Archive for January, 2012

Posted on: January 9th, 2012 by NickMillward Posted in Featured, Top posts, Uncategorized

  What is Netafim anyway? Netafim is now a global company that pioneered drip irrigation back in the mid-1960s in Israel.  Netafim is a brand name, but we sprinkler guys use the word as a common noun, like Kleenex or Q-tip. Netafim™Techline® is  tubing made of rugged polyethylene plastic. Pressure compensating emitters are welded to the inside wall in  spacings of 6″, 12”, 18”, and 24” apart. It comes in 12mm and 17mm diameter. We use the 12mm tubing with the […]

Posted on: January 18th, 2012 by NickMillward Posted in Uncategorized

“Why should I care about what ‘precipitation rate’ is?” The short answer is so you can impress all your friends at the next fancy soiree or neighborhood block party as you rattle off the difference between fixed arc pattern sprayheads and gear-drive rotors. Precipitation rate is the amount of water put down by a sprinkler in a certain amount of time. It’s measured here in the metric system hating U.S. of A. in inches per hour (iph). The reason we care […]

Posted on: January 14th, 2012 by NickMillward Posted in Uncategorized

You programmed your controller to start watering at 5am. Let’s say you have five zones and they water ten minutes each. The cycle should be finished by 5:50, right? So why are the zones still watering at 8:30? What most likely happened is you confused program start times with zone run times. This mistake is common, and understable, because the language is counter to intuition. Don’t feel dumb, the industry is slow to correct user unfriendliness the more they advance the features. It’s too bad […]

Posted on: January 13th, 2012 by NickMillward Posted in Uncategorized

What is this crazy thing Craig is working on? This was the first prototype of a manifold of small solenoid valves that open up to drip water droplets onto different drumheads, creating A Floral Symphony. Craig volunteered to assist Heidi Skieveski  in the construction of her garden at the upcoming Northwest Flower and Garden Show. The idea was inspired by a design  by Dan Corson at Cedar River Watershed Education Center.

Posted on: January 13th, 2012 by NickMillward Posted in Uncategorized

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4fyXWcfAb8 This is the very same controller and weather station we install here at City Rain Inc. We’ve been using this product since around 2007. There were some issues with the first batch of weather monitors we installed. They worked for about 3 years and then just stopped working. Fortunately Weathermatic has made improvements and gave us replacements hassle free. What is ET? ET is short for evapotranspiration- which is a wonderful portmanteau (man I love that word!) of evaporation and transpiration. […]

Posted on: January 12th, 2012 by NickMillward Posted in Uncategorized

This is an account we’ve had for years in Broadmoor. They had an automatic sprinkler system in the  backyard, and an old manual  zone in front. The front lawn was watered by old brass heads that didn’t pop up high enough, oversprayed, and generally wasted water. I’ve met some people that are fond of these old heads. They are brass, they seem ‘vintage’, right? Well, would you want ‘vintage’ electrical wiring in your house? Installed correctly, new 4″ (for turf, taller heads for shrubs) plastic pop-up […]

Posted on: January 11th, 2012 by NickMillward Posted in Uncategorized

Any time you see a valve with a wheel type handle it’s more than likely a gate valve. It’s called that because it has a gate that raises and lowers inside, as opposed to a ball that rotates, or a stopper with a gasket. Gate valves are used as main shut-offs and for isolating sections of pipe or manifolds. The one thing every citizen of Earth should know is that gate valves need to be opened ALL THE WAY. That […]

Posted on: January 11th, 2012 by NickMillward Posted in Uncategorized

  Of course you wouldn’t.  It would be a little inconvenient to put on your robe and slippers and trot out there in the drizzle to crank up the heat a few degrees. The same  logic applies to the irrigation controller location. It should be installed where one can see zones working, or at least within the fewest amount of footsteps. It helps to have the display reach the eye level of an average adult human. The best location is […]

Posted on: January 10th, 2012 by NickMillward Posted in Uncategorized

One day I was winterizing a system in Laurelhurst. A young girl and her grandfather watched me as I was connecting my air hose to a double check. “Whatchya doin?” I love kids. They’re always with the “Whatchya doin?” followed by the never ending “Why?” “I’m going to hook up air to blow out all the water through the sprinkler heads so the pipes don’t freeze” I say. “Why?” And before I could respond, Grandpa misleads the small child with […]

Posted on: January 10th, 2012 by NickMillward Posted in Uncategorized

So you’ve turned on your sprinkler system yourself in the spring and have gotten squirted in the face by one to four full force jets. You jump up from the valve box furious at your incompetent sprinkler guy who obviously didn’t winterize correctly. Now you’re positive your backflow preventer has a freeze break. Well, let’s check the test cocks first. Take a look at this photo (click on to enlarge). The flathead screwdriver is inserted into the slot of a […]