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How Your Sprinkler System Works

How Does an Irrigation System Work?

Your sprinkler system distributes water throughout your yard and keeps your landscape beautiful year-round, but how does it work? Have you wondered exactly how your sprinkler system works? This article will tell you all about how your sprinkler system works.

The In-Ground Irrigation System

Standing with a hose watering your lawn or garden can become very boring and is not always good for your lawn. You end up with too much water in one place and not enough in others.

Installing an in-ground irrigation system fixes that problem. The system is made up of a series of pipes that go throughout your lawn and garden. It is attached to a central water line that sends the water through the pipes.

Retracting sprinkler heads are custom installed throughout the lawn and attached to the pipe work. When the water is pressurized and allowed to flow through the pipes, it pushes the head up and waters the lawn.

Control valves start and stop the water flow. This way you can water all of your lawn or just a certain part of it.

This is all controlled by a tiny computer box that is installed in your home or garage. The systems can be automatic or manual.

Automatic and Manual Systems

You can set an automatic system to come on and turn off at certain times of the day. You can also set it to water in zones or all of your lawn at the same time. If you have a garden in your yard, you may not want it watered the same time as your lawn. Another factor could be when a certain part of your yard is shaded or when it is in the sun.

All of these things can be considered and programmed into your controller. Once it is set, you can go about your business and not have to ever worry about whether your lawn, flowers or garden is getting enough water. Some systems even have moisture sensors so you don't end up watering the lawn on a rainy day.

A manual system will require you to turn the system on and off each time you want to water.

Sprinkler Heads

Most sprinkler heads are installed right at ground level. This way you can mow the grass without the worry of damaging your system.

The sprinkler head in a garden, however will most likely be installed much higher. This will enable the system to deliver water to the whole garden without being blocked by a growing plant. They are placed in a grid throughout the lawn to make sure the whole area is watered.

You can have heads that deliver a fine mist and others that shoot the water into a circular pattern. You can adjust some sprinkler heads to give more water or less. Each head should deliver the water just overlapping the next closest head. This ensures the entire lawn is getting watered.

Some special heads shoot the water one way to prevent water from being wasted onto a driveway or sidewalk. These systems can be quite expensive, but well worth the investment if you want a great lawn and garden.