Sprinkler heads too far apart - now what

coloradograss · Jun 4, 2020

Hey everyone,

I recently moved to a new house and have learned a lot on this forum. One of my goals this year is to understand/optimize my irrigation system, and after determining my heads and spacing I think I need to modify my current system.

If you look at the picture below, zones 1-4 cover an area around 9300 sq ft and in total have 15 MP3000 rotators. Unfortunately, the spacing between each of the heads is 35ft (or more), so there is no head to head coverage.

Zones 5-6 cover an area roughly 25x80. Zone 5 has 3 PGP Rotors and Zone 6 has 3 MP3000 rotators.

(Zones 1-4 and 5-6 are further apart than the picture shows)

What would you recommend doing in this scenario? Some options seem to be:
1. Replace some zones of MP rotators with rotors that can be spaced further apart. If so, which zones and which rotors would you recommend?
2. Replace all MP rotators with rotors
3. Add new heads to particular zones - if so which ones?

Obviously I would like to spend the least amount necessary, but want to achieve quality irrigation for my lawn

Justmatson · Jun 4, 2020

PGP rotors aren't very expensive. I would just replace the rotators.
I'm running the PGP Ultra's and love them. Very good coverage.
I spaced mine at 40' using the #3 nozzle except the center one that is a #4. Im getting head to head coverage, however I'm running 3 zones of 3 sprinklers. My water pressure could handle 4 on 1 zone. I just built it that way because I seeded a 5000sq ft section this spring.
I'll be added a rotor to each zone in the future...

SJ Lawn · Jun 4, 2020

Hunter's website shows a MP3500 model that will give you more distance than the MP3000 model:

MP3000
22' to 30' radius

MP3500
31' to 35' radius

g-man · Jun 4, 2020

SJ Lawn said:
Hunter's website shows a MP3500 model that will give you more distance than the MP3000 model:

MP3000
22' to 30' radius

MP3500
31' to 35' radius

I agree the mp3500 is a good option here. But you need to see if you have the total gpm to drive them all. Also in the middle of the yard you will need to place two bodies next to each other at 180 because they don't make a 360 mp3500. The other zone will need to be redone with heads throwing 25ft.

coloradograss · Jun 4, 2020

Thanks for the responses! A couple follow-up questions:
1. What are the pros and cons of PGP ultra versus MP 3500?
2. How would I determine my total gallons per minute to see what my system could accommodate?

jht3 · Jun 5, 2020

I don't see an option but replace with rotors. One issue you might face is threading onto the funny pipe. Spray bodies are 1/2" while rotors are 3/4".

But first calculate the precipitation rates and gpm so you know which nozzles to insert.

Zones 1-3 are basic rectangles. You might have to accept over spray on the other zones, or if possible add a 4th head to each. That is a lot more work.

g-man · Jun 5, 2020

Coloradograss, check irrigationtutorials.com for a lot more info on how to design a system (determine gpm, head placement, etc)

TSGarp007 · Jun 5, 2020

Looking at zones 1-3... You really need to know gpm available to know if it will work, but if there is a chance you have a 9 gpm supply available, then I'd buy 4 MP3500 nozzles to at least check and see if it gets you head to head coverage. Hunter claims 35' and you are measuring 35'. That's the cheapest solution. If it works on one zone, then swap them out for the others. That's easily done and doesn't cost much to check. Before replacing sprinkler bodies I would do a real gpm test. That's work and money, and you want to make sure it will work before you do it.

Sprinkler heads too far apart - now what

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