mike stehr Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 150 to 200 pounds pressure roughly..Be careful with the pressure. Things start to blow up with higher pressure. 100 to 150 might be ok. I do not like to go over 100. Aw, it's fun to watch the lateral lines blow big holes in the ground and sprinker heads getting a good 20 to 30 feet in the air. While I agree with you, and pressure was brought up last blow-down...about all I can say is I wasn't in charge... There is one stretch(Fairchild Hwy) about 2 miles long or so that is controlled with 3 timers. Each timer controls around 10-20 zones, depending on the area. The main lines for the system hold roughly 500,000 gallons. It takes 2 compressors to blow it down, and takes 8 hours. We do it twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Even 70 psi will blow out some of the squirter tips. You might have blown them all out with 100psi. When they go it sounds like a gun going off. Without those nozzle tips installed you will be using tons of water. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Did the meter reader get it wrong? That's happened around here a couple times... 7700 vs 77000? If so, he needs the exorcism.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utard Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 You should tell your boss its about flow not pressure. At a golf course I used to work at we had a 12" main line with about 1600 heads on about 140 acres. We used one 750 cfm compressor. It was a day and a half process. If you used two 185's at 150-200 psi on 3/4 or 1" inlets. You would have better results with a 300-400 cfm compressor on a 2" inlet at 120 psi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Same exact process, just on a larger scale. There is requirements to prevent non-potable water from returning to the source, which is usually potable. On the AFB anyway, they use a dual in/out valve with bleeder screws called a back-flow preventer. It basically does what it's name implies, preventing non-potable waste water from returning to the clean water source. We had to use the back-flow preventer on customers irrigation but i did not use one at our house. Most customers were on "city" water, were on our own well and I was not really worried about it, there is a check valve at the well so I couldn't send anything back up the line anyway. Check valves can stick. A backflow preventer is the only way to prevent water from going backwards in a negative pressure situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted December 31, 2011 Moderators Share Posted December 31, 2011 Check valves can stick. A backflow preventer is the only way to prevent water from going backwards in a negative pressure situation. Your right, It's between the well and the tank so nothing can flow back underground and get into the groundwater. All the sprinkler heads are well above ground level because they only water plants were growing in pots, and a vegetable garden. When we redo the front garden I was planing on putting sprinkler heads up there, probably make some changes then. Probably the best place for a backflow preventer would be where the line going to all the yard faucets which is the same line feeding the sprinklers, and it's the easiest place to put one. I'm not really worried about our water tank is does not have a bladder so I drain it about every 4-6 weeks anyway so it does not get waterlogged which makes the pump run more than it needs. I started putting about 20 pounds of air pressure in the tank before turning the pump back on which seems to help the water level in the tank keep that air cushion longer. If this keeps going long enough we might find where he found the problem, that is alot of water, if it actually leaked out and not just a meter reading problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 You should tell your boss its about flow not pressure. Just because he's in charge doesn't necessarily make him my boss. But I gotta claim ignorance about compressor pressure. They rented AirMan/Nissan powered compressors last year. I just checked the website, and most the models put out 100psi-max 120psi. It's cubic feet per minute that differs. Like you said...and I'm certain Mark in charge is aware of that... I'm pretty sure we used the 185cfm model compressors. At a golf course I used to work at we had a 12" main line with about 1600 heads on about 140 acres. We used one 750 cfm compressor. It was a day and a half process. If you used two 185's at 150-200 psi on 3/4 or 1" inlets. You would have better results with a 300-400 cfm compressor on a 2" inlet at 120 psi. A big guesstimate here is the AFB has at least 250-270 acres of watered improved grass, it could be more nowdays. I'm not sure if that accounts for areas that are hand watered or not...the majority is automatic systems. The systems vary from fields to shrub beds and everything inbetween, so you have the whole variety of types of sprinklers...from a inch pop-up to the big rotating pop-up field sprinklers. I was water boy the last three years at SERE. It's the last area on base that still uses three inch irrigation pipe with Rainbird 165 impact sprinklers to water two plots. One plot still has the old vacuum diaphragm type of back flow valve with a plastic diaphragm, that breaks every couple few years. The field slopes towards the water source, so when you turn the system off, all the water flows right to base of the valve with no way to drain it. It's inefficiency at it's best, but convincing the Air Force is a entire different matter. They set up the other plot with a back-flow preventer not too long ago, but the water still needs somewhere to go. Fortunately, there is a sewer drain in a perfect spot where I can set up the system to drain in the sewer when powered down. I'm pretty sure we did the base blow-down with the 185cfm compressors. The quick connect (inlet) connectors for systems varied in size. 1" and 3/4" inch were the common sizes used, but I do recall 1/2" and a 2" used on a couple systems. It would be nice to have a standard inlet size for all auto systems on base, but again it's a matter of convincing the Air Force. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utard Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 I am sure it would be tougher to get them to standardize the conections for you compaired to them buying a $400 washer for a leaky sink? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Are you trying to imply that the Air Force wastes money? [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Last month's water useage was 77,000 gallons ($800 +) at my home Water dudes say 'yep, you used it'; I say . Anyway, I wanted a good check this month so no topping off the pool and I secured the sprnklers. The sprinkler timer is turned to OFF but several times I noticed wet grass and mummbled about hevay dew. This morning sure 'nuff the sprinkler zone in th efront yard turned on for 10 minutes. Verified timer is OFF. What's up with dat? The leak-o-meter indicator at the meter is not moving and 1 gallon into a milk cartoon equals 1 gallon at the meter (don't have what I need to see if the heavy flow is calibrated). Here in Maine, for those few who have city water, the city sewer bill is calculated based on the city water usage. A double whammy if there's something miscalculated with the water usage. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.