-Rain or Hunter) are colour coded we recommend you have access to coloured pencils or markers to layout the design. It will assist you in keeping track of placements and also make installation that much easier. Before we begin, you must familiarize yourself with the performance charts of each Rotator Nozzle. The performance chart for each nozzle is found in the detailed description of each nozzle. Using the K-Rain RN100-ADJ as an example we find the following chart.
As you can see the performance chart provides the radius, and flow rate of each nozzle at pre-set PSI ratings. We achieve the proper PSI rating by using Spray Bodies that are pressure regulated to achieve the desired performance for the nozzles. Although you can use non-pressure regulated spray bodies we strongly recommend using regulated bodies. Also keep in mind for all Rotator Nozzles the radius can be reduced up to 25%. Using the RN100-ADJ as an example, at 30 PSI the radius can be reduced to approximately 9 ft (13ft reduced by 30%). K-Rain Rotary Nozzles can be adjusted by hand, no tools required (unlike other brands).
Let The Fun Begin! As you plot your nozzle layout you should take note of the water usage for each nozzle so you can tally the total usage as you plan out the system. Let’s start with the first nozzle as an example before we complete the layout for the entire lawn. Note: you may want to raid your kids pencil bag for those coloured pencils or markers!
Let’s place another few nozzles to cover the majority of the front yard. Since our first nozzle in the corner is only spraying 18ft across the front of the yard a nozzle with a bit more radius is required to cover across the front of the yard. We will place one nozzle in the corner at 90 degrees and another in the middle to provide complete coverage across the front of the yard. We will also place another nozzle at the base of the walkway.
We now have most of the front yard covered with the exception of the area around the garden and the side of the house. For the area around the garden we will employ the use of short radius rotator nozzles from Hunter.
Finally we will pick our nozzles for the side of the house. For narrow strips such as this Left Corner, Centre, and Right Corner strip nozzles are available. These nozzles usually have a width of 5 to 7 ft and a radius of 15 to 20 ft.
We've now picked out all of our nozzles for the front yard and we can now move on to zoning the system and planning your tubing layout.
Ref 2051 |
