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Sprinkler Systems

Does anyone have sprinkler systems installed in their home? What kind? Does it cover all of your lawn of part of it? Does it have a control panel that allows you to control how long, and what areas of your lawn is watered? How often do you use it? What maintenance do you have to do with your sprinkler system? I ask for selfish reasons as my new home has one installed, and I would like to get some opinions here.

Systems Sprinkler

I don't personally have a sprinkler system, as I live in an apartment. But my mom has one to water the many flowers and plants around their home (they intend to have one for the lawn in the future). My parents installed it themselves, as they built many aspects of their house on their own. However, I think the only thing to it is turning on the water. She leaves it on for half the day and then turns it off, and I know that she really likes it.

My grandma on the other hand, has a riser system on her vast lawn. They stick out of the ground and she has to plug sprinklers or hoses with sprinklers into them. It is nice because she has immediate access to water where she needs it, but the downside is that she has to drag sprinklers and hoses around the yard, as she only waters one section at a time. The other downside is that her grandchildren have been known to run over them with the riding lawn mower on occasion...

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The ones we have on our house are actually pretty neat, as they come out only when turned on, and go back into the ground when finished. This way they are out of the way when mowing. There is also a control panel for it in the garage, where you can make different selections such as how long you want it to be on, and which areas you want watered. There are 6-8 sections around the house, which can operate independently. The previous home owner was very proud of it, and took about 15 minutes to show me how it works, with a mini-demonstration. It will certainly come in handy during the summer when lawns can become brown very quickly.

Systems Sprinkler

Oh wow, that sounds really nice! I think when/if my parents get a system installed for their lawn, they will likely get the sprinklers that only come out of the ground when they are turned on, because it just makes sense! For the flower garden, it is not as big of a deal I guess. You must have a large yard if it has 6-8 sections, which makes it especially nice to have an automatic system.

Systems Sprinkler

We automatic sprinklers in our home currently. There is a control panel in the garage for timer settings etc. The only problem is, when the piping was installed there seems to be certain sections that get turned on more than once during the rotation on the timer, and I think gophers may have chewed through the PVC pipe on one section because it leaks. But even with some of these issues, I think these are great to have if you have a large yard.

Malexander, make sure you get written instructions - does the guy have a manual for the control panel?

Sprinkler Systems

Yes, in fact he does still have the manuals for the control panel. He will be leaving those with the house. Our yard is fairly large in the front and back, but mostly flat. There is one ridge where the water will collect and channel itself away from the house which is nice. The one thing that I did notice when he turned it on for us was that it drowned the sidewalk. I can see where this may be an issue if people are trying to take walks, even if we turn them on in the evenings. Plus it seems to be a waste of water. I may have to see if I can change the directions of the head to maximize efficiency.

Sprinkler Systems

Yes, that's good that you will have the actual manuals. You know, it really bothers me when I see sprinklers that flood the sidewalks and all the water goes running down the street in the gutters. Not only a waste of water, but more expense to you, and for what? It serves no purpose. That would be tops on my sprinkler-to-do list

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Farseer said:

Oooh, that would be a big problem for my parents because they live on a farm and there are gophers or voles or whatever they are called all over it seems. At least, their holes are all over, and my mom and grandma are always putting out poison. Is there anything you can do to protect your pipes? Do you just have to get stronger ones?

Malexander said:

Especially in the evenings! I can just see it. you're relaxing in your home on a warm summer evening, the windows are open and the sprinklers are on. All of a sudden, you hear a startled cry as a pedestrian unknowingly walks into your sprinkler system. However, after a few days or weeks, you notice that the walkers and joggers seem to cross in front of your house much more often...