Sprinklers or Drip Irrigation – What do I really need?
Wondering whether sprinklers or drip Irrigation are better for your landscape needs? Learn how each type has its own strengths and ideal applications. The proper irrigation system can keep your yard and lawn green while saving water, time and money.
First, you have your conventional sprinkler system and you have your drip irrigation system. A conventional sprinkler system relies on GPM metrics (gallons per minute) to operate. A drip irrigation system relies on GPH metrics (gallons per hour) to operate.
Conventional Sprinklers
A conventional sprinkler system is the older of the two styles, using sprinklers such as pop-up sprinklers, impact sprinklers, rotor sprinklers, and shrub heads. These sprinklers are measured in gallons per minute.
The amount of water your mainline can supply one valve along with adequate pressure will determine how many gallons per minute sprinklers you can put on one valve and operate at a single time.
Generally, you put about 10 pop-up sprinklers on one valve. Almost all grass areas are irrigated by conventional pop-up sprinklers or rotor sprinklers and many planter areas are also irrigated by conventional sprinkler systems as well. As long as sprinklers are well positioned not to spray on structure or overspray, conventional sprinklers are manageable. Pop-up sprinklers are for grass areas usually but can be used in planter areas instead of shrub heads.
Quick Explanation of Typical Sprinkler Systems
One of the most common pop-up sprinklers is a Rainbird 1804. 1804 means it’s an 1800 series sprinkler and the 04 represents the amount of inches it pops up. Rainbird also has 1802, 1803, 1806, and 1812 which means a 2” pop-up, a 3” pop-up, a 6” pop up, and 12” pop-up.
Hunter sprinklers make the same thing, and Rainbird and Hunter nozzles are interchangeable. I prefer either one, and I prefer to assemble these with funny pipe and barb 90’s (shown below). These are what you connect your PVC, your sprinkler and your funny pipe with. Two are required for each assembly.
Sprinkler Nozzles
The nozzles which spray in a fan spray are available in an assortment of spray patterns and degrees, some coming with fixed arc trajectories, and others with variable arc trajectories. I prefer the variable arc nozzles or as I call them VAN nozzles and I specifically prefer the hunter variable arc nozzles. These nozzles are available in the following sizes 4’, 6’, 8’ 10’ 12’ 15’ and 18’. You can also attach these nozzles to a freestanding shrub head.
Each of these nozzles has a GPM rating. Every time that sprinkler comes on, your watching gallons per minute of water go out. This is the same thing for rotor sprinklers, impact sprinklers, and shrub heads. On an established landscape with established plants, you can really begin to dial back how much water you’re putting in the planter areas, you can cap off many heads because established plants need much less water. Ask yourself how much that damn oleander really needs! Many established plants will survive off of rainwater. But with your grass, that’s another story. Grass has high watering requirements, especially in the summertime. This is where a conventional sprinkler system is necessary and as mentioned before you can use many different types of sprinklers including rotor sprinklers, impact sprinklers, and shrub heads.
How Many Gallons of Water Will I Use?
If you want to know how many gallons your grass is using, simply count the sprinklers, make a determination of each sprinkler’s output, and multiply all that by the amount of time you’re running each sprinkler.
You don’t have to be perfect with your calculations to get a close idea. You can also find general information on the web as far as averages go, and your water company will provide you with this information as well.
Drip Irrigation
Second is a drip irrigation system. It is the newer of the two types although now drip irrigation has been around for over 30 years. As a kid working in the industry with my dad, we didn’t work with drip at all though it was available but and available. My dad worked with his grandpa in the landscape industry back when he was a kid and would tell stories about how sprinkler systems then were installed with galvanized pipe! That sounds like pure hell. I’m so glad this is not the case now! Drip irrigation is simply just an extension of the conventional sprinkler system for your planter area. As long as you have grass, you’ll probably have conventional sprinkler systems. But your planter area, that’s another story.
If you’re installing a new planter area or you have an existing one, using drip may be a good idea. Drip systems use emitters designed to irrigate a small area.
Drip Irrigation Emitters
Emitters are measured in gallons per hour. You can put up to perhaps 200 emitters on one line. That’s a lot! I never put that many on one line, that would be ridiculous but that should give you an idea of what one drip valve/station can do. I generally put about 30 emitters on one station when installing a drip irrigation system.
The emitters I like to use are straight forward. They are rated at .5, 1, 2, 4, and 5 gallons per hour. There are other emitters available too, some with spray patterns standing on stakes, others with adjustable bubblers, but I like the rated emitters and I prefer to send that emitter directly to the base of the plant where the water is needed.
Setting Emitter Water Flow
When planning, a general guideline I follow is using 4 or 5 gallon emitters for trees, 2 gallon emitters for shrubs, and 1 gallon emitters for grasses. I use the .5 gallon emitter on plants with small watering requirements like drought tolerant plants and well established plants. Keep in mind that you can put two emitters on one plant as well, for instance 2 – 4 GPH emitters for something like a a Western Red Bud Tree. Understanding your plants will help you determine what size emitter to use and the duration for that emitter. For example, I may determine that a Western Red Bud will need 3 gallons of water, 5 times per week. If i have provided the tree with 2 – 4 gallon per hour emitters then one can figure out the duration.
Don’t water the Weeds!
Finally, when installing a drip irrigation system, you may want to consider installing weed fabric first. With a secure layer of weed fabric installed in your planter area, you can also install your ½” poly tubing by stapling it to the weed fabric. Try to direct your line as close as possible to the plant to reduce micro tubing lengths. On average, a length of micro tubing should be no more than 10”.
To Sum Up – Customize For The Best Water Wise Solutions
So… sprinklers or drip irrigation? As you can see, it depending on your exact needs, it could be both. The proper type and placement of your irrigation system will conserve water, save money and keep your yard looking beautiful. Whether you need no nonsense conventional pop-ups or an intricate drip system, make sure your system utilizes the most effective solution for your specific type of plants, trees and climate.
A little planning is the key to creating a whole system that is efficient and most importantly easy to use. Then sit back and enjoy your green functional landscape!
Still not sure if you need sprinklers or drip irrigation? Contact us or let me know your questions below!
Thanks for reading! – John
