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Are sprinkler systems worth the investment?
Posted on 9/4/23 at 1:27 pm
Posted on 9/4/23 at 1:27 pm
Failed to bite the bullet when we moved in and here I am two droughts back to back years. In SETX I assumed we’d get plenty of rain and it wouldn’t matter. Do y’all in Louisiana have systems?
11
Posted on 9/4/23 at 1:51 pm to turnpiketiger
I think ours are worth it. We all the landscaping done at the same time when we built the house and have a pretty good system. I must say though that this recent drought has exposed a few small holes in our coverage like LSU's D last night lol.
Posted on 9/4/23 at 2:04 pm to turnpiketiger
Love ours and won’t ever own a home without one.
This post was edited on 9/4/23 at 2:05 pm
Posted on 9/4/23 at 2:23 pm to lynxcat
So in other words it’s well worth the investment? Even if you don’t plan on staying in the home forever
Posted on 9/4/23 at 2:57 pm to turnpiketiger
Not for me. I hear about neighbors with $600/month water bills, and grass just isn't worth that much to me. It's mostly bermuda, if it doesn't rain I don't mow. It handles the dry spells better than all the fescue even with their sprinklers. Sometimes it browns up, oh well. Comes back later. I water my trees, but never the lawn. Judge away.
Posted on 9/4/23 at 3:37 pm to turnpiketiger
quote:
Are sprinkler systems worth the investment?
they are, but most arent set properly and waste water by overwatering it too much
thats when you get those $600 water bills
have it set correctly with pressure regulators and timers that shut it off after only a few minutes
Posted on 9/4/23 at 3:58 pm to calcotron
quote:
Sometimes it browns up, oh well. Comes back later. I water my trees, but never the lawn.
That’s my exact thought process with this all. Sure it’s ugly but I’m certain it’ll come right back like nothing happened.
Posted on 9/4/23 at 6:15 pm to turnpiketiger
Have had mine for over thirty years… so here are my recommendations…
If you pay someone to install make sure you get accurate blueprints of layout.. so you can find boxes years later easily…
Learn basic sprinkler repair.. valves and heads.. easy and you do not want to pay every time a head or station valve goes goofy. Easy to fix.. I use to do all repairs.. now older .. only sprinkler heads..no valves.
Set up a manifold type system ( I do not have this… all valves in the ground ;() with the valves and individual lines in a cluster on side of your house if possible..easy repairs without having to dig boxes/ valves out to repair.
If repairing.. and changing out in ground valves.. heads.. bite the bullet and just dig a big hole and try not to work the valve repairs in a minimal hole..
Get a tool for pulling broken riser pipes ( risers attach the sprinklers to the pipes throughout the yard.. you will break a riser at some point and leave a stub screwed into main pipes system.. the tool is a little t bar thing with a cone at bottom with teeth.. stick it into the broken nub to twist out.. better that using a long nose pliers !!!
Get a rain monitor so they do not come on after a good rain..
It will be a love hate relationship….
If you pay someone to install make sure you get accurate blueprints of layout.. so you can find boxes years later easily…
Learn basic sprinkler repair.. valves and heads.. easy and you do not want to pay every time a head or station valve goes goofy. Easy to fix.. I use to do all repairs.. now older .. only sprinkler heads..no valves.
Set up a manifold type system ( I do not have this… all valves in the ground ;() with the valves and individual lines in a cluster on side of your house if possible..easy repairs without having to dig boxes/ valves out to repair.
If repairing.. and changing out in ground valves.. heads.. bite the bullet and just dig a big hole and try not to work the valve repairs in a minimal hole..
Get a tool for pulling broken riser pipes ( risers attach the sprinklers to the pipes throughout the yard.. you will break a riser at some point and leave a stub screwed into main pipes system.. the tool is a little t bar thing with a cone at bottom with teeth.. stick it into the broken nub to twist out.. better that using a long nose pliers !!!
Get a rain monitor so they do not come on after a good rain..
It will be a love hate relationship….
Posted on 9/4/23 at 6:54 pm to turnpiketiger
Dragging hoses across 3 acres of open grassy areas is a PITA, but we are always planting new trees, shrubs, thus a sprinkler system could get in the way.
Posted on 9/4/23 at 7:09 pm to turnpiketiger
not only are they convenient, they can be programmed to ensure the entire yard is watered at the most optimal time of day for best absorption
This post was edited on 9/4/23 at 7:09 pm
Posted on 9/4/23 at 7:11 pm to turnpiketiger
Checking in with one and $400 water bills. I like that’s it’s there to protect something I’ve been working pretty hard to make nice. But that bill does suck balls.
Posted on 9/4/23 at 7:58 pm to turnpiketiger
I'll add a want.
Install your backflow with shut off valves and unions on either side. When a hard freeze comes, just turn off the valves, unscrew the unions and take the whole backflow inside.
I did it to my existing system a couple years ago and it's a game changer for winterizing.
Install your backflow with shut off valves and unions on either side. When a hard freeze comes, just turn off the valves, unscrew the unions and take the whole backflow inside.
I did it to my existing system a couple years ago and it's a game changer for winterizing.
Posted on 9/4/23 at 7:59 pm to turnpiketiger
When I had one in Texas, I had an extra water meter installed for the sprinkler system. I did not have to pay the sewage on that meter.
Posted on 9/4/23 at 9:47 pm to Major Dutch Schaefer
Where do you guys live getting $400 water bills?
I filled up a 12,000 gallon pool twice in a month and my bill went from like $20 to $50.
I filled up a 12,000 gallon pool twice in a month and my bill went from like $20 to $50.
Posted on 9/4/23 at 10:22 pm to turnpiketiger
I do a soaker hose on a cheap photocell timer for any new stuff I’ve planted. New as in a few months. If it drought like, I’ll just hook the hose back up. The hoses are fairly cheap and you could just leave them in the garden bed under the mulch. That’s all I got
Posted on 9/5/23 at 7:50 am to calcotron
quote:
$600/month water bills
This should never happen. If you water properly, you should only be watering 2 days a week. It's the fool watering every day, except the day their lawn guy comes that run up bills like that. Plants need drying time, just as much as they need waterings. 4 days a week is overkill, if you know what you are doing.
Posted on 9/5/23 at 8:39 am to Major Dutch Schaefer
quote:
When I had one in Texas, I had an extra water meter installed for the sprinkler system. I did not have to pay the sewage on that meter.
That's a good idea
Posted on 9/5/23 at 9:22 am to turnpiketiger
Depends on where you are. When I lived in South LA, it would have been a waste. 99% of the time, you had more than enough rain for the yard. Now that I live North of Houston, I couldn't live without it. Obviously there's use in a drought like we've been having. But even when we have normal amounts of rain, the ground is not great for holding the moisture. We can have flooding conditions, then no rain for 2 weeks with 100F temps and my grass starts to show signs of burning. I'd have a yard full of weeds without a sprinkler system. Granted they've always come installed and never had to pay myself.
Posted on 9/5/23 at 9:26 am to Major Dutch Schaefer
quote:
When I had one in Texas, I had an extra water meter installed for the sprinkler system. I did not have to pay the sewage on that meter.
I've got a separate meter and separate bill for my sprinkler system as well in TN.
Posted on 9/5/23 at 9:38 am to keakar
quote:Mine was running for short times every day. It was almost worthless in this dry heat we had. I upped it to three times the time and ran every other day with much better results.
timers that shut it off after only a few minutes
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