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Step #1
Measure Your Water Pressure
City Slicker Method

If your water comes to you from a water company, you're on the right page. If not, click here to go to the previous page for links to information for other types of water supplies such as pump systems, wells, and gravity flow systems.

If you have a printer, there is a Design Data Form that will make things easier for you. Click here to open a new window with the form. If you would prefer a pdf version of the form click here.

The path ahead viewed dimly through the fog???
What we're about to embark on here is known as "doing it the right way". We are going to start by figuring out here in step #1 what the maximum water supply would be if you had perfect conditions, such as a very short pipe from the water meter to your house, lots of water pressure, a small yard, a happy family, a low interest rate mortgage, and good neighbors! Then we are going to modify that number later in step #3 of the tutorial to reflect your actual conditions (long pipe, lousy water pressure, bad neighbors, whatever.) The end result is that we will determine what the exact, optimum water supply is for designing your sprinkler system. What that means for you is that your sprinkler system will use less water, last longer, and there won't be dry spots! Now it's going to be a little more work than "guesstimating" would be, but it will be worth it. Don't get discouraged, be patient, and it will all come together. The worst thing you could do right now is to try deciding what sprinkler you want to use. That would be "putting the cart before the horse". Trust me, I know what I'm doing. Now let's get on with it...

A. Find your water supply pipe.

Hopefully you already know where the water service pipe comes onto your property, or at least where it enters your house. In milder climate areas there is typically a shut-off valve and or a water meter at the location where the pipe enters the property. From there the pipe generally goes to the house, then surfaces above ground where a house shut-off valve is located, then the pipe turns and runs into the side of the house. Often this location where the pipe enters the house is where the tap for the irrigation system will be made.

Note the "W" etched in the curb in front of the concrete water meter box.

This is a typical mild-climate water supply line where it enters the house.
This one has a pressure regulator (the gizmo with the white adjustment knob on top)
to reduce the water pressure. A ball valve (with a blue handle) is on the incoming
water supply pipe. The pipe going into the wall is the house supply. The pipe exiting
the photo lower left goes to the lawn sprinklers.

In colder climates the water line often enters directly into the basement or crawl space under the house from underground. The shut-off valve, and possibly a water meter, are located in the basement or crawl space to help protect them from freezing.

Typical water supply line in a cold-winter climate. In the picture above,
water enters through floor, goes up into a ball valve (yellow handle), then a pressure
regulator, then a remote-reading water meter. You would tap in for the sprinklers after
the water meter. The mainline supply size would be measured on the copper pipe
coming out of the floor. The water pressure in this case could be measured at
any water faucet after the regulator (probably any faucet in the whole house
would work). Photo credit: Ed Pletsch.

What type of pipe is it?

See the Types of Pipe FAQ for descriptions, characteristics, recommendations, and how to identify the various types of pipe found in irrigation systems.

Steel Pipe. Steel pipe comes in two types, black steel (used mostly for gas lines) and galvanized steel (galv. steel) which is used for water pipes. Galvanized steel pipe will be a silver gray color, and a magnet will stick to it. It will have threaded joints. Steel pipe is made in conformance with IPS (iron pipe size) standards.

Brass Pipe. Brass pipe is sometimes used for homes. Like copper it can take on a greenish tint with age. A magnet will not stick to it. It will have threaded joints. Brass pipe is made in made in conformance with IPS (iron pipe size) standards.

PVC Pipe. PVC plastic pipe is almost always white or gray, and is more rigid than the other commonly used types of plastic pipe. Standard PVC pipe is made in conformance with IPS (iron pipe size) standards. It should have the letters "PVC" printed on the pipe. PVC is fairly rigid, and it is not easily scratched with your fingernail. PVC tends to be more commonly used in mild climate areas. Another type of PVC called CPVC is sometimes used inside homes and often is found in older mobile homes. It is similar to regular PVC, but will be labeled "CPVC". Most often it is a yellowish, gold, or tan color. CPVC in homes is usually made to copper tube sizes (look for "SDR-11" printed on the pipe), but is also sometimes iron pipe size (labeled IPS).

Copper Tube. Copper tube is very common in homes. It takes on a dirty green color as it ages. A magnet will not stick to it. Most joints will be soldered, look for silver color solder at the joints to identify it. Copper tube has a different diameter than iron pipes, and is made in sizes known as CTS (copper tube size).

PEX and PE Tube. Both are both polyethylene (poly) products. Both tend to be used in areas with severe winters and/or rocky soil. There is a lot of confusion over these two poly-based products. Be careful, both are sometimes called "poly", especially by the sales people in the big home improvement stores. True PEX is a stronger form of cross-linked polyethylene that has become popular with plumbers in recent years. Both PEX and PE are flexible, and both have a glossy appearance and slick surface. So how do you tell which one you have? Older PE is almost always black, and in most cases PEX is not black. PE is almost never used inside a house if the house was built to code. The surest thing to look for are the letters "PEX" printed on the tubing. Making things even worse, white PEX looks a lot like PVC, especially if it is old or dirty! PEX is easily scratched with a fingernail, PVC scratches, but not easily. PEX was not invented until the '70s, and it is seldom found in homes built before 1975. (It wasn't officially sold in the USA until 1985. Of course, if your house has been remodeled, you could still have it in a older house.) PEX is almost always made to conform with CTS sizes. The heavy duty PE tube used for plumbing is most often made to a uniform size standard (labeled "SDR-7"), but many different PE products used for irrigation do not conform with this size standard. Be careful when working with PE tube, if possible take a sample with you when you go shopping for parts so you can test fit them at the store.

Warning: PEX pipe has a very thick wall, thus it has a smaller inside area for the water to flow through. This means it has much higher pressure losses when the water passes through it. For this reason you need to be careful when replacing a copper or PE tube with a PEX tube. Often when replacing a copper or PE tube with a PEX tube it is necessary to use PEX that is one size larger than the tube it is replacing. So if you are replacing a 3/4" copper tube with PEX, you should consider using 1" size PEX tube for the replacement. Otherwise you may notice a drop in water pressure after the replacement is made.

One good hint to the type of pipe is the way the pipes are connected to each other. PEX and PE are never glued at the joints. Sometimes PEX & PE are heat welded together, but most of the time they are connected together with fittings using clamps or compression-nuts that hold the tube onto the fitting. ("Fittings" is the term we use for the various connectors that are used to join two or more pipes together.) If the pipe has glued joints it is PVC or ABS. (ABS plastic is only used for sewer and drainage pipes.) Another hint is that poly pipe tends to be used in colder climates, and PVC tends to be used in warmer climates. If you have to regularly shovel snow from the driveway, chances are the pipe is PE or PEX. Copper pipe is often soldered to the fittings. Look for the silver color solder at joints. Steel and brass pipe have threaded connections, a few threads almost always are visible at the joints. Confused yet? Your best bet is to find lettering on the pipe that says what type it is.

B. Find your Water Meter:

Now we need to know if you have a water meter. Most, but not all, water companies use a water meter to measure the amount of water you use. If you don't have a meter, there will almost always be a shut-off valve at the point your water line connects to the water company pipes. Often the valves are buried several feet down, and a sleeve comes up to the surface with a small lid over it. The water company uses a special toolthat can reach down and open or close the valve. Often grass has completely grown over the lid and you can't find it. Try probing the ground with a pitchfork, metal rake, or screwdriver to find the hard cover of the box.

The water meters are normally installed in an underground box as close as possible to the property line. This is usually at the street or alley. Most of the time the box will have "water meter" or the water company name stamped on the lid. In areas with severely cold winters the water meter is often installed in the house basement or a utility room of the house. If you still can't find it, call your water company and request their assistance.

Try to find a size stamped on the meter. If you can't find a size, ask your water company or just assume the meter is the next size SMALLER than the pipe running to the house. It is common for the meter to be one size smaller than the pipe. Standard water meter sizes are: 5/8", 3/4", 1", 1 1/2".

Spiders and snakes: If the meter is in a box, watch out for spiders and ants in the meter box! Most of the "pro" irrigation repair guys I know carry a can of spider spray with them! Sometimes we find snakes, rats, gophers, and other beasties in the boxes too! What a thrill!

Enter the meter size on your Design Data Form.

C. Measure Your Water Pressure

Water pressure is the energy that powers your sprinkler system, so it is very important. If you work with it, it will make your sprinklers do the "rain dance". If you ignore it, it can bite you hard in the wallet! For this tutorial I use the pressure units "PSI" which means "pounds per square inch". When pros talk about pressure readings we almost never say the words "pounds per square inch", we just say the letter names "P, S, I". Outside of the United States pressure is most often measured in "bars".

First off, grab the phone and call up your water supplier. Ask them for the "static water pressure" for your neighborhood. Don't be shy, people call them all the time to ask! They may give you a pressure range, like 40-60 PSI. If so, write down the LOW number of this range. You can also measure your own water pressure using a pressure gauge that attaches to a hose bib on your house (purchase a 0-120 PSI gauge with a hose adapter at a plumbing or irrigation supply store).

Pressure regulators (also called pressure reducing valves)

If the water company tells you your neighborhood pressure is over 65 PSI, you probably have a pressure regulator installed someplace on the water supply line to the house. The pressure regulator reduces the water pressure in your house, so that it doesn't damage your plumbing fixtures. Look around and see if you can find it (see the pressure regulators in the pictures above). The regulator may be installed near the water meter or at the point where the water supply pipe enters the house. This is important, because if you have a regulator and you tap into the water supply for your sprinklers after the regulator, the pressure will be a lot lower. In this case you must use a gauge to test the water pressure yourself. When in doubt, test the water pressure with a gauge.

At this point you should make at least a preliminary decision as to where you want to tap into the house water supply pipe for the irrigation system water. Typically, the closer you can tap to the point the water enters your property, the better. Of course, you must tap into the pipe after the water meter. In areas where it gets very cold some people like to tap into a pipe in the basement or someplace else inside a heated building. That way they don't have to worry about the shut-off valve for the irrigation freezing. (Be sure to install a drain valve after the shut-off valve to drain the water out of the irrigation pipe during freezing weather!) If you have a pressure regulator, consider if it would be better to tap before or after it. If the static pressure is more than 70 PSI I strongly suggest you tap the water supply after the regulator. Pressures over 70 PSI can damage some irrigation equipment commonly used in residential settings. If the pressure is over 70 PSI and you do not have a pressure regulator, I suggest you install one, make sure it is a good quality brass-body pressure regulator.

For a pressure regulator to work accurately the pressure setting on it must be at least 15 PSI lower than the inlet pressure. So if your static pressure is 70 PSI, the highest pressure you should set on the pressure regulator would be 55 PSI. 55 PSI is a good pressure for both the needs of a house and a sprinkler system.

Using a hose bib that comes out of the side of a house for a water supply source for your sprinkler system is not a good idea. There are often unknown restrictions in the house piping that cause the water supply from these hose bibs to be severely limited. The water running through the house pipes can also be very noisy at night and disturbs some people's sleep. Do this only as a last resort, when there is no other reasonable way to get water for your sprinkler system.

How to Measure the Water Pressure with a Gauge

Important: If you want to test the pressure yourself, everything that uses water in your home: faucets, ice makers, etc., MUST be turned off when you take the measurement (that's why its called "static" water pressure, the water isn't moving.) Everything! This is critical or you will get a false low reading! You can test the pressure at any faucet that is at about the same height as the proposed irrigation tap. If all the water is turned off, the pressure will be exactly the same regardless of where you test it. (Try it and see!) the best place to test the pressure is a hose bib.

To test the water pressure using a gauge, attach the gauge to a water outlet, like a hose bib or washing machine connection. The place where you attach the gauge can be anywhere in the house, as long as it is about the same height (elevation) as the place where you will tap in the sprinlkeer system supply. Ie; don't check it on the 3rd floor if you plan to attach the sprinklers at the first floor! (It is one of those weird, hard to understand hydraulic laws that as long as the water is not flowing the pressure is the same at any point on a pipe that has the same elevation above sea level.) Double check that all the water so water is turned off and not flowing in the house pipes. Then turn on the valve the gauge is connected to and allow the water to enter the gauge. Read the pressure on the gauge. That's all there is to it, it's very easy to do! Turn off the water and disconnect the gauge, you're done!

The static water pressure that you were given (or you measured with a gauge) is your Design Pressure. Write down the "Design Pressure" on your Design Data Form!

D. Measure the Maximum Available Flow (GPM)

Flow is the traveling companion of water pressure. Pressure is the "energy" that moves the water throughthe pipes. Flow is the measure of how much water is moved in a given amount of time. Flow is measured in this tutorial using Gallons per Minute (GPM). Other common units used to measure flow include cubic feet per second (commonly used to measure river flows here in the USA), liters per minute, cubic meters per hour, and many others. Now that you know your Design Pressure you need to determine how much water you can use at a time, or your available flow.

Measure Your Supply Pipe Size

You need to find the water supply pipe and measure it's size. Grab a piece of string about 6"(152mm) long, then find the location where your water supply pipe enters the house. Strip away any insulation, so you can get at the pipe and wrap the string around it. Measure how many inches of string it takes to go around the pipe once.

The string length is the circumference of the pipe (yikes, bad memories of high school geometry!). Using the circumference we can calculate the diameter of the pipe, which allows us to look up the pipe size, from which we can calculate the flow of water using the formula... zzzzzzzzzz..... Let's forget all those calculations! Based on the string length use the table below to find your pipe size.

For Copper Pipe & PEX Tube
2.75" (70mm) = 3/4" pipe
3.53" (90mm) = 1" pipe
4.32" (110mm) = 1¼" pipe
5.10" (130mm) = 1½" pipe

For Steel, Brass or PVC Plastic Pipe
3.25" (83mm) = 3/4" pipe
4.00"(102mm) = 1" pipe
5.00"(127mm) = 1¼" pipe
6.00"(152mm) = 1½" pipe

For most PE Tube
2.96-3.33" (75-85mm) = 3/4" pipe
3.74-4.24" (95-108mm) = 1" pipe
4.90-5.57" (124-141mm) = 1¼" pipe
5.70-6.28" (145-160mm) = 1½" pipe

Your string length will vary a little, depending on such unavoidable variables as string stretch, dirt on pipe, manufacturing tolerance, what kind of mood you're in, etc.

Enter the supply pipe size on your Design Data Form! Also make a note of the type-- copper, brass, steel, PVC, PEX, or PE.

Find Your Maximum Available GPM:

Your maximum available GPM is the maximum flow of water you have available for your sprinkler system. Actually, it would be more accurate to call this the Maximum Safe GPM. In most cases it is possible to push a higher flow (GPM) through the pipe. However, at high flows the water actually damages the inside of the pipe.

Use the smallest pipe to determine the Maximum Available Flow. Often the water supply coming into your property will not be a single type and size of pipe. You may have a plastic pipe running underground from the water company to your house. When the pipe enters the house it might switch from plastic to copper pipe, or possibly it might be galvanized steel. Then as the water supply pipe runs through the house it likely branches off in several directions with the pipe becoming smaller and smaller in size as it goes. When determining your Maximum Available GPM you will need to check the Maximum Available Flow for each of the types of pipe that the water will pass through, then use the lowest value as the Maximum Available GPM for your sprinkler design. You only need to be concerned about the pipes the water will pass through before it reaches the point where you are going to tap into it for the irrigation system.

There is an exception to the statement above. Often a short section of a smaller pipe size will be present on the water supply for one reason or another. Maybe the plumber didn't want to drill a larger hole in the wall for the pipe. As long as this smaller pipe section is less than 5 feet long, you can ignore it and use the larger pipe size to determine maximum flow. The higher flow will be able to squeeze through the smaller pipe. The smaller pipe may wear out faster over time, but typically these short pipes are in places where they are easy to replace. Plus, the smaller pipe is often brass or steel, which has a higher resistance to wear than copper or plastic. You have to make a judgement call on this. In most cases I choose to ignore the small section of pipe.

Small Valves. It is not uncommon to find that a shut-off valve installed on the water supply pipe is a smaller size than the pipe. Don't worry about it. It will not impact the available flow and valves are constructed to handle higher flows than the pipe.

Example 1: You find the water supply pipe entering the house, examine and measure it, and find that it is 1" copper pipe. But you're an ambitious type, so you also have done some digging around in the yard and discovered that the pipe going to the house through the yard is 1 1/4" PE plastic. It just changes to copper about 6 feet away from the house (this is actually a fairly common situation.) After the copper pipe enters the house it quickly branches off in multiple directions and becomes smaller, but this doesn't matter to you, because you have already decided that you are going to tap your irrigation system into the 1" copper pipe right where it enters the house. So the irrigation water will not pass through any of those smaller pipes inside the house and you can ignore them.

Looking at the table you find that 1 1/4" PE gives a flow of 23 GPM. But looking at 1" copper pipe in the table shows a flow of only 18 GPM. Since the copper pipe is over 5 feet long you can't just ignore it. This means you must use the lower 18 GPM value. But wait a minute! What if instead of tapping into the copper pipe, you decide to tap into the PE pipe out in the yard before it switches to copper? Now you can use the higher 23 GPM value because the water will no longer go through the 1" copper pipe!

Example 2: You found you have a 3/4" copper pipe that comes into the basement but you have no idea where or what type of pipe is used in the yard. It's 0 degrees outside, and you couldn't get a shovel into the frozen ground even if you wanted to, which you don't! In this case it's reasonably safe to assume the pipe in the yard is 3/4" copper also. So you would use 11 GPM from the table.

Example 3: You have no idea where the water pipe enters the house, you have no idea where it is in the yard, and you have no desire to try to find out. In this case you must face reality, it's time to hire a sprinkler contractor!

• CTS = Copper tubing size.
• Caution: The values in the table above are the maximum safe flows for the given size and type of pipe.
• These values are NOT the amount of flow you actually will use for your sprinkler system! Step #2 will show you how to modify these values to reflect your actual flow.
• Velocities (ft/sec) are shown for reference only.

Flow Test

A flow test is optional, but suggested if you are not positive about the size or type of water supply pipe. The flow test should be run at a faucet as close as possible to the point you will tap into the water pipe for your irrigation system.

Get a 5-gallon bucket. Old paint buckets work great. Since most 5-gallon buckets actually hold more than 5 gallons of water, you will need to calibrate the bucket as follows: Find an accurate measuring container, and measure out 5 gallons of water into your bucket. Then mark the water level on the side of the bucket with a marking pen so you can easily see it.  The test is simple. Put the bucket under your water outlet pipe and time how long it takes to fill the bucket to 5 gallons.  The formula for calculating the flow in GPM is: 300 divided by the seconds it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket = GPM.

If the result of the bucket test is lower than the Maximum Available GPM from the table above, something is restricting the flow. It may be the faucet you are using for the test, or there may be a restriction someplace in the house water supply pipe. You can try to find the restriction and get rid of it, or you can simply use the lower flow test GPM for your Initial Design Flow below.

If the result of the bucket test is higher than the Maximum Available GPM you determined in the table above, use the lower value from the table. The Maximum Available GPM Table gives you the maximum SAFE flow. The bucket test is only used to determine if there is an unseen restriction in the water supply pipe that reduces the flow below the level given in the table. Yes, many sprinkler tutorials and sprinkler salespersons may tell you a bucket test should be used for the design flow, they are wrong! In most cases a bucket test like this one gives you an unsafe flow. See the answers to common questions at the bottom of this page for details on why this happens.

Enter your Maximum Available GPM on your Design Data Form.

E. Initial Design Flow

Your Design Flow is the maximum amount of water you will design your sprinkler system to use. For now, use the same number as the Maximum Available GPM, or use the actual Flow Test GPM, whichever is lower.

You will probably need to reduce your Design Flow later, so additional lines are provided for Adjusted Design Flows on the Design Data Form. The initial flows here are very optimistic, 20 to 30% too high for most situations. You will make the adjustment, if needed, later in step #2. Don't worry about it now. This is just an advanced warning so you won't be surprised when you need to change the flow later.

Enter your Design Flow on your Design Data Form. Use a pencil so you can change it later!!!!

F. Do you have enough water available?

You are going to need about 20 GPM of water to irrigate 1 acre of grass with sprinklers. One acre is equal to 43,560 square feet (or 4047 square meters). So if you have a 2 acre grass yard you will need to have 40 GPM of water available in order to water it. If you have shrubs, they typically only use 1/2 as much water as grass, so 20 GPM would water 2 acres of shrubs.

There are only so many hours in the day to water. The amount of water needed varies with the climate, these values are typical for hot summer areas where most sprinkler systems are installed (daily high temperatures over 90 degrees F., 32 degrees C.) These values assume you would be willing to water as many as 10 hours per day. If you are willing to water more hours per day you can increase the area irrigated by a similar percentage.

If you don't have enough water I can suggest a few ideas for you to look into.

1. You can consider pushing the limits and using a higher Minimum available GPM than I recommend in the table above. If want to try using a higher flow than recommended above, then go to http://irrigationtutorials.com/faq/increase-irrigation-gpm.htm for full instructions on how to proceed.
2. Another option is to use drip irrigation for shrub areas. With drip irrigation you only water the area the plant foliage actually covers. Therefore, if the plants only cover half the actual ground area, you only need half the water.
3. Consider reducing the amount of lawn and replacing it with shrubs. Shrubs use about half the amount of water as lawn.
4. Another option for getting a higher flow is to install a larger water supply pipe. A description of how to do that is at the bottom of this page.

If you're happy with your Maximum Available GPM value, you can skip down to the end of this page.

Answers to common questions:

Why is the flow you measured with a bucket often too high? The GPM rates in the Maximum Available GPM Table above are based on a SAFE water velocity. When you do the bucket test, there are few restrictions on the flow, so the water velocity may easily exceed that safe limit. If you design your sprinkler system to exceed these flows some really bad things can happen. The first of these is called "water hammer". Water hammer is a pressure surge which declares its presence by destroying the weakest point in your plumbing. The weakest point is usually that little water tube that runs between the shut off valve and the toilet in your bathroom, or possibly the ones that go to the sink faucets. The result is a flooded house, and that's something you don't need. Water hammer is exponentially related to water pressure. The higher the water pressure, the greater the water hammer danger. If your water pressure is over 80 PSI, I suggest that you reduce your maximum flow found in the table above by 20% and read carefully the High Pressure Alert below! The other bad thing that happens at high flows is called "scrubbing". Scrubbing is what happens when the high water velocity actually scrubs molecules loose from the inside of the pipe. Eventually it wears away enough that the pipe develops a leak. The higher the velocity, the more scrubbing you get. A little scrubbing may take 20-30 years to create a leak. But with a higher velocity the problem becomes much worse. I have seen 7 year old homes need a total replacement of all the copper pipes due to scrubbing damage. This is extremely expensive to repair! In my 30-year-old neighborhood, most of the homes have now had to replace the water supply pipes to the house due to scrubbing damage caused by sprinkler systems installed back in the bad old days before any of us realized the dangers of high flows. There are still a lot of old tutorials and literature being published that were written before the dangers of high flows were discovered, so be careful when comparing advice on this topic. A lot of industry professionals still haven't gotten the word on this either!

But, but, but... you didn't hear any water hammer when you did the bucket test, and nothing broke, so what's the deal? After all, that higher flow could save some serious money on sprinkler parts! The deal is that you are only human. You can't close the valve fast enough by hand to create water hammer, but don't worry, an automatic sprinkler valve can! It can snap that valve closed almost instantly. The higher the water pressure, the faster the valve closes. When that valve snaps closed, it sends a shock wave through the pipe (water hammer). It may take weeks or even years for it to wear down the weak point in your plumbing and break. But it will! Then the cost savings on sprinkler parts will seem trivial. Do it right the first time! Water hammer and scrubbing are insidious and relentless. They just keep working away, little by little, day after day. Clunk, clunk, clunk, chew, chew... until the day you come home to a flooded house.

Clunk, clunk, clunk? Pipe noise!!! I hear those loud noises every time the washing machine or dishwasher runs! Is that water hammer???
You bet it is, and you better do something about it! First if the water pressure in your house is over 65 PSI install a pressure regulator to lower the pressure. If that doesn't get rid of it, go down to your local hardware store and buy a water hammer arrestor. You can get one that screws onto the washing machine or dishwasher fill pipe. They cost about $10-15 and they work pretty well for water hammer caused by appliances. They don't work nearly as well for water hammer caused by sprinkler systems. This is because many sprinkler systems exceed the maximum water velocities by so much that the arrestor is over-whelmed by it. I've written a whole tutorial on this topic: Water Hammer and Air in Pipes.

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