Wow, no one uses pressure regulating valves? Before this latest system I've never had to worry about excess pressure but I'm looking at 90 psi before RP. Just wondering if I put the 50 psi model on my rotor zones will the rotors actually be working at 50? I cranked up the 1st zone we installed and it was misting noticably.
Nothing unique about it. Toro has one. Upscale Irritrol valves have one. So does Rainbird and Weathermatic. They work. The downside can be a slow oscillation in pressure, as the valve tries to lock in on the set pressure. (more of a problem the lower the set pressure is)
Ive used both, I like the adjustable, saves me from stocking a wide range of different pressures. The only thing I can say is if your manually turning the valve on at the valve to use the solenoid as the bleed screw wont be regulated.
The only valve I havent tried is Toro's P220. Ive seen one that a rep had, If I remember the pressure regulation is more consistent by placing the regulator on the incoming side.
I certainly don't look to add a regulator to a 90 psi supply, what with an RPZ and water meter and electric valves, and maybe a long supply line between street and meter, subtracting 20+ psi at a minimum.
I certainly don't look to add a regulator to a 90 psi supply, what with an RPZ and water meter and electric valves, and maybe a long supply line between street and meter, subtracting 20+ psi at a minimum.
On your best day on planet Earth, you will not prevent 20 psi being lost from supply to sprinkler head, no matter what flow velocities exist in your work. Add it up. RPZ + master valve + zone valve + pipe loses + swing pipe and fittings is enough to reach 20 psi, and that includes nothing of what's lost in the line from street to water meter to system tie in.
If you fear to have a possible 65 psi in your sprinkler zones you need to find another line of work.
I certainly don't look to add a regulator to a 90 psi supply, what with an RPZ and water meter and electric valves, and maybe a long supply line between street and meter, subtracting 20+ psi at a minimum.
You can live with 70 psi in a rotor zone, but a flow control master/zone valve might be called for. The difficult thing might be to avoid the temptation to exploit the high pressure to increase head spacing, because neighborhood pressure might decrease in the years to come.
For the common residential systems, this regulator-valve concept has the problem of not fitting the standard zone valves I want to use exclusively.
I tried the master valve with adjustable model, incoming pressure was over 90psi, set it to 65 i think.....it vibrated loudly and into the pipes of the house even though the irrigation tap was in the lawn.........never tried one again.....called hunter and the guy could not answer what the problem was.......never got back to him either.....
The only valve I havent tried is Toro's P220. Ive seen one that a rep had, If I remember the pressure regulation is more consistent by placing the regulator on the incoming side.
You can live with 70 psi in a rotor zone, but a flow control master/zone valve might be called for. The difficult thing might be to avoid the temptation to exploit the high pressure to increase head spacing, because neighborhood pressure might decrease in the years to come.
For the common residential systems, this regulator-valve concept has the problem of not fitting the standard zone valves I want to use exclusively.
So by that thought, if you'd have done what you said before, counting on the pipe supply to reduce pressure by 70 psi, when the neighborhood fills out and the street pressure is 50 psi, now you've got a pressure drop problem.
Secondly, you absolutely do not want 70 psi on the rotor zones, you'll get excessive misting and whatnot especially on residential heads. Not to mention the wear and tear from 70psi popping up vs 40psi
Best bet is a high quality pressure regulator, and set it for a target PSI at the heads of about 35-40 psi. This, along with properly sized pipe for flow, keeping velocity below 5 ft per sec, is the only thing that is the proper answer for this problem that is durable and robust.
This illustrates a difference between construction techniques in different parts of the country. Many northern homes with basement water meters have a long supply line between street and the sprinkler system connection point, and there is invariably a significant loss in pressure while the sprinklers are on. Trying to tone down the supply line water velocity means you will not have enough flow to get the watering done in a reasonable time. In decades gone by, 90 psi street pressure was considered close to the minimum acceptable, in order to make for a "standard" system of three brass impact heads per zone, and that was in the days before the RPZ appeared to subtract an extra 10 psi.
Installed adjustable Accu-Sync on MV this morning and toned down the rotors. Couln't connect guage to dial in but will do that later. Easy to install and adjust, didn't notice any weird things happening.
Boots,
For what it's worth, these can be installed on standard Hunter valves.
e76,
Per the advice of others on this site I didn't go with a conventional PR due to possibly reducing volume.
The Weathermatic regulating brass valve has a long tube for the purpose of connecting the regulator to a point a foot or so downstream of the outlet of the valve. This points to manufacturer knowledge that there can be complications with all the components located right next to each other.
I like that the Hunter version fits the standard valve. I always thought it was kind of chintzy that the Irritrol version doesn't fit the 2500TF valve (due to the bonnet lacking two holes where the attaching screws thread in - the more expensive 214B globe/angle valve has a bonnet that fits)
Does anyone here have or answer on the issue I had with mine on the master valve vibrating the pipe so badly outside, near the tap, that it reverbirated thru the whole house?
Does anyone here have or answer on the issue I had with mine on the master valve vibrating the pipe so badly outside, near the tap, that it reverbirated thru the whole house?
Does anyone here have or answer on the issue I had with mine on the master valve vibrating the pipe so badly outside, near the tap, that it reverbirated thru the whole house?
I had one similar do that cept it was for a commercial property. My thoughts was the inlet psi was to high for this . We ended up installing a upstream prv.
I always tell people it's better to reduce your pressure and keep the water flow based on charts then to keep your pressure and to reduce your flow.
We use double checks up here but I was taught a good design is the 5-4-3-2-1 rule. 5 psi loss at the meter, 4 at the double check , 3 through the main line,2 through the valve and 1 through the lateral. So with a rpz that adds 10-15 extra loss.
Aside from keeping high pressure you can do a flow test to give yourself the real numbers.
Anyone seeking help with one of these valves should state the make and model of the valve.
I would never install a fixed-pressure reducing module (sorry, Hunter) since there might be a bit of tweaking required to stop an oscillation from happening.
Anyone seeking help with one of these valves should state the make and model of the valve.
I would never install a fixed-pressure reducing module (sorry, Hunter) since there might be a bit of tweaking required to stop an oscillation from happening.
I assumed it was too high inlet pressure for it to handle.
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