Water Efficiency: Rotary nozzles when set out correctly distribute water evenly, reducing the likelihood of overwatering or underwatering areas thus using the resource more effectively.
Average Water Use Per Minute By Sprinkler Type
Watering with an oscillating sprinkler using a standard 5/8" garden hose uses approximately 17 gallons of water per minute. A typical sprinkler system with pop-up rotary heads uses approximately 15 to 16 gallons of water per minute per station.
6. Lawn Sprinkler and Irrigation Systems. If you have a lawn sprinkler and irrigation system, you should know that it's naturally going to work harder during the warm summer months. If your irrigation system isn't programmed correctly or it develops a leak, you might find your water bill creeping higher than usual.
Rotor heads – Although the spray of a rotor is more uniform than that of a spray head, rotors can take much longer to water. In general, rotor heads deliver ½ inch of water per hour.
Multi-stream rotational sprinkler heads can be used for irrigation systems in place of traditional fixed-spray nozzles (sprinkler heads). They have a lower precipitation rate and better distribution uniformity compared to traditional pop-up nozzles. They reduce water use and irrigate the landscape more evenly.
Effectiveness: Rotary nozzles are very even in the way they throw far more than traditional spray heads. They apply the water in a unique pattern cutting through the wind and applying the water slower allowing all areas a better chance of soaking in.
As a general rule of thumb, most of our customers who are utilizing the most common types of spray heads can comfortably water their lawn for 10 minutes at a time. If you're running rotor heads, you can bump that time up to 20 minutes.
A fixed spray head nozzle might take ~30 minutes to apply 1 inch of water, whereas a rotary nozzle could take 3x as long to apply the same amount. But this still depends on numerous variables such as local water pressure, age of the sprinkler system, condition of the system, etc.
On average, a lawn needs 1 to 1½ inches of water a week. It usually takes 1 hour of watering to get 1 inch of water, so it's best to figure out how to distribute watering sessions over the week. In normal conditions, water your lawn in three 20-minute sessions over the week.
An unusually high water bill is most often caused by a leak or change in water use. Some common causes of high water bills include: A leaking toilet, or a toilet that continues to run after being flushed, most common. A dripping faucet; a faucet drip can waster 20 gallons or more of water a day.
Excessive use of water or large jumps from your normal usage can sometimes be an indication of irrigation problems. Over-watering, inappropriate scheduling, malfunctioning equipment, and broken water lines can all lead to an unnecessary overuse of water.
Lawn Watering Practices
Frequent watering encourages shallow root growth and unhealthy grass. Deep, less frequent watering encourages grass roots to grow deeper into the soil reservoir from which to draw moisture. Deep roots also mean the lawn will be less affected by surface drying.
On average, homeowners might see a 30% to 60% increase in their water bills during peak irrigation months. For a $100 monthly water bill, this could mean an increase to $130 to $160. To minimize the impact: Use efficient irrigation systems.
The average American shower uses 17.2 gallons (65.1 liters) and lasts for 8.2 minutes at average flow rate of 2.1 gallons per minute (gpm) (7.9 lpm).
To keep your lawn green and growing, it needs about 1 inch of water per week from you, rainfall or a combination of both. To measure how much is 1 inch of water, set a group of flat-bottomed cups at 5- to 10-foot intervals from the base of your sprinkler to the edge of its reach.
According to lawn care experts, the best time to water grass is in the early morning, ideally before 10am. During this time, the temperature outside is still relatively cool, and the wind and sun are less intense.
To determine how long you need to water to get one inch, place a plastic container in your yard and set a timer. On average, it will take 30 minutes to get a half inch of water. So, 20 minutes, three times per week will give a lawn about an inch of water.
When it comes to irrigating lawns during hot summer months, improper techniques can hurt your grass more than help it. Overwatering, irrigating at wrong times of the day, and watering too often can be ineffective and—at times—downright harmful.
Nothing should be in that area between the bottom of the sprinkler heads and the imaginary horizontal plane parallel to the ceiling that is 18 inches below. This is done to allow an even and unobstructed spray pattern from the sprinklers when triggered to extinguish the fire.
In the late spring, rotor irrigation zones typically need to run 30-45 minutes per zone, and spray irrigation zones typically need to run 8-12 minutes. We recommend watering 2-3 days a week during late spring. In mid to late summer with extreme heat, your lawn will need more water.
The absolute number one rule in spacing is called “Head-to-Head coverage” or Head-to-Head spacing. Head-to-Head coverage applies to both sprays and rotors. In a nutshell, it means that the heads are spaced so that they overlap from head to head. Each head should throw water far enough so that it hits the next head.
If your grass is actually dead, there's nothing you can do to bring it back other than plant new grass. Brown grass, however, can green up following proper care. Oftentimes, that just means water, nutrients, and cooler temperatures for northern lawns and warmer temperatures for southern lawns.
With a radius of 8 to 50 feet using different rotor nozzles, you'll find the Rain Bird rotor sprinkler that fits your irrigation needs. Rotor sprinklers also provide efficient watering with large water drops from a ½" inlet spray body.