Temporary irrigation

   / Temporary irrigation #1  

bdog

Elite Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
2,632
Location
Texas
Tractor
Kioti RX 7320
It has been really dry lately and we never get much rain anyway. I want to get some native grass growing on an area 250’ x 250‘. The grass is suited to our arid climate once established but I think will need supplemental water to get started.

I have a 70 GPM well at my disposal. I was thinking of some sort of above ground setup to water it. maybe one big sprinkler and move it around or rig up a bunch of smaller heads? Anyone ever done something like this?
 
   / Temporary irrigation #2  
I use Rainbird style rotating sprinkler heads set on 7' t-posts.

If I could locate 10' t-posts I would use the greater height for wider coverage.

Tractor Supply Company sells the sprinklers adapted to install on t-posts for $20 each.
 
   / Temporary irrigation #3  
I always thought the tractor type sprinklers were a gimmick, but they really excel at wide area watering. I use mine during dry spells on the acre around the house. Just set the hose path and let it go.
 
   / Temporary irrigation
  • Thread Starter
#4  
I use Rainbird style rotating sprinkler heads set on 7' t-posts.

If I could locate 10' t-posts I would use the greater height for wider coverage.

Tractor Supply Company sells the sprinklers adapted to install on t-posts for $20 each.
What are you connecting them with?
 
   / Temporary irrigation #5  
Is the well on a pressure tank system? Making the posts taller wont help much. If you are watering with a well you need a gauge and several sprinks if you are using small impact types. With small hoses small nozzles are best but you need a lot and 70gpm isnt huge but it isnt insignificant either. You need to run enough to keep it from reaching shut off pressure,,, you want it to run steady vs switching on and off constant. If you cant do this run way less so the cycle time is longer.
If there is no tank you need to run as many to keep pressure down. Too few and pressure will shoot way up. Most impacts are in the 50# range.
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   / Temporary irrigation #6  
What are you connecting them with?


5/8" "no kink" garden hose from Rural King.

The TSC sprinklers are set up so you can run multiple sprinkler heads in series from one hose if desired.
 
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   / Temporary irrigation #7  
I'd look at a big gun type set up. If you can get 70gpm with 50-55 psig to the nozzle you maybe able to water a 200 ft circle. Google "big gun" and see what the specs are for their nozzles. Another possibility is something like a small K-Line system but they're kind of spendy. 70 gpm ain't gonna' cut it with 5/8" hose You'll need more flow area than that depending how far from the water source the area you want to water is.
 
   / Temporary irrigation #8  
As mentioned, you want to put enough sprinkler heads on it so that your pump is always running. If you don't, it will cycle on and off more frequently, adding wear to the pump and starting components.

Also, with it cycling off and on, you'll get inconsistent distance from the nozzle(s) as the pressure goes up and down in the system. So keeping it running all the time will give you more consistent pressure and more even watering.
 
   / Temporary irrigation #9  
Might consider watering at night also, can put system on sprinkler timers so you don't hat to be at attendance all the time and at night there is less evaporation and loss, so water better applied and absorbed into ground.... Would investigate using cheap 3/4 drip line and make with accouple railbird type sprinklers on each line and use alternated "watering circuits" controlled by a timer system....

Also using rain birds on "T" posts and PVC 3/4 inch piping it make setup very portable...
 
   / Temporary irrigation
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Thanks for the replies. I am still researching this. In doing some reading if one uses smaller sprinklers they are recommended to have them spray head to head. That is if the sprinkler sprays a radius of 30' you space them 30' apart. I created a grid over my area with 30' spacing in both directions and it ended up being a total of 9 rows of 9 heads or 81 total. While I think my well could easily run 9 or maybe even 18 of the smaller heads at once it logistically seems like a much larger endeavor than I was anticipating just running the pipe, connecting all the heads, etc. I was looking in to the larger big gun type sprinklers and I really need to test the PSI of my well to know how good it will work with one of those. They can throw the water far but need pretty high pressure to do so.
 
 
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