Optimizing the water flow rate in your lawn sprinkler system is an essential part of keeping your garden healthy and efficient. To reduce the amount of water that travels through the hose to the sprinkler, you need to turn the faucet control valve clockwise. Running all the parts of a large sprinkler system at the same time can decrease water pressure and shorten the water flow from each sprinkler. To determine your gallons per minute (GPM), you can perform a five-gallon bucket test by placing the bucket under the water flow and timing it as it fills.
Once you have that number, you can use an equation to calculate your GPM. If your city's water is being pumped into your sprinkler system at a higher pressure, this could be causing issues with your system. You may need to adjust the sprinkler flow control valves throughout the system if faults aren't due to physical damage. Sprinkler heads usually include an adjustment function that allows you to open or close the head valve to modify the flow and pressure and adjust the coverage of the sprinkler areas. You can purchase an additional tool to add to your irrigation checklist to help with pressure issues in your sprinkler system. Changes in elevation from the point of origin of the sprinkler system to the outlet heads can cause pressure changes that can affect the efficiency of the irrigation design.
If it's been a while since you've done anything with your sprinkler system (other than programming), you might not even know where all the sprinkler heads are. No matter what type of spray head you have, it can get clogged in the openings and cause some sprinklers to have low pressure or a drip flow. The concept of modern sprinklers is to make your life easier and grow beautiful lawns and gardens without the hassle of scheduling irrigations and keeping track of how long the sprinklers are on. With an upgrade or change to a new style, there is an opportunity to equip your system with more advanced technology to help you get the most out of your sprinkler system. You can program your sprinklers to work at certain times and days, but it doesn't make sense to run the system when it's hot during the day, when water will burn the plants, or during a downpour. The most important thing to remember with sprinkler systems is that the problem can be a combination of several issues that cause the main concern.
With your sprinklers, you'll want to set up a control valve or a regulatory system that can adjust the pressure, shape, and direction of the sprinkler zone to water your garden efficiently.
