The Orbit Sprinkler System Designer™ is a unique combination of technology and Orbit’s high-quality irrigation products and service. It is the world’s first and only online, real-time, free sprinkler system design tool. When it comes to sprinkler systems, you can generally expect to pay between $0.25 and $1 for every square foot covered, and trying to save money by cutting corners is rarely a good idea. On a closely-related note, you’ll have to be honest about your DIY skills and the amount of time you’re willing to put into this project. Place sprinkler controllers and manifolds on your plan Our tool will then generate a list of everything that you need, including instructions, to install your plan. We even load everything into your shopping cart and ship it for free to your home. Design your system now.
Do you have a big lawn that needs to be watered every day? Are you concerned that you do not have free time to water your garden often? Or are you tired of having to bring the heavy hose around every time?
If you worry about these issues, we are here to help. As many gardeners recognize, a sprinkler system is a very convenient means to water your garden. However, hiring a professional to install one can be problematic for some people because of the high cost. In that case, what can you do to build a sprinkler system?
Well, we highly recommend you to make it yourself. Though a do-it-yourself method may take quite a long time to finish, it can save you a lot of money.
Now, let's go through step by step to design a sprinkler system for your yard!
1. Determine the flow rate and water pressure
First of all, you need to decide from which source you want to get the water for your irrigation line and then calculate the flow rate and to water pressure of that source to determine how many sprinklers you can have on the line.
To find the water pressure, you can simply use a water pressure testing gauge and attach it to the spigot of your water source (for example, the hose). To find the flow rate, you can grab any bucket that you have then turn the water from your source on fully. While waiting for the water to fill the bucket to the top, record how long it takes to do so.
Once you finish, multiple the size of the bucket (in gallons) by 60 seconds. Divide everything by the time the water source takes to fill. And there you go, that result will be the flow rate (in gallons per minute).
2. Choose your desired type of sprinkler heads
There are many types of sprinkler heads with different water pressure, flow rate, and coverage. Some sprinkler heads can rotate, and others cannot.
There are actually 3 different types of sprinkler heads, which are based on how the water will be distributed to the plants.
Spray heads: These are also called the fixed spray heads that release water to the outside in a fan-shaped pattern. Their coverage is pretty low as they can be only placed up to 18 feets apart. To operate properly, they need 20 to 30 PSI of water pressure.
Rotors: They will not be fixed like the first type, but rotating. One of their examples is the Rain Bird Sprinkler. This sprinkler head has a pretty high coverage. Two heads can be put from 8 to 65 feet apart, so make sure you look at the information for your chosen model before purchasing. The rule for determining the right sprinkler head for a specific water pressure is the water pressure at the rotor head in (PSI) must exceed the distance (feet) between the heads.
- Rotary Nozzles & Rotators: They work exactly like the rotors, but they appear to be much smaller. They are considered more efficient than other types since they produce less evaporation of water before it reaches the ground. Their radii usually range from 15 to 35 feet.
When you are done choosing the sprinkler head, you can check its water pressure and flow rate on the manufacturer's website. Compare those numbers with your water source's figures to determine how many heads you can install on your irrigation line.
3. Determine the layout of sprinkler system
Think about the layout of the waterflow is a critical part before you start connecting the pipe.
You have to decide where you want to install your irrigation line. By doing this, you know where to dig a trench to bury the line. And you know how long the line needs to be to cover your desired zone. Usually, the depth of your irrigation line underground ranges from 8 to 12 inches.
As you finally choose areas to put your sprinkler line, you can start trenching soil, which is going to take you a long time if the soil is dense.
4. Design your sprinkler line
This is the central part of the entire process, but it is too difficult to do. Firstly, you need to buy materials to build the line. We suggest you buy more than you need as you can return things you do not use later. You will need to purchase:
Sprinkler System Layout Diagram
If you do not have any hardware store nearby, you can get all materials on Amazon. They are very affordable.
| 3/4-inch Schedule 40 PVC Pipes | ||
3/4-inch PVC Pipe Tee | ||
3/4-inch PVC Pipe Fitting | ||
1/2-inch Sprinkler Riser | ||
PVC Cutter Tool | ||
One-step PVC Glue |
Once you successfully gather everything listed above, you can move on to build your sprinkler line. Lay the pipes on the underground path you have just made. You can adjust the length of the pipe by cutting it using the cutter tool.
Or you can connect two pipes through a pipe fitting and stick them together using the glue. When you reach an area where you want to install a sprinkle head, use the pipe tee in between pipes.
Then, use the sprinkler riser to attach the sprinkler head to the remaining end of the tee joint. If you wish to place your sprinkler header, you can switch a taller riser to increase the height of the sprinkler. Make sure you hold all the disconnected pieces together tightly by the glue so that the water has nowhere to leak.
5. Connect the irrigation line with the water supply
We are finally at the last step of the process. For the connector, you would want to use a zone valve, which allows the water to flow from the supply to the irrigation line.
There are many different types of zone valves for you to choose from. There are zone valves that can start the water flow manually when we turn on the valves. There are also zone valves that can operate on their own using timer.
We recommend you to use the anti-siphon zone valve because it can prevent the backflow of water that contaminates your drinking water.
To install the valve, connect the irrigation line to the outlet side of the valve and the water supply to the inlet side. Depending on the water pressure and flow rate of your water supply, you can add as many zone valves as needed.
6. Select the right sprinkler timer (Optional)
If you wish to kick off the sprinkler system manually, go ahead to skip this step and you are basically done. But if you want to save your time, it is highly recommended that you use a sprinkler timer which can also help you to water your plants at the right time. A sprinkler timer works to turn on the sprinkler system at a scheduled time. It allows you to set days to water, time to water, and also the duration of water being released from the sprinkler heads.
When choosing sprinkler timers, you will need to consider these following features.
The location of your sprinkler system: Indoor or Outdoor. Timers will come in these two different types. Indoor timers need to be sheltered from weather, and can be plugged into a 110-volt outlet. In contrast, outdoor timers are weather resistant, and generally have to be hard wired for power.
Number of zones: must be equal or higher than the number of areas that your system is set up.
Number of programs: can range from 1 to 4, but you should have at least 2 programs for flexibility.
A program in timers is a set of watering instructions for stations that will run on the same days. A timer can have up to 4 programs, namely program A, B, C, and D. Most of the sprinkler timers will have 2 or more programs. For example, in program A, you can set the days, the time, and the duration that you want to water. If you have 2 programs, you can set up two different watering schedules for different types of plants. Once the timer starts a program, it will go through the entire program before stopping or repeating the program.
Type of timers: Mechanical or Solid-State (Digital), though mechanical type is more affordable, solid-state digital is more convenient because it contains more features.
Below is the list of features available in sprinkler timers:
- Clock and calendar settings
- Manual start and station operation
- Master switch
- Master valve control
- Station omission
- Pump start lead
- Rain sensor
- Battery backup
- Non-volatile memory
- Delay
Conclusion
That is all you need to build a sprinkler system yourself. Before activating the system, you should wait for at least 30 minutes for the glue to cure. When finished, you can try running the system to see if there is any leakage and fix that problem immediately.
Once you are sure that everything works properly, you can put the soil back in to cover the irrigation line. You can see that it is not that hard to self-design a sprinkler system, right? It may be quite time-consuming, but you will get a sprinkler system at a low cost.
Give it a try and good luck!
Hcalc - Hydraulic calculator
Hcalc is a simple hydraulic calculator which we originally developed for use with our FHC training courses to help teach some of the fundamental hydraulic calculations & principles which are so important in fire sprinkler design. We believe that all fire protection engineers should have a good understanding of the principles of hydraulic calculations to enable them to optimize designs and to ensure that all calculations can be properly checked and verified.
Fire sprinkler engineers, inspectors, and insurance companies will find a use for our free Hcalc - Hydraulic Calculator. It can be used for teaching the principals of hydraulics in fire protection engineering, checking calculations or for solving simple hydraulic calculations for fire sprinkler, hydrant, hose reel and other types of water-based fire protection systems.
Download Hcalc
give it a try today for free!
Fire protection engineers and consulting engineers from around the world have installed Hcalc to help them with calculations and the verifica
Pipe pressure loss calculations
Hazen Williams pressure loss formula
With Hcalc you can calculate the friction loss in a circular pipe using the Hayes and Williams pressure loss formula which is specified in NFPA 13 and EN 12845 and in many other international design standards.
You can specify the pipe size, flow rate, and the pipes C-factor and Hcalc will calculate the pressure loss per meter and for the total pipe length and the water velocity. You can select the type of pipe material from the drop-down list or enter your own pipe C-factor.
Whenever you need to carry out pressure loss calculation or to verify the simple calculator is ready to help.
Flow from a fire sprinkler head
Sprinkler head - K-factor calculation
With Hcalc - Spk Flow you can solve any of the three variables in the K-Factor formula, the flow from the sprinkler, the pressure required at a sprinkler and the K-Factor without the need of remembering the formula.
The K-factor formula is one of the basic building blocks of fire sprinkler design and fire protection hydraulic calculations, most of us will have committed it to memory but now with Hcalc you know longer need to. You can have this simple tool sitting on your desktop so you no longer need to find your calculator or pen and paper.
Sprinkler System Design Orbit
You can use Hcalc any type of fire sprinkler or water mist nozzle or in fact any other nozzle or head which you have a K-Factor, this could be a hose reel nozzle, a foam monitor or a fire hydrant.
Compatibility
Hcalc Is compatible with the following Microsoft operating systems
Windows 10 (32 and 64-bit editions), Windows 8 & 8.1 and Windows 7
Hydraulics for engineers
If you have an interest in hydraulic calculations and the formulas associated with then then we have an excellent series of articles which will enhance your skills as a fire protection engineer.
Sprinkler Design Software Free
Instruction Manual
Hcalc is easy to use but will have still provided an on-line user manual and a short video tutorial to help get you started.
You will also find all the formulas which have been used clearly set out and with additional information.
Hydraulic calculation for fire sprinkler systems
If you're interested in learning more about hydraulic calculations for fire sprinkler systems would like to know how to carry out calculations for a simple tree (end fed) systems using the time honoured longhand method with paper and pen, then you may find our article how to calculate a fire sprinkler system to be of interest.
We personally would not recommend this method anything more than a very simple system as by its nature will very likely to make an error somewhere in the calculation which is then compounded as you move along. Our FHC hydraulic calculation software is ideal for carrying out some calculations from the simplest to the most complicated system design.