How Many Pop Up Sprinklers Are Needed Per Zone? (Explained)

Keep your lawn healthy all summer long with the help of sprinklers. With so many options to choose from, you might be wondering how many zones you need and if it’s enough to just use pop up sprinklers.

The number of pop up sprinklers depend on the water flow rate and the pressure since different pressures consume different amounts of water. For instance, at 35 PIS with a 3.0 nozzle, the sprinkler can use 3.11 GPM. If your home capacity is 10 GPMs, you need about 3 pop up sprinklers per zone.

How Do I Calculate the Number of Sprinkler Heads Per Zone

Spraying water is always a necessity when carrying out farming. Such does not apply only in irrigation, but even when you want to maintain a small garden may be in your backyard. To do this, you need to ensure that you have a sprinkler for that lawn which will help in better maintenance.

For effective spraying and watering of your garden, you need to have the correct number of sprinklers to help you with this.

Before you even determine the number of sprinklers you will require per zone, it is essential first to decide on the kind of zone you have. You need to check the size of the area from where you want to employ the sprinkler, then zone it out.

By zoning, you may create sections in your garden then determine the amount of water each zone should get. For instance, you can name an area “y” then say that this section should receive about 2.5 gallons of water. Once you have these zones, you or the person handling the sprinkler should know the number of sprinkler heads that the zone will get.

Zoning your yard should be pretty easy since you can easily make a map of it if you do not have the map at hand.

Once you have the map, you can calculate where you will place the sprinkler heads. When determining the sprinkler heads’ position, you should consider the distance that the sprinkler can cover and the direction that the sprinkler takes when sprinkling water.

Another factor that you can use to determine the number of sprinkler heads you require should be the kind of plants you are watering. Do all the plants need the same amount of water? If they do, then determining the number should be easy.

After looking at what you need and the various factors that may apply, you can now add the flow rate of the sprinkler heads.

You should divide the flow rate with the water supply of both of these in GPM, and this process should give you the number of zones you need.

Usually, the sprinkler head and the nozzle tend to consume different amounts of water at other pressures. Determine the pressure, the size of the nozzle and the water capacity to know the number of heads to place per zone.

How Many Pop Up Sprinklers I Need Per Zone?

When determining the number of pop up sprinklers to use per zone, you should first ensure that you have all the information regarding the amount of water you need in your lawn. You also need to determine the size of your zone and how water emanates from the sprinkler.

Usually, different types of nozzles typically take a specific amount of water. The pressure valves in these nozzles vary, affecting even when it takes to water a certain place. So the two main things that you need to check when determining the number of pop up sprinklers to use per zone include water pressure and water capacity.

Place a pressure calculator on the tap near the water meter and switch on the gauge when determining the water pressure.

The indicator is usually near the top, and then you should wait for a few seconds before reading the water pressure. Once you get your readings, you can remove the calculate and switch off the gauge.

To determine the water capacity or the flow rate, place a measuring bucket under your tap. Then turn in the fixture and ensure you record the time the faucet is starting to run. Once the bucket is full of water, you should turn off the tap and record the time.

Your main concern here is to determine the amount of time the bucket takes to fill, and you should then determine the amount of water that fills the bucket per minute. To do this, take the container size, then divide it with the time in minutes.

The process will help you know the number of pop up sprinklers to use per zone. So, there is no fixed number that you can use unless you calculate well. Also, when carrying the process, ensure that there are no running taps on the outside.

How Many Zones Can a Sprinkler Valve Control?

Sprinklers will have valves that control a certain area or a zone. In each irrigation zone, there will be a sprinkler head feeding it. The valve control gets signals typically from a central controller that directs it on the location to control, and the time it will take to sprinkle a certain area.

A sprinkler valve can control two to seven zones. But for it to do this, you need to have one water pipe as the source of water. It would help if you also glued the zones you want to control to it.

Otherwise, in most cases, the sprinkler valve can’t control many zones simultaneously. Such is usually challenging due to the water pressure and the low amount of water from most pipes. But if you have the same zone, then you can use multiple valves at the same time.

According to the structure of the valve, you can only place it on one side. So, the only place you can have it may be in the zone you want to water. But you can direct it to different zones if your sprinkler system has two valves.

Sprinklers with two valves are usually the automatic ones. And if you are going to use both valves simultaneously, it is essential to mark them and indicate the zone in which they will be operating.

Can I Add Sprinkler Head to Existing Zone?

You may need to add a sprinkler head to your existing zone, which is entirely acceptable. The process is pretty straightforward, but you need to be familiar with basic PVC techniques when carrying it out such as cutting and gluing the pipes.

You can add a sprinkler head along an existing PVC line or maybe by creating a new line. To do this, start by cutting the pipe and do so where you want to add the sprinkler. You should be careful with the process and ensure that you dig down the line to make a clean and deep hole.

You can now install the fittings, which should be the tool where the sprinkler head will stand. Finish off by attaching the sprinkler head and wrap up the place with pipe thread tapes. Your sprinkler head should be able to remove water once you run on the sprinkler.

Should Sprinkler Heads Overlap?

Before installing the sprinkler heads, you need to determine the kind that will work best for your garden or lawn.

Ensure that you know how huge your area is, the number you require, the type and place of each sprinkle. Usually, the sprinkler heads will come in different nozzles and will throw water at different distances.

You need not have so many sprinkler heads to cover a certain place as long as the ones you have are working well, no need to add more costs by adding more sprinkler heads. When placing them, you need to ensure that the sprays overlap.

It means that the distance that one sprinkler head reaches when throwing water should get that off the sprinkler head. So to achieve this, ensure that they are central with each other.

Conclusion

The number of pop-up sprinklers you need per zone will vary, and it mainly differs due to the size of the spot, the flow of water, and the water’s pressure.

Before determining the number you will require, it is always important to check the zone size and the number of sprinkler heads you need per zone.

References:

https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/managing-pressure-in-the-home-irrigation-system.html