On Jun 18, 3:27 pm, "john"
wrote:
I appreciate all the advice here.

Alright, adding that 20 PSI air to the tank seems to have helped alot....BUT
I still cycle about once every 80 seconds. the sprinkler I have is the
largest the store had...im not sure on the exact size but it covers the most
amount of land out of all others..and is one of those sprinklers that goes
back and forth. I was never even able to get this amount of pressure out
of my sprinkler before.. It shoots out very good now and continues like that
all the time...even when the pressure is down to 37 PSI. The sprinkler
covers about a 1/8 acre of land. pretty powerful. That is estimated of
course. Im sure if I was able to get 30 PSI into it, it would be even
better...but i'll have to buy one of those power washer things for that.
(with the powerful air compressor)

So im guessing it worked...because before when I was down to 37 PSI, the
water would barely come out of the sprinkler. So it fixed it, even though
it still short cycles...the water comes out really good now and stays like
that throughout. Im proud of this.

I guess the next question is...is it normal to cycle once every 80 seconds
when so much water is being pumped out like this? I still dont think
anybody answered what is the general normal time that a pump cycles if a
cold water faucet is on full blast ? Mine doesnt seem to go past 90
seconds.

With that low a pre-charged and such a big sprinkler I am not
surprised at the short cycle time. You do not need an expensive
compressor, a hand pump will do 40psi. There are also small 'non-
tank' compressors which is what I have. Very useful and not very
spendy. Campbell-Hausfeld Power Pal.

Pump cycle time is not a one-size fits all. It depends on:

Tank size
Pre-charge pressure
Pump output (how much water does it pump/how fast)
How much water is going through the sprinklers.

Without knowing all of those, no one can give a meaningful answer.

Someone else has asked (and I meant to) whether you have a filter in
the system. If it is after the tank it can cause the 'just dribbling
effect' and low pressure. Any whole system (filters all the water)
should be installed in the line between the pump and the pressure
tank.

Harry K