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Any one with experience of irrigation ? Ground not getting enough water
This thread has 15 replies. Displaying all posts.
Post 1 made on Saturday April 6, 2019 at 14:32
james_aa
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We have system setup with c. 75m of drip pipe (spec : [Link: rainbird.com]).

At the programmer end we get c. 2 bar pressure, 12L per minute flow.

I stuck the pressure meter on the end of the 75m run and ran the system for a few minutes and seems we are getting 1 bar of pressure at the end of the run.

The problem is that the ground doesn't seem to be getting wet, even after a pro longed 3 hour run. The ground is wet directly under the drip locations with a small c. 10cm puddle, but not along the whole length of the pipe.

Dose this sound right and if not what can be done to improve the system ?
Post 2 made on Saturday April 6, 2019 at 15:30
ichbinbose
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Instead of a drip line you could try a sprinkler head
Post 3 made on Saturday April 6, 2019 at 16:20
rmalbers
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So it sounds like the water is going straight down thru the soil, is it all sand? Amend the soil to hold the moisture in the root zone. What you want to add depends on your soil type, if sand add peat moss. BTW: This is one of the strangest questions I've seen here and that's saying something, there have been some strange ones!
Post 4 made on Saturday April 6, 2019 at 17:49
kgossen
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Have you talked to a landscaper????
"Quality isn't expensive, it's Priceless!"
Post 5 made on Saturday April 6, 2019 at 19:00
thecapnredfish
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Supplied by a well? Clogged somewhere. Wells can bring up sand and clog filters and small oriffices. I don’t know much about drip irrigation. 75m is a long run.
Is pump a submersed pump? Or above ground jet pump? If above ground and you don’t get good flow, things should be heating up at pump output. Even melting PVC fittings. Municipal supply? Then no idea.
Post 6 made on Sunday April 7, 2019 at 02:25
Ernie Gilman
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If I understand the first post, you show an actual flow of 12L per minute, flowing out of the pump at the pump end. That is, the water is going somewhere. If the ground is not getting wet, well, yes it is, but as suggested, many only straight down instead of spreading around.

Test the actual delivery. Lift a section of the pipe over a shallow container, for instance a cookie sheet, and compare how long it takes to fill it up both near the pump and at the far end. This will tell you two things: that water is flowing at both ends, and how different the flow amount is.

The tubing is about 1/2" in diameter. 75 meters of tubing length is likely to offer quite a bit of resistance to water flow.

This layout sounds like it would behave like a lighting wiring setup where there's a light every few feet, but since that tube is so small in ID, the wiring example would have to have resistance between the lights... so less pressure to deliver water.
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything.
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
Post 7 made on Sunday April 7, 2019 at 08:53
Zohan
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On April 6, 2019 at 14:32, james_aa said...
We have system setup with c. 75m of drip pipe (spec : [Link: rainbird.com]).

At the programmer end we get c. 2 bar pressure, 12L per minute flow.

I stuck the pressure meter on the end of the 75m run and ran the system for a few minutes and seems we are getting 1 bar of pressure at the end of the run.

The problem is that the ground doesn't seem to be getting wet, even after a pro longed 3 hour run. The ground is wet directly under the drip locations with a small c. 10cm puddle, but not along the whole length of the pipe.

Dose this sound right and if not what can be done to improve the system ?

That's why its called a drip system. Its doing what its supposed to.

Having said that, im not looking at the scenario so here's a couple of thoughts.

First, the ground isnt supposed to be wet under the entire length of pipe, only where the holes are.
Second, that is pressure compensating drip line, which means every hole from first to last should have an equal amount of water flow.

What are you trying to water that you need to wet entire length of pipe?
You may have the wrong product depending on what you want to do.
Drip line is for things like privet hedges, plantings in beds, etc and is meant to form a circle around each plant before proceeding to the next.
If its linear like a row of hedges then one run of line on each side so the roots are watered evenly.

If you're trying to do something else like lawn areas then its the wrong product.

If you have flower beds you could swap out the drip line for mist heads. Mist heads are different than rotary heads in that they are not powerful enough to destroy the plantings they emit a fine spray.

Last, even if you have the drip line for the correct purpose, 3 hours is not enough if its hot out. Sometimes you'll need double that especially if new plantings.

You mentioned flow rates and pressure. You may be creating an issue that doesn't exist, so the tell tale sign is, are the plants dying or doing well?
Post 8 made on Sunday April 7, 2019 at 12:15
tomciara
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75m is long enough that even with average pressure, you may get more flow close in and less at the end.

It may be possible that you will need higher gallon per minute fittings at the far end and less at the near end.
There is no truth anymore. Only assertions. The internet world has no interest in truth, only vindication for preconceived assumptions.
Post 9 made on Sunday April 7, 2019 at 13:33
Trunk-Slammer -Supreme
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2 bar equals roughly 30 PSI, which is pretty low for a sprinkler system, coupled with the 12 LPM that equals slightly more than 3 GPM, which is also pretty low for any sprinkler system.

That might well seem to be your main problem.


It's a matter of pressure and flow and I believe you're exceeding the limit of the pump and well delivery.

I think what you might need to do is break the drip line into 2 or more zones for it to be effective in watering.


I have 60 PSI and 7 GPM at the beach, and even then to get good coverage, I needed 4 zones running impulse heads, misting heads, and a drip line.
Post 10 made on Sunday April 7, 2019 at 14:45
Zohan
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Seems to be different takes on what your first post meant, but in addition to my earlier post i'll say this:

IF your problem is you are not getting the flow at the end of the line as you are at the beginning, then 2 things:
1. If you dont have pressure regulating drip line, then go get some and replace what you have.
That will ensure you have the same flow rate at every point along the line.

2. You dont need a lot of pressure or flow rate for drip line.
Tell me what 2 bar and 12l means?

Is bar 2 psi? If not tell me what you have in psi.
Is 12L, gpm? You have 12gpm? If not, then what do you have?
Post 11 made on Sunday April 7, 2019 at 22:16
Trunk-Slammer -Supreme
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On April 7, 2019 at 14:45, Zohan said...
Is bar 2 psi? If not tell me what you have in psi.
Is 12L, gpm? You have 12gpm? If not, then what do you have?

2 bar equals roughly 30 PSI, which is pretty low for a sprinkler system, coupled with the 12 LPM that equals slightly more than 3 GPM, which is also pretty low for any sprinkler system.
Post 12 made on Monday April 8, 2019 at 08:01
Zohan
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On April 7, 2019 at 22:16, Trunk-Slammer -Supreme said...
2 bar equals roughly 30 PSI, which is pretty low for a sprinkler system, coupled with the 12 LPM that equals slightly more than 3 GPM, which is also pretty low for any sprinkler system.

ok that helps.

yes 30 psi is right at the threshold but is doable however the more important factor is 3 gpm.
Therein lies the issue...3 gpm going through that drip line is a problem. You're going 150' and 1 bar at the end.


Is this off a public water supply or a well?
Post 13 made on Monday April 8, 2019 at 16:54
Ernie Gilman
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On April 7, 2019 at 22:16, Trunk-Slammer -Supreme said...
2 bar equals roughly 30 PSI, which is pretty low for a sprinkler system, coupled with the 12 LPM that equals slightly more than 3 GPM, which is also pretty low for any sprinkler system.

1 bar is "slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level." It's a unit that helps people conceptualize the amount of pressure because it's close to the atmospheric pressure we live in. It doesn't help that a bar is exactly 100,000 Pascal. It slightly helps that it's 14.50377 psi.
LPM is liters per minute. In some places it's litres per minute.
GPM is gallons per minute.
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything.
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
Post 14 made on Monday April 8, 2019 at 21:22
Trunk-Slammer -Supreme
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On April 8, 2019 at 16:54, Ernie Gilman said...
1 bar is "slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level." It's a unit that helps people conceptualize the amount of pressure because it's close to the atmospheric pressure we live in. It doesn't help that a bar is exactly 100,000 Pascal. It slightly helps that it's 14.50377 psi.
LPM is liters per minute. In some places it's litres per minute.
GPM is gallons per minute.

Did I not explain that clearly enough?

1 bar, or 2 ba, can be converted to PSI, just as LPM can be converted to GPM.

Isn't that what I posted? Did YOU not understand?
Post 15 made on Monday April 8, 2019 at 21:39
Ernie Gilman
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What you left unanswered:
On April 7, 2019 at 14:45, Zohan said...
Is bar 2 psi? If not tell me what you have in psi.
Is 12L, gpm? You have 12gpm? If not, then what do you have?

You did not clarify 12: at all. For completeness I defined GPM, as well.

Taking you at your word,
1 bar, or 2 ba, can be converted to PSI, just as LPM can be converted to GPM.

you did not explain what you meant by "1 bar, or 2 ba." As you wrote it, it looks like you're saying that 1 bar is 2 ba. I don't know what ba means.

You wrote that it can be converted to PSI and LPM can be converted to GPM. But no, you did not explain it, because you did not include the conversion factors. Inches can be converted to furlongs, but that's not enough information to consider it an explanation of anything.

Let's stop now. He understands. And I'm picky about my definitions of things that are not our usual day to day activities.
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything.
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
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