Picking out all the elements of your irrigation system for your yard can seem confusing at first. You need to decide what sorts of sprinklers would work best with the plants you’ve chosen, how to lay down irrigation pipes, and finally, how ensure that your sprinklers get the right amount of water. Thankfully, once you begin deciding on the initial elements, the rest begins to come together easily.
The most important thing to know is that you need to design you irrigation system before picking out your pump. The right sprinkler pump for the job will depend on how many sprinkler heads you have, what pressure they are rated for, and how far the water has to travel.
There are two sets of numbers you will need. One is the gallons per minute (expressed as GPM), and the second is the pounds of pressure (PSI). When it comes to water pressure, it’s important to have enough pressure to get adequate flow and coverage. With inadequate flow, you will not get the area coverage you need and may not get a good flow at all. But, you don’t want too much pressure either, as this can damage your sprinkler heads and system.
Look at the specs of the sprinkler heads you have chosen. You want a pump that is strong enough to power the sprinkler with the highest PSI. Do not add up the PSIs of the sprinklers in your system; the head with the highest requirement one that is important. Then, you will need to account for change in elevation from the water source to the highest sprinkler head. For every 23 foot increase in elevation you will lose approximately10 PSI. The final piece of the puzzle is friction loss. A typical 15 GPM system using 1” PVC pipe loses about 6 PSI for every 100 feet of pipe.
To find your GPM requirements, look at the gallons per minute each of the sprinklers in your system will need. Add all of these together that will be running on a single zone to find out how many gallons of water your system will require.
By adding all of these together, you can pick a pump that will fit your irrigation system’s needs. Take the time to do the math in advance. By picking the right pump from the start, you can avoid problems and have your irrigation system run smoothly and efficiently.
If you have any questions or concerns about choosing or installing a sprinkler pump, contact us or give us a call and we’ll help you find the right system for you.
