Sprinkler System

First, a couple of notes about your irrigation system at Great Island.

• The landscaper initially set your irrigation system for a new hydro seeded lawn. When your lawn is established, you may want to change the watering program.
• Great Island has a great deal of rolling terrain. A lawn that sheds water quickly will need to be watered in several shorter cycles.
• The best time to water is early morning or late evening to reduce evaporation. As a rule of thumb, watering during periods when "dew" would be expected will minimize the growth of fungus in your lawn.
• Shaded areas will need less water than those exposed to direct sun all day.

As a result, the irrigation program for every lawn will be different. Below are some general recommendations based on the typical Great Island lawn.

WARNINIG: A leak in your irrigation system can run up hundreds of dollars worth of water usage in a very shot time and you probably won't notice it until you get your water bill. Periodically run a watering cycle of your irrigation system and observe how much water is used on the digital dial on your water meter.

Introduction

Your sprinkler system is made by Hunter Industries. Hunter's website has a number of good articles geared toward the residential home owner;

• System Components Overview
• Spring Irrigation System Start-Up Checklist
• Planning Ahead for System Winterization

Your irrigation system is divided into several zones depending on the watering needs of each part of your lawn (The system supports up to nine (9) zones). You probably have three or four zones, each consisting of four or five sprinklers (initially marked with small color coded flags.) Each property is a little different but here are some typical zones (the manual refers to them as 'stations');

Zone		Flag Color
#1	Front Foundation Plantings	White
#2	Front Lawn	Pink
#3	Left Side Lawn	Black
#4	Right Side Lawn	White
#5	Rear (Optional)	Yellow

Watering Program

Your irrigation system supports up to three watering programs (called programs A, B and C). A program is a set of 'Days to Water', 'Times to Water' and 'Amount to Water' settings.

Initial Settings

Objective: A newly seeded area must be kept moist at all times for the first two weeks after planting. Under most conditions this will require watering 2 or 3 times per day.

The irrigation system is initially programmed with only one watering program (Program A). The other two programs supported by the system are not initially set by the landscaper.

The initial watering program set by the landscaper runs every day of the week, starts at 5am and 5 pm and waters each zone sequentially for between 4 and 7 mins. Here are the initial settings for Program A set by the landscaper.

After Germination

Objective: After two weeks, a deeper, but less frequent watering is needed.

Water 3 times per week for approximately 15 minutes per area until your first mowing.

The following schedule is for relatively flat terrain. For a highly sloped area, add an evening cycle to your program and cut the run times in half.

Established Lawns

Objective: Encourage deeper root growth by watering less often, but deeply.

Once a lawn is established it will require about one inch of water per week between May and September. During the hottest weeks of summer the lawn may require 1½"-2" of water per week.

During July and August, add a second day to water.

For a highly sloped area, add an evening cycle and cut the run times in half. 

System Components

Controller

Your Hunter SRC Plus automatic irrigation system's controller is installed in your garage. This is where you control the watering program by adjusting the 'Days to Water', 'Times to Water' and 'Amount of Water' for each watering program (Programs A, B & C).

Rain Sensor

Your house DID NOT come with a rain sensor installed as part of your irrigation system. With the price you're paying for water at Great Island, installing a rain sensor will probably pay for itself in one season and conserve water to boot. You also look silly watering your lawn when it's raining.

Sprinklers

The landscaper probably didn't leave the manuals for the sprinklers that they installed in your lawn. What you need to know about your sprinklers is that they are fully adjustable. There are three types of adjustments that can be made;

1. Arc - The portion of a full circle covered by the sprinkler.
2. Radius - The distance the water is thrown by the sprinkler. 
3. Rate - The amount of water thrown by the sprinkler per minute.

If your sprinkler system is missing an area of your lawn, over or under watering an area or spraying your walk or driveway, contact the landscaper to make the adjustments (or learn to make the adjustment yourself).

Do-It-Yourself

If you want to do it yourself, what you need to know is that there are two types of Hunter sprinklers installed in you lawn;

1. Rotary Sprinklers - Model PGP with the standard (Red) nozzle for large areas. 
2. Spray Sprinklers - Model SRS with
   1. an adjustable arc nozzle (such as the 15A (Black) that has a 15' radius) for small areas or  
   2. a side strip nozzle (such as the SS with a 4' x 28' radius) for long narrow areas.

You can find sprinkler adjustment instruction on Hunter's web site.

1. Rotary Sprinkler Support Documents
2. Spray Sprinkler Support Documents

Many PGP adjustment are made using the Hunter PGP Rotary Sprinkler Adjustment Kit. Making sprinkler adjustments sometimes requires changing the sprinkler nozzle. Hunter sprinkler nozzles can be purchased at ???????.

Maintenance

Winterizing

You should winterize your sprinkler system by the end of October.

• Turn the Hunter Sprinkler Control in your garage to the "SYSTEM OFF" position.
• Turn off (clockwise) the sprinkler shut-off valves in your basement (the handle should be just about perpendicular to the pipe).
  • Go outside and open the sprinkler faucet. Let it drain for a few minutes.
  • Close the faucet.
• Have your sprinkler system "blown out"^*. This is best done by a professional (see contractors list);

* Compressed air is forced into the system to remove any water in the sprinkler system hoses, valves and sprinkler heads to prevent freeze damage.

Spring Commissioning

By early May, it's time to open your sprinkler system. This can be done by the homeowner. You'll need to open all the valves, check for electrical faults, make sure all the sprinkler heads are operating properly and make sure there are no leaks. Here's how;

• Open (counter-clock-wise) the Sprinkler shut-off valves in your basement (the handle should be in-line with the pipe).
• Open (counter-clock-wise) the Sprinkler System isolation valves on the outside of your house (the handle should be in-line with the pipe).
• Test your system;
  • Check for short circuits in the wiring by pressing all four buttons on the Hunter Sprinkler Control in your garage simultaniously, releasing them and then pressing the + button once. This will check each zone sequentially for electrical faults. If the display shows ERR, contact a professional.
  • Test each zone (station);

1. Turn the dial to MANUAL - SINGLE STATION
2. Press the NEXT button to select the zone (station)
3. Turn the dial to RUN
4. Check that all of the sprinkler heads in that zone are operating properly.
5. Repeat Steps 1 to 4 until all zones have been checked.
6. Set the dial to SYSTEM OFF untill you're ready to start watering.
7. When you run your first watering cycle, compare your water use with last year's to make sure there were no leaks in the system introduced over the winter.