Texas Heat!

[jinman]

It doesn't look like the PR-5 is available at Lowes any more. Not available at rainbow.com either so it may be an old model. Plenty of them available over internet stores though.
Ron

I bought 4 at my local store earlier this season. If you have a Lowes nearby, check their Rainbird display and you might be pleasantly surprised. I like the PR-5 because it comes with 5 separate removable nozzles to customize it to your application. Most of mine have the largest size. I bought a gage for my spigots that shows usage. By timing all my spigots with sprinklers for one hour, I came up with 6,300 gallons each time I water. Since I water every other day, that means I'm using 94,500 gallons of water a month just for the grass. My garden, flower beds, and house usage are added to that, so I'm sure that during this drought I am using over 100k gallons per month. I'm just holding my breath for the electric bill to arrive.:confused2:

 

[pacerron]

Jim,
I will check. That's a great price for anything these days. Does the base you mention have a horizontal input for the hose and a vertical riser for the sprinkler head to screw into? I have an old impulse sprinkler that had a foot long stake on the bottom to stick in the ground. Problem with that was when the dirt gets wet in the garden around it the impulses end up laying the unit over somewhat sideways.
The stake broke off years ago so rather than toss the sprinkler I wire tied
what was left of the stake to the top of a 4' metal stake. That is actually an improvement since it not only holds the sprinkler in position, it raises the head
above most plants, except corn, so the water is over them rather than blasting on them.
I was snooping at the online well records of Wise Co. Lots of sand and colored shale layers below you guys. You should be in section 19-34-6 but most of the records in that section were in the 1980's-90's. Didn't see yours.
Like up here, some of the drillers were good about filling in the data and others did a 1/2 a job. Water is such an important aspect of property value that the records should be complete, but like most gov records, they aren't.
Ron

 

[jinman]

Jim,
I will check. That's a great price for anything these days. Does the base you mention have a horizontal input for the hose and a vertical riser for the sprinkler head to screw into?

I hate the stakes. I also hate having to admit I made a mistake, but the bases are almost $10 each. I thought I ordered 6 for $40, but on checking, I only ordered 4. Here is a link to the Amazon page. The only problem with these is they need an additional thin washer. They don't get tight enough on the hose end with the supplied washer and leak a bit. A thin hose washer or o-ring takes care of the problem.

 

[pacerron]

Jim,
Thanks for the clarification on the sprinklers.
You may be WOWED by your electric bill but it shouldn't be a surprise.
I imagine you read your own meter, but even if you don't you know what the reading was and on what day last time and what your rate is per kwh.
Easy to figure the bill coming from that, in advance. I submit you can't blame it all on the water pump though as your A/C probably worked extra hard too this season.
If you know how many HP your pump is or how many watts it is rated at you could approximate the part of the bill from the pump. It will be approximate do to the number of starts and starting current but might be fun as an operating cost to get your "FREE" water, as folks say.
Ron

 

[Western]

I will have to try that, my favorite is the Dutch Chocolate. Some times you can get some purdy good sales on BB too.

However, in 1977 we had a neighbor buy a new house 2 doors from us and he installed a sprinkler system himself. It didn't last long because he ran PVC only 2 or 3 inches deep and made no provision for draining it. So that winter, I think the PVC shattered thoughout the system.

Bird, I think the depth would be almost common sense? I will put mine in, I will need 4 or less zones depending on the type of sprinkler heads I go with. When I lived in Colorado for a short, the previous home owner installed a manifold type system that each zone was controlled by a manual valve, the rest of the system was 1" pvc pipe with standard pop-up heads, worked good,but you might as well just used a hose since you had to go out and turn each one on/off anyway. The guy was smart in the fact that he added a drain on the lowest part of the manifold though. I had to start watching the weather there around Oct. to keep an eye on the freezing.

 

[Western]

Bird, Jim, Looks like you guy's may be getting some light showers!! I hope they make it this far South, what a nice surprise if youe one of the lucky ones.

I was at lake Bridgeport yesterday, My thermometer read 107.4 and it was hot felt every bit of it with light winds.

 

[Bird]

Dennis, I don't think I'd mind going out to turn the water on and off, if I didn't have to drag hoses and sprnklers around. The NWS forecast calls for a 10% chance of showers today, but I haven't seen any yet. In fact, I'm watering the yard again today.

 

[jinman]

Dennis, as I was driving through Gainesville this morning, it started a light shower and continued into Oklahoma where some areas probably got 1/4" or more. Long before Ardmore, the rain quit. As we started our tour through the Arbuckle Wilderness park, it was cloudy and 87 degrees. The animals were out and coming to visit any car on the drivethru to beg for food. It took about 2 hours to complete our drivethru and the animals were starting to head into the shade or go swimming in the big pond.

Bird, we stopped at the fried pie place and bought a half-dozen pies. We ate three right then and saved three for later. VERY GOOD! A bit on the expensive side, but for a 1-time purchase, they are a taste treat. My apricot pie was hot and yummy.:licking:

Yesterday afternoon in north Fort Worth, my car showed 109 degrees. At home, my thermometer showed 106 around 6:00 PM. My garden (with the exception of the peppers) is starting to just give up. The plants cannot take up water fast enough in this heat and overwatering causes its own problems. It looks like the heat has beat me this year.

 

[tungularafishcamp]

Jinman, I am thinking about building a underground green house with one southfacing wall/roof on a hillside to attempt some small fruit trees. Could you folks do the same in reverse, ie put it on a steep northfacing hill to limit the heat/light. Just a thought
Rick

 

[Bird]

Yep, Jim, those fried pies are sure not cheap. My favorite is peach and Margaret's favorite is cherry, but apricot would be right up there as among the best. Have you ever tried the fried pie cafe in Gainesville (across the street from the southwest corner of the courthouse)? They're good, and certainly not cheap either but I like the Arbuckle Mountain fried pies a little better.

Glad you at least got to see some rain. The 10% chance in our forecast hasn't arrived yet, and I don't expect it to. At least the 103 degree forecast has been lowered to 99, and it's 98 now.