I have a well with a pump that provides 10 gal/min. The pump provides water
to the house, and a network of drip irrigation emitters within 200' of the
house--1/4" tubing. There's a valve for drip irrigation by the pump house,
which provides water to about 8 trees. All of the lines are on timers. The
pump house has a bibb, and I put a pressure gauge on it. It mostly reads 30
but I've see it all the way to 50.

The timer for the 8 trees is never on when other plants and trees are
watered. I've noticed that the 8 tree timer comes on about the same time as
when the pressure is 30. The timer is on for 90 minutes twice a week. It
starts out very weak, but after about 30-45 minutes gets better. The
pressure moves up to about 40. 50 would be better. Is there anyway of
getting the pump up to close to 50 quickly when it is turned on? I do not
hear the pump begin when the timer starts watering. I'm not quite sure when
it finally gets on its way.

I've heard that if the demand is low on a line, then the pump can go and off
often, which puts a strain on it. Why does that happen?

It seems like there's a balance between demand and time the watering takes
place. That is you want the 8 tree line to get 50 gal out to all the trees,
then it should take 5 minutes. However, trying to calibrate all the drip
emitters seems impossible. There seems to reliable way to set them. How does
one find a happy medium?

I've been finding this drip system inadequate as the trees get larger. The
drip irrigation emitters at best spray maybe a 4" circle. This does not seem
of much use with a tree with a larger root system. Is there an alternative
set of timers and emitters that would make more sense, that is, get larger
coverage when spraying? Maybe something that's used in orchards. These are
not orchard trees. Maples, oaks, evergreens.


--
W. eWatson

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: www.speckledwithstars.net/

W. eWatson wrote:
I have a well with a pump that provides 10 gal/min. The pump provides
water to the house, and a network of drip irrigation emitters within
200' of the house--1/4" tubing. There's a valve for drip irrigation by
the pump house, which provides water to about 8 trees. All of the lines
are on timers. The pump house has a bibb, and I put a pressure gauge on
it. It mostly reads 30 but I've see it all the way to 50.


Don't you have a pressure tank on the well? There should be a pressure
gauge there. If so you can probably set a higher pressure at the tank
and see if it makes any difference.

"W. eWatson" wrote in message
...
I have a well with a pump that provides 10 gal/min. The pump provides water
to the house, and a network of drip irrigation emitters within 200' of the
house--1/4" tubing. There's a valve for drip irrigation by the pump house,
which provides water to about 8 trees. All of the lines are on timers. The
pump house has a bibb, and I put a pressure gauge on it. It mostly reads 30
but I've see it all the way to 50.

The timer for the 8 trees is never on when other plants and trees are
watered. I've noticed that the 8 tree timer comes on about the same time
as when the pressure is 30. The timer is on for 90 minutes twice a week.
It starts out very weak, but after about 30-45 minutes gets better. The
pressure moves up to about 40. 50 would be better. Is there anyway of
getting the pump up to close to 50 quickly when it is turned on? I do not
hear the pump begin when the timer starts watering. I'm not quite sure
when it finally gets on its way.

I've heard that if the demand is low on a line, then the pump can go and
off often, which puts a strain on it. Why does that happen?

It seems like there's a balance between demand and time the watering takes
place. That is you want the 8 tree line to get 50 gal out to all the
trees, then it should take 5 minutes. However, trying to calibrate all the
drip emitters seems impossible. There seems to reliable way to set them.
How does one find a happy medium?

I've been finding this drip system inadequate as the trees get larger. The
drip irrigation emitters at best spray maybe a 4" circle. This does not
seem of much use with a tree with a larger root system. Is there an
alternative set of timers and emitters that would make more sense, that
is, get larger coverage when spraying? Maybe something that's used in
orchards. These are not orchard trees. Maples, oaks, evergreens.


--
W. eWatson

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: www.speckledwithstars.net/

It sounds like you need to adjust the pressure differential on the well pump
pressure switch. Here is an article describing this on your garden variety
system: http://www.inspect-ny.com/water/WaterPumpAdjust.htm

W. eWatson wrote:
I have a well with a pump that provides 10 gal/min. The pump provides
water to the house, and a network of drip irrigation emitters within
200' of the house--1/4" tubing. There's a valve for drip irrigation by
the pump house, which provides water to about 8 trees. All of the lines
are on timers. The pump house has a bibb, and I put a pressure gauge on
it. It mostly reads 30 but I've see it all the way to 50.

The timer for the 8 trees is never on when other plants and trees are
watered. I've noticed that the 8 tree timer comes on about the same time
as when the pressure is 30. The timer is on for 90 minutes twice a week.
It starts out very weak, but after about 30-45 minutes gets better. The
pressure moves up to about 40. 50 would be better. Is there anyway of
getting the pump up to close to 50 quickly when it is turned on? I do
not hear the pump begin when the timer starts watering. I'm not quite
sure when it finally gets on its way.

I've heard that if the demand is low on a line, then the pump can go and
off often, which puts a strain on it. Why does that happen?

It seems like there's a balance between demand and time the watering
takes place. That is you want the 8 tree line to get 50 gal out to all
the trees, then it should take 5 minutes. However, trying to calibrate
all the drip emitters seems impossible. There seems to reliable way to
set them. How does one find a happy medium?

I've been finding this drip system inadequate as the trees get larger.
The drip irrigation emitters at best spray maybe a 4" circle. This does
not seem of much use with a tree with a larger root system. Is there an
alternative set of timers and emitters that would make more sense, that
is, get larger coverage when spraying? Maybe something that's used in
orchards. These are not orchard trees. Maples, oaks, evergreens.




An irrigation system can easily overwhelm a well.
You need to plan your irrigation system carefully. Add up the GPM rating
of each head. If it is too much for the well and/or pump then you would
need to divide the system up into more zones.

Most wells have a cut-in cut-off pressure switch. My well pump is set to
come on at 30 PSI and shut off at 50 PSI. Most well systems also have a
bladder tank which helps keep the water pressure up when water is being
used but the pump is not on yet. The bladder tanks need to be properly
charged with air in order to work properly. You need to check that once
or twice a year.

Your running PSI will be somewhere between the pressure switch settings
but will depend on the rate of flow (demand) and the size (HP) of the
pump motor. I doubt you will get 50 more like 35. There should be one
or more PSI gauges already installed near the pump or tank.

You could get better results by getting a larger well pump and/or adding
a large storage tank and pressure pump.

Note: Saying a well pump can pump 10GPM is not the same as saying a
well system can continuously deliver 10GPM. My well pump (1.5HP) can
pump 10GPM no problem for about 5 min., then it runs dry.

Kevin

Chris wrote:
W. eWatson wrote:
I have a well with a pump that provides 10 gal/min. The pump provides
water to the house, and a network of drip irrigation emitters within
200' of the house--1/4" tubing. There's a valve for drip irrigation by
the pump house, which provides water to about 8 trees. All of the
lines are on timers. The pump house has a bibb, and I put a pressure
gauge on it. It mostly reads 30 but I've see it all the way to 50.


Don't you have a pressure tank on the well? There should be a pressure
gauge there. If so you can probably set a higher pressure at the tank
and see if it makes any difference.
I examined the tank but didn't find a regulator. I'll call the people who
installed it years ago, and ask.

--
W. eWatson

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: www.speckledwithstars.net/

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: www.speckledwithstars.net/

It sounds like you need to adjust the pressure differential on the well pump
pressure switch. Here is an article describing this on your garden variety
system: http://www.inspect-ny.com/water/WaterPumpAdjust.htm


Ah, so that's it. My wife, who is surprisingly knowledgeable about the
installation, said we were told by the installers not to mess with that box.
I'll call them and find out the story tomorrow.

--
W. eWatson

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: www.speckledwithstars.net/

....
I've been finding this drip system inadequate as the trees get larger.
The drip irrigation emitters at best spray maybe a 4" circle. This
does not seem of much use with a tree with a larger root system. Is
there an alternative set of timers and emitters that would make more
sense, that is, get larger coverage when spraying? Maybe something
that's used in orchards. These are not orchard trees. Maples, oaks,
evergreens.




An irrigation system can easily overwhelm a well.
You need to plan your irrigation system carefully. Add up the GPM rating
of each head. If it is too much for the well and/or pump then you would
need to divide the system up into more zones.
I've been down that road in the past, but the possibility of clogging
emitters messes up calculations, if not just the need to get water out
reliably.

Most wells have a cut-in cut-off pressure switch. My well pump is set to
come on at 30 PSI and shut off at 50 PSI. Most well systems also have a
bladder tank which helps keep the water pressure up when water is being
used but the pump is not on yet. The bladder tanks need to be properly
charged with air in order to work properly. You need to check that once
or twice a year.
I'll check into it tomorrow with the people who installed the pump.

Your running PSI will be somewhere between the pressure switch settings
but will depend on the rate of flow (demand) and the size (HP) of the
pump motor. I doubt you will get 50 more like 35. There should be one
or more PSI gauges already installed near the pump or tank.

You could get better results by getting a larger well pump and/or adding
a large storage tank and pressure pump.

Note: Saying a well pump can pump 10GPM is not the same as saying a well
system can continuously deliver 10GPM. My well pump (1.5HP) can pump
10GPM no problem for about 5 min., then it runs dry.
I believe it.

I'm quite sure we are asking too much from our system. It was originally
designed for house and lawn usage. We certainly didn't account for a need
for trees to block views from light and other sources. That plus my
burgeoning interest in trees, which has finally been reigned in. However, I
think the problem is solvable, but not with the garden variety or
drip-irrigation we have.

I think I need to find out how people with orchards do it. It may take more
timers/stations than we have and probably larger tubes to delivery the
water, something like watering directly with the 5/8" (1/2"?) tubes that
delivery the water to the trees now.

On a positive note, many of the trees are deodora, which really do not
require water during the summer in our climate (Mediterranean). I'm
experimenting carefully with that idea--cutting down on their watering. It
certainly proved true on one line last year when it broke and went
unnoticed. Every tree but the one deodora there wilted badly. Fortunately,
the break was discovered and all trees rescued.


Kevin




--
W. eWatson

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: www.speckledwithstars.net/

W. eWatson wrote:
Chris wrote:
W. eWatson wrote:
I have a well with a pump that provides 10 gal/min. The pump provides
water to the house, and a network of drip irrigation emitters within
200' of the house--1/4" tubing. There's a valve for drip irrigation
by the pump house, which provides water to about 8 trees. All of the
lines are on timers. The pump house has a bibb, and I put a pressure
gauge on it. It mostly reads 30 but I've see it all the way to 50.


Don't you have a pressure tank on the well? There should be a
pressure gauge there. If so you can probably set a higher pressure at
the tank and see if it makes any difference.
I examined the tank but didn't find a regulator. I'll call the people
who installed it years ago, and ask.

On the tank you should see only a bladder valve. The pressure is set at
the pump.