Sprinkler system

[wkearney99]

Right, so there's bundles possible.  Basically this kind of stuff?
 
http://www.homedepot.com/b/Electrical-Wire/Sprinkler-Wire/N-5yc1vZbm7vZ1z0u9ri
 
The question then becomes what to run, in what quantity of conductors, to where?  
 
I have an on-wall location outside that's served already by 110vac and a CAT5E leading back to the electrical closet for networking.  I'd presumably be running multi-conductor sprinkler wire to an in-ground box for the main manifold, distributing water from the house supply.  I already have a line from an agricultural-use sub-meter.   Likewise I've got an in-ground box for that: http://amzn.to/2e8aVFc
 
I'm figuring at some points around the property it'd be useful to have a box like that or smaller to house valves for finer control.  As opposed to a lot of pipes running from only a central manifold.  I'm guessing most of what they have planned for now is central, but if I'm going to have the ground open I'd like to plan ahead.  Thus running some extra wire now will save me the hassle later.

 

[TurboSam]

Bill, unless you absolutely, positively, and with great certainty know you won't be expanding your system, I'd run 18/10 at least to the main manifold box and, more likely, to any in-ground box.
 
I'm not sure what you mean by "finer control."  But if you mean a zone valve that branches into sub-zones, you are going to need power to the subzones, presumably from the main manifold box.  Depending on number of total zones and subzones, you may need more than one 18/10--suggesting conduit to the main manifold may be useful.
 
I ran 18/5 for a four zone system, and then we (she) decided we needed 2 more zones in a new area.  i toyed with running 18/7 and then common sense prevailed, and I ran 18/10--just in case.  Royal PIA to re-wire.
 
I used the stuff you linked to in your post and it worked fine.  

 

[wkearney99]

By finer control I mean the potential for putting additional valves at certain points to allow redirecting flow for better or staggered coverage.  As in, what was being fed by a direct run from the manifold now needs to feed another area, independently.  Realizing, of course, that this would necessitate TWO new valves at that point, and a removal/disabling of the existing one back at the manifold.  Thus a splitting out would require control wires for both sets of valves.  I can handle all the valve and plumbing changes, but I don't want to have to dig again.
 
I'm assuming I won't exceed 16 zones total and would run wire from the control box to the main in-ground box to handle that.  The question then becomes how many conductors to run from there out to locations that "might" benefit from changes later.  
 
With the old house we had a 1" line from the street and not enough water pressure to handle running too many things at once.  Which was fine, I just staggered the watering.  The new house has a 1.5" line, along with an agricultural submeter branching a 1" line off it.  So we should have enough volume and pressure to allow for more simultaneous watering, not that I'd 'need' to do it that way.  But at least that previous work-around won't be as necessary.  
 
That and I had great success fine tuning a lot of drip irrigation heads (spray, mist, drip, etc) being fed by 1/4" hose tapped off 3/4" black poly (not really buried, just under the mulch).  It'd be the addition of this kind of fine tuning I'd likely entertain additional valves.  
 
Once I had things tuned the plants really looked a lot better.  Trouble is seasons change as do rain amounts.  Which wasn't too big of a problem but it'd have been nice to have a bit of automating available to fine tune the watering based on conditions and actual plant needs.  Still, drips at the plants made a huge improvement.  They did present a bit of a winterizing challenge, but the various valves are pretty cheap so it wasn't too painful to just replace the ones that got cracked due to ice expansion.

 

[pete_c]

The question then becomes what to run, in what quantity of conductors, to where?
 
The cluster here is 16 pairs of wires color coded.
 
I had them build the manifold box in to a berm about 50 feet from the entrance of the wire to the brick home.
 
The berm is elevated some 2 feet from ground level with lava rock over the lid. 
 
Some folks have utilized brass manifolds or make them. 
 
I did change what they did relating to the placement of the 1" water feed to the irrigation from the front of the basement to the back and near the utilities section back corner.  I also had them put the manifold box close to the front of the house than the back of the house.  Post install I put an analog pressure guage and water meter.
 
Original wiring to Rainbird irrigation box was done in willy nilly random zone order.  I rewired the zones such that there was some structure. Later on used satellite images and visio to draw a placement of the sprinker zones to be utilized for the touch interface.  I also used an old X10 to W800 wireless palm pad to test zones / heads outside.
 
Original yearly service was turn on and RPZ certification and turn off.  I purchased a compressor to blow out the lines and just paid for the yearly RPZ certification over the years.  This was a DeWalt compressor (~$400).  First compressor was a Farm and Fleet cheapie branded one that almost killed me one day shooting out the safety cap one day.
 
From there it goes in to the basement and traverses the ceiling in to the garage via a PVC pipe in to the Rainbird box.  Thinking it was a 1" or 3/4" PVC pipe from the basement in to the wall of the garage to the box.  In it also was separate jacketed power cable 14 gauge for the transformer which plugged in to a 4X4 box in the basement.  Other set up has the transformer plugged in to a 4X4 box next to the irrigation controller box.  Spare irrigation solenoid wires are just bundled and tie wrapped inside of the irrigation controller box.  Note too that I put the irrigation controller box inside of the garage.
I have done similar with low voltage LED 12VDC MeanWell DIN mounted lighting transformers.
 
Original sprinkler automation was using a long serial connection with software running on a server.  Later switched to an ARM based device with small serial to USB connectors, SSD USB drives, Gb network, one-wire connectivity (also weather station information stuff) fitted inside of the Rainbird box.
 
Some folks utilize multiple manifolds and smaller boxes in the ground.  Here have some runs going over 300 feet from the manifold.
 
Outside and removed / installed every year is the RPZ valve.  1" to 1" and valves in front and behind it; plus a spigot to blow out the lines.
 
I also ran cat5e (2) for serial and network from the box connectivity back to the utility room.
 
Other house is 90 % soaker hoses and 10 % sprinkler heads for a small patch of grass.
 
Many folks utilize their Elk / HAI panel outputs for sprinkler control.  I always worried about doing this.  That said I can remote the irrigation system from the panel or homeseer if I want.
 
Watering was based on ET calculations and each watering was 1" only.  Once configured never really touched it much.  Also had a 100ft hose hanger in the front and another one in the back for spot watering after planting stuff.  Well too added another spigot to the deck for the deck plants using a marine boat dock style hose.  I always preferred to hand water small plants on the deck early morning and mostly to spot check them.

 

[hgupta1]

I am loving my Rachio sprinkler system.   Having a smart system that takes into account weather forecast really helps reduce the water bill.  It has been set it and forget it, so I don't see a reason to tie it in with my Elk.

 

[TurboSam]

+1 for Rachio which we use for drip and mist irrigation (no grass).
 
Bill, given the price of wire (and assumptions about your layout), I'd run 2 18/10's (probably via conduit) to the main box, and then 18/7s to each contemplated substation.  Cost difference between 18/5 vs 18/7 is negligible and it's unlikely you'll ever want 10 valves at a substation so 18/10 is likely overkill.  With that spoke configuration, you will always be able to re-jigger the "hot" valves in the main box.

 

[wkearney99]

Good point about 18/7.  Conductors die, impedance becomes an issue, whatever.  
 
Extra money on wire now is always less than digging again later.

 

[42etus]

My mantra for underground wiring is to ALWAYS put it in conduit.

 

[wkearney99]

My mantra for underground wiring is to ALWAYS put it in conduit.

 
Yeah, I hear ya.  Just as long as you never assume the conduit is going to stay dry inside.  That's never a given.

 

[znelbok]

I would have thought most solenoid wire was direct burial - so moisture would not be a real issue (short term at least).  Conduit does make it easier to replace - you should be able to pull through new wire very quickly in conduit.  There is also more mechanical protection for the cable - but its not like its mains voltage/currents so a severed cable is quit low on the consequence list - just dig it up, join the wires back together and bury it again.
 
Adding conduit does increase the cost though so take that into consideration when deciding which path you want to go down - go into a decison with all the information and you will be able to determine which solution is best for you.

 

[pete_c]

Rainbird installed direct burial. 
 
Landscaping had not been finished yet so I had the installers run more PVC for my LV stuff to periferal berms before they were there.

 

[wkearney99]

I have a generac, my next-door neighbor has a kohler and both have their noise shroud option.  Mine's quieter when operating.  Both are louder than I'd like but the kohler more-so.   I can't imagine the racket they'd make without the noise shrouds.  

 

[vc1234]

Is your landscaping finished well?

Do you got any info on kohler power generator how are they with respect to performance?

I have a kohler running on propane. Other than noise, I do not have any complaints.
 
Interestingly, someone down the street has a generac, and it appears to be noisier than my kohler but not by much.  I guess it depends on how sound waves bounce around.  Both emit annoying sound similar to a lawn mower.

 

[Ira]

Best way to reduce generator noise is to get one that runs at 1800RPM (most water-cooled) instead of 3600RPM (most air-cooled). They are quite a bit more expensive, but they are a lot quieter. I've seen articles that claim the engine in a Generac water-cooled genset will last over three times longer than the engine in an air-cooled genset. Essentially a small truck engine vs a large lawnmower engine.