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 […]
The Advantages of Netafim Read More »
I was struck with an overwhelming feeling of empathy for my therapist the other day while inspecting an apartment complex’s irrigation system. I thought to myself, “There are so many things wrong here, it’s going to take years to fix!” Often irrigation systems, like children, begin life full of hope, potential, fully functional! Then over
Maybe Your System Needs Years Of Therapy. Read More »
This morning I surfed the web trying to find a friction loss chart for funny pipe. You don’t see them at the back of any irrigation catalogs and rightly so. You never want to design laterals using funny pipe. It’s a swing joint, and every pro sprinkler guy has seen amateurs overuse funny pipe, add
The Maximum Capacity For Funny Pipe @ 5 f.p.s. Is… Read More »
I hear a lot of complaints about rain sensors not working. Usually the problem is easily figured out. It’s important to understand what a rain sensor actually is and isn’t. The term ‘sensor’ itself is misleading. Rain sensors do not ‘sense’ rain. Merriam Webster defines ‘sensor’ as “a device that responds to a physical stimulus
Rain Sensor Problems? Read More »
http://youtu.be/KyL-UrFKlzQ What NOT to do. This may be the most criminally ignorant of any DIY irrigation video ever produced. This dude lays out an array of garbage purchased from the big box store, and claims for around $200 you can build your own sprinkler system. Follow his advice and watch your investment turn into thousands
Possibly the worst DIY Sprinkler Video on YouTube Read More »
On Sunday, Nov. 3 I touched down in Austin and hooked up with my friends Mike and Vivian, ex-Seattleites now living in the Hyde Park neighborhood. They agreed to house me for a week out of the kindness of their hearts, or the lack of sense in their brains. Crusty had come down the dusty
Crusty Goes To Texas for the 2013 IA Show Read More »
This fall City Rain was called in to get the irrigation system together for the new Green Plate Special garden location on 25th Ave. S and S. Walker St. in the Mt. Baker neighborhood/ Rainier Valley. Ironically it’s just a few hundred feet from a McDonald’s. Green Plate Special gets middle school aged kids interested
City Rain Irrigates New Green Plate Special Garden in Mt. Baker. Read More »
Admit it, you are clueless as to how long you should water and when. There is no shame in that. Recently I sat down using some math and sprinkler guy skill and came up with a starting point. I say starting point because every landscape is different. There can be many different micro-climates in one yard!
Crusty’s Guide To Easy Programming. Read More »
There are two ways we like to set up veggie beds. Micro-spray heads, or dripline. There are advantages to both, depending on how and what you are growing. Micro-sprays cover bigger areas with smaller herbs. Dripline might be better for taller crops that would block spray patterns. Each micro-spray has a shut off valve just
Last year I was installing a new system for a client who was very observant and possessed some surprising sprinkler savvy. She noticed that I was installing Netafim dripline in a small area on the same zone as some MP Rotators. She challenged me right away, correctly noting the design flaw of mixing sprinkler types
Sometimes you just have to mix up a zone. Read More »
The reason I discourage people from doing their own sprinkler work is because I care deeply about them. Valve boxes may contain deadly snakes, spiders, and baby alligators. Valve control wires carry thousands of volts of lethal electricity that will kill you dead if you even look at them wrong. Hundreds of people lose an
Tips For The Do-It-Yourselfer: DON’T! Read More »
