Garden Irrigation

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telboy
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Garden Irrigation

Postby telboy » Sat Jun 13, 2015 3:06 pm

Up until now I've used old or cheap garden hose trailed round the garden with puncture holes every so often, eventually these tend to split due to the water pressure and deteriorate exposed to the sun.

Just bought a few reels of 16mm x 25m plastic irrigation pipe and a shed load of connectors, straights, Ts, bends etc, these push on. Are they supposed to be glued, clamped or neither :?: They seem to be easy to pull off once they are pushed on, which is a bit worrying should our water pressure be high, which it usually is most of the time, I dont know what our water pressure measures in bars but I can fill a 5ltr water bottle in 7 seconds. I assume I need one of these connectors between the tap and water hose http://www.waterirrigation.co.uk/drip-i ... lters.html

Any advice on this topic would be a great help.

terry :thumbup:

El Cid
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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby El Cid » Sat Jun 13, 2015 3:56 pm

A lot will depend on what the water is coming out through. It can be pipes with holes in that basically leak water every half metre or individual terminals that drip or spray the water.

Personally I use the variable output little red units as they can vary from a good 50cm spray to a few drips.

If you have a lot of these, the water pressure will need to be high or it won't reach the end of the tubing unless it is less than 25m. How many metres of tubing are you intending to use?

As for securing the joints, some connectors are almost impossible to remove once installed, others might need a clip. It's going to be trial and error. Remember that when the temperature gets above 30 (and black pipe won't help) that's when they will pop.

I suggest you experiment with the pressure by not opening the tap fully at first to ensure that you get enough water out at the end of the run. If you then feel it's too high, install a reducer.

The battery operated timers that bolt onto the tap are pretty good unless you need more than one circuit.

Sid

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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby Beachcomber » Sat Jun 13, 2015 4:30 pm

We have about 300 metres of 50mm server pipe with hundreds of metres of feeders and drip feeds coming off of it as well as several sprinklers for the lawns. The pressure from our piped agricultural water supply is about 4 bar (more than four times that of the Town Hall supply which has a pressure reduction valve to protect the domestic equipment) but as long as we open the main feed pipe in stages we rarely have one that becomes disconnected.

The connectors are designed to be fairly easy to push on but considerably more difficult to get off and the grip tends to improve once the pipework has been in the sun for a while. However, you need to bear in mind that the feeder pipes come in several different diameters with only 2mm or so difference and the connectors must match exactly.

You also need some kind of dosing system to keep the drip feeds free of cal. We use an old swimming pool filter with a system of taps to divert the water through it in order to feed diluted nitric acid through the system from time to time.
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Enrique
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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby Enrique » Sat Jun 13, 2015 4:32 pm

Hi telboy,
If you have space to "hide"..............I've used 2 x 205ltr old oil drums, linked and feeding the drip irrigation tubes running through a vegetable bed. Used pump to fill barrels from well and find pressure ok for the snapon joints. Might not look nice in a garden but works a treat.
All my best learning experiences start with a problem I need to solve.

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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby El Cid » Sat Jun 13, 2015 6:41 pm

Beachcomber wrote:
You also need some kind of dosing system to keep the drip feeds free of cal. We use an old swimming pool filter with a system of taps to divert the water through it in order to feed diluted nitric acid through the system from time to time.
I also use a system for dosing with soluble fertiliser. I use a venturi plumbed into the system (it's the blue item at the bottom right) which, basically sucks up anything I put into the bucket underneath - a very flexible and simple system. The dedicated irrigation pump runs at 6 bar, but the pressure in the system is less as there are so many outlets. As you can see, there are 5 circuits with electronic valves that are opened in sequence by the small irrigation computer at the top of the picture.

Sid

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Martin Page
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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby Martin Page » Sun Jun 14, 2015 9:44 am

Enrique .... do you find you have a bit of a mosquito problem ....

Standing water , especially in Barrels, are a breeding ground for mozzies.

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Enrique
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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby Enrique » Sun Jun 14, 2015 10:08 am

Hi Martin Page,
Not had any problem with Mozzies, seen the grubs on occasions but just let barrels drain down.
All my best learning experiences start with a problem I need to solve.

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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby telboy » Sun Jun 14, 2015 11:24 am

Lets just say with the garden becoming larger year by year the watering by hand has become a real chore taking up 1 to 2 hours daily in the height of Summer, so it was time to 'Bite the Bullet'

:thumbup: Beach - Cal and fine grit is a huge problem in our area, I know other expats nearby who have had their drip feed pipes clog up regularly.

:thumbup: Sid - Now you're just showing off, very impressive, the photo looks like the engine room for Chelsea flower show.

I'll use a larger diameter feedpipe say 30mm and take the the 16mm tubes from them in lines with stop ends, this is probably better than creating one huge circuit. I'll see how it goes from there.

Enrique, Martin - We have a large 1000ltr fibre glass storage tank which I gravity feed the Mange Tout patch, with it having a loose lid mozzies are never a problem, though the top rim becomes a habitat for harmless earwigs.

Thanks for the tips and advice
terry :thumbup:

El Cid
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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby El Cid » Sun Jun 14, 2015 11:41 am

telboy wrote:

:thumbup: Sid - Now you're just showing off, very impressive, the photo looks like the engine room for Chelsea flower show.

I'll use a larger diameter feedpipe say 30mm and take the the 16mm tubes from them in lines with stop ends, this is probably better than creating one huge circuit. I'll see how it goes from there. :
Yes, I'm very proud of that system as I designed it myself - just needed the plumber to put the basic stuff together.

The main pipes in the photo are 32mm and they go to various points around the garden. From there I use 20mm pipes and either put the outlets directly into that or I run short lengths of "macaroni" out to specific plants etc. I did try using 15mm pipes for pots on the terrace, but that didn't work too well. The pipe was too small to maintain the pressure to the end of the run and each pot requires a different amount of water. They ended up either too dry or too wet so we have gone back to watering on demand by hand.

The water from our deposito is pretty clean with no sediment to block up the system, but cal can be a problem. Once a year I check the nozzles and remove the top and give them an acid bath and replace them.

These are the nozzles I use.

http://www.riegopro.com/es/goteros/159- ... iflow.html

I would recommend that company - very good range of stuff and good prices.

Sid

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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby BusterG » Tue Jun 16, 2015 2:26 pm

Hi El Cid
I cant seem to see the image of your wonderful sounding irrigation system
Is it ok to PM you email address for the picture please?

Thanks
Buster

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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby BusterG » Tue Jun 16, 2015 2:31 pm

What does everyone do about pumping the water uphill?
My 4 bar pressure isnt enough to get the water uphill anymore. I extended the watersystem down hill.
Too may lower outlets on a one tap system are draining the pressure too much to allow the water to an uphill only branch of the water system.

If I was there more often I could turn the taps manually and send the water uphill no problem.
Sadly I am only there twice a year for a couple of weeks at most.
Thanks for the great thread everyone, I am making notes.

El Cid
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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby El Cid » Tue Jun 16, 2015 4:03 pm

BusterG wrote:Hi El Cid
I cant seem to see the image of your wonderful sounding irrigation system
Is it ok to PM you email address for the picture please?

Thanks
Buster
Hi. PM me your address and I will send it to you.

I'm not sure why you can't see it. Have you tried using a different browser?

Sid

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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby ashtondav » Thu Jun 18, 2015 3:25 pm

I always connect pipes and connectors with clips de jubileo after frequent problems with spurting water washing away lumps of land. They will probably eventually "pop" without them due to degradation, heat, water pressure etc...

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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby El Cid » Thu Jun 18, 2015 4:59 pm

If you use larger pipes, like 20mm, you use connectors which screw on and never leak. Like these.

http://www.riegopro.com/es/45-accesorios-de-polietileno

Sid

telboy
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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby telboy » Thu Jun 18, 2015 6:34 pm

El Cid wrote:
I would recommend that company - very good range of stuff and good prices.

Sid
Sid - I see this company is at the Poligono near Malaga Airport, are they open for sales to the general public or trade only :?:

terry

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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby Flexo » Fri Jun 19, 2015 10:13 am

I see a lot of noob questions in this thread.

First off: plan your system for long term. Do not start out building one system with the intention of changing the major plan later. It can be very difficult to keep a lawn design if you place a tree in the middle of the throwing range from a thrower.

Second: plan your system for what plants you have. Do not mix lawn, tree, vegetables and flowers on the same system. Each type of plant should run on a seperate line with a seperate valve. This will make it easy to change watering schedule and make additions or changes in the tubing.

Third: calculate the pressure needs before you build. If you have a steep slope, consider building a reservoir on top of the highest point for low pressure lines such as drip. You cannot use high pressure with drip, you need to down-regulate it anyway.

Also: don't put your trust in the built-in water requirement sponges in the controllers, either buy a real soil moisture sensor (there are smart ones that connect to the wifi) or pre set it to average weather conditions.

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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby Nimrod » Fri Jun 19, 2015 1:50 pm

In all my Uk gardens I installed drip feed using porous hose pipe made from recycled rubber tyres and it worked very well.
Just turn the tap on and it drips through the hose,no holes required.
Do they sell this in Spain?

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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby El Cid » Fri Jun 19, 2015 2:15 pm

Yes, they do. I did try it in one area, but it really wasn't giving enough water. The temperatures are so high that the water evaporates almost as fast as it is delivered. I find the variable nozzles far better and they can easily be adjusted and cleaned.

Sid

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Re: Garden Irrigation

Postby Flexo » Fri Jun 19, 2015 8:15 pm

Always time the irrigation to before dawn. The plants should have all the water they need before dawn, but avoid starting too soon. Never irrigate during day hours unless short bursts to lower temperature on the grass etc. If you irrigate during day time you will lose out too much in evaporation and the plants will have a reduced photosynthesis that day because you probably didn't give it water before dawn.


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