“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 […]
Precipitation Rate For Dummies (Myself Included) Read More »
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,
Why Does My System Keep Coming On? Read More »
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
City Rain Helps Build “Water Drum” at NW Garden And Flower Show Read More »
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
What Are These So-Called “ET” Controllers? Read More »
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,
Who Doesn’t Love Dazzling Before And After Pictures? Read More »
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
What Every Citizen Of Earth Should Know About Gate Valves Read More »
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
Would You Mount A Thermostat For Your House In The Back Yard? Read More »
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
Let’s Get One Thing Straight About Freezing Pipes. Read More »
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
Closing Test Cocks on the Double Check. Read More »
Nick Millward is an IA Certified Irrigation Contractor and Auditor currently living in Seattle, WA. His career in irrigation began installing sprinkler systems in the Sun Valley, Idaho area after graduating high school in 1989. He moved to Boise in 1992 and worked on much bigger projects for the next seven years in the landscape
About The Crusty Sprinkler Guy Read More »
