What I mean is that if we try to run all thirteen heads at once, the pressure drops way low as the pump doesn't output enough flow. That is the purpose of the two ball valves, to run half of them at a time. Hope I'm making sense.
Those gpm charts make for a good reference when comparing sprinkler heads and brands. My problem is that I don't know the actual capacity of my sister-in-law's well and pump. Her late husband installed the sprinkler system a few years ago and tried to size the zones and nozzles such that the pressure tank wouldn't be constantly cycling the pump.
You can get a rough idea using the closest hose bib, a bucket, and a stopwatch. Just remember a 5 gal bucket holds a little more than 5 gals, then time how long it takes to fill.
I have one of the 4-valve-capable battery-driven orbit timers sitting in a box, and the box definitely got flooded last year (box was full of dirt).
Well I have a drawer full of defective or noisy or hard to set timers so since we have wifi we have gone to smart plugs and manage them through the alexia ap...it is wonderful...maybe this could work out for you as well.
Here's the issue: My Sister in Law's automatic sprinkler system has one zone with too many sprinkler heads to operate at one time so it has two ball valves that have to be manually switched to do half at a time. The ideal solution, of course, would be to install another solenoid valve but the distance is quite a ways from the controller to run the control wire.
The shuttle valve shown above is what could be used except it it designed to COMBINE two inputs into one output. I need a solution that does just the opposite. It would need to direct the pump flow to one side of the tee for watering half of the zone and then to the other side to water the rest of the zone. It would automatically switch to the other outlet of the tee when the upstream solenoid switches off and relieves pressure. Then the rest of the sprinklers on that zone would be watered and the process repeated for the next watering cycle.
I know it's a long shot but wondering if such a valve exists or whether something similar could be cobbled to achieve the desired results. TIA.
Tell SIL to go out and adjust the valves as required. Done.
Here's the issue: My Sister in Law's automatic sprinkler system has one zone with too many sprinkler heads to operate at one time so it has two ball valves that have to be manually switched to do half at a time. The ideal solution, of course, would be to install another solenoid valve but the distance is quite a ways from the controller to run the control wire.
The shuttle valve shown above is what could be used except it it designed to COMBINE two inputs into one output. I need a solution that does just the opposite. It would need to direct the pump flow to one side of the tee for watering half of the zone and then to the other side to water the rest of the zone. It would automatically switch to the other outlet of the tee when the upstream solenoid switches off and relieves pressure. Then the rest of the sprinklers on that zone would be watered and the process repeated for the next watering cycle.
I know it's a long shot but wondering if such a valve exists or whether something similar could be cobbled to achieve the desired results. TIA.
SIL is almost ninety and has dementia. You tell her.
