Drip irrigation systems are becoming more popular than sprinkler systems because they use less water and do not wet the plant's leaves, which can sometimes encourage plant diseases. If you already have a sprinkler system, it's easy to convert it to a drip irrigation system. You use the supply lines that are already in place and replace some of the sprinkler heads with drip irrigation supply heads. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Make a map of your current sprinkler system. Decide if you'll be converting all of the sprinkler heads to drip irrigation or just some of them. This will be determined by the plant material. Generally speaking, sprinkler systems are best for lawns or turf, and drip irrigation systems are best for flowers, vegetables, shrubs, and trees.
2. Determine whether the existing circuits are adequate for your plant's watering needs. Sprinkler heads throw water over a large area and drip irrigation emitters effectively water a smaller area. Although you should try to work within the existing system and its circuits when converting from a sprinkler system to drip irrigation, you can add additional lateral lines specifically for drip emitters in addition to converting some sprinkler head circuits to drip emitters.
3. Mark the existing valves, mainlines and lateral lines so as not to damage them during the conversion.
4. To make the conversion, plug all of the spray heads on a sprinkler system circuit except one. A circuit is all of the sprinkler heads contained on one lateral supply line leading off of the main supply line. Remove the spray heads and insert a conversion plug. Install a drip circuit from the sprinkler head that you did not plug. A drip circuit is a hose with emitters placed every 12 to 18 inches. Lay the drip circuit throughout the garden bed so that the emitters are evenly spaced so as to evenly water the plants.
5. Install a master filtration unit and master pressure reducer on the lateral line, just before the spot where the drip circuit is installed. This will filter out minute particles of soil that can clog drip emitters, and it will reduce the water pressure. Drip irrigation systems use less water pressure than sprinkler systems. By installing a reducer next to each drip irrigation circuit, higher levels of water will still flow to the sprinkler heads circuits and you can still use some of them to water your lawn.
Tags: drip irrigation, drip circuit, sprinkler system, drip emitters, irrigation systems, sprinkler heads