Micro sprinkler set up for 2 year avocado trees

[Avoman]

Looking for someone with expertise in micro sprinkler set up for avo trees under 4 foot tall is a 10 gph head best or is it better to use a 15 or 18 flow head in cal hot central valley ? And is there a model most durable/ highest performing im wanting a 360 micro spray pattern.

[spaugh]

You have a well or city water?  How big of a pipe you have or how big of a boost pump etc?  How many GPM does your supply line flow?  If you have a boost pump, you will want to size your system so the pump stays on all the time while watering.  If it cycles on and off then the pump wont last as long.  If you dont have a good volume of water but want to have lots of trees you want to use lower flow emitters so you can get more trees per block.  The less blocks or sprinkler zones there are, the better.  You dont want to have to walk your lines on several zones.  Better to water all the avocado trees at once and be able to monitor them.

As far as the tips go, it depends on what kind of system you will use.  Will it be white pvc or black poly?  The quarter inch poly off that goes to each emitter can clog if you have well water and it isnt filtered properly.  Hard water will accumulate and clog small orifices.  So you want to have big pipe right up to the emitter and less or no small pipe (ie 1/4" poly) if possible. 

The spinners that are adjustable are going to be better while trees are young.  You dont want a 10 foot circle of water around yound trees, it will be wasteful and make a weed circle around each tree.  Vetter to keep a 4 or 5 foot cicle around the tree and have that area mulched until trees are old enough to self mulch and shade out any weeds.  So before you pick your emitters, you want to have a handle on those other things first.  If you give me info on the water supply I can throw out some more ideas.

[Avoman]

It will be well water and i planned to have some kind of filter for sand, not sure if hard water will try to plug up spinners for pressure in main line i plan to have in 50 to 70psi range i was thinking about coming off 1 inch pvc then going way down to 1/4 inch tubing before spinner head, it makes sence about spinning water to wide of circle and end up growing more weeds prob best to use a 6gh or 10 gph 360 spinners till trees get some growth, i guess each tree will need its own shut off valve to both reduce pressure or shut water off completly.

[pineislander]

I use these rotors:
https://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/brands/antelco/antelco-0-26-gph-rotor-spray-10-32-a20205
Installed on top of these risers: (Note: I used 18" risers Antelco A50245 18 in. Rigid Riser With 0.16 in. Barb Adapter) but am having trouble finding on the site, may not currently be in stock- call to check)
https://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/brands/antelco/drip-irrigation-rigid-risers-a50735

The risers plug directly into 3/4" poly tubing, variable rotor sprayers screw directly into risers. In order to support risers I cut 2 ft pieces of chain link fence reinforcing wire, very stiff stuff.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Blue-Hawk-Silver-Metal-Fence-Tension-Wire-Chain-link-Fence/3160359
I tie-wrapped the riser to the wire for support. This provides a good spray up to 10 ft diameter and is adjustable.
I put two rotors on each side per tree about 4-6 feet away. Pressure in my system is 10-20 psi. I don't need a pressure regulator because my pump is a 2" gas driven "trash pump" which only makes about 20 lbs pressure and my system is 2 acres and can't build up. If your system is smaller and has a 40-50 psi feed you would need to reduce pressure down to 20 psi.
Performance has been good on a shallow well in sandy soil without any filtration. Every few months I go through and have to unscrew about 10% of the rotors and poke out debris with a wire and clean off spiderwebs to keep them spinning. It helps to fold over the end of the poly tubing on the end of your runs so you can easily flush out debris every so often. This works for me.

[spaugh]

This is one has the adjuster built in.  Check out all the antelco products, they make nice stuff.

https://www.dripdepot.com/item/antelco-360-degree-adjustable-spinner-on-10-32-threads?gclid=Cj0KCQjwrrXtBRCKARIsAMbU6bE63sMDqCUVPhZA7tAAfndGq6pMTG950Sk7EnzGGRApGlx5J_lKbokaAuU4EALw_wcB

[SF]

My trees are planted on a slope. Here is a configuration used, a sub-main valve to control the source water for the slope. From the sub-main valve 2” PVC pipe runs across the slope. From this feeder line multiple 1/2” pvc/poly laterals are laid. Each lateral line covers a set of trees at the same elevation. The feeder/lateral junction is controlled via a Senninger 20psi pressure regulator (https://www.senninger.com/sites/senninger.hunterindustries.com/files/pressure-regulator-catalog.pdf) along with a shut-off valve. The pressure regulator/shut-off is set off a 3/4” pvc riser.

As for the sprinklers, I use a combination. For mature trees it is the Challenger micro sprinkler (https://www.philmac.com.au/app/uploads/2018/01/WSS001-Orbitor-Challenger-Specs.pdf). The lowest volume in this series is 14GPH, and one of the features I like about these sprinklers is that the rotation is smooth and the water delivery is consistent with large water droplets. This allows the water to fall within the canopy and is not easily affected by wind. The one drawback is with weeds strangling/blocking the spinning rotor. If the GPH will work, there is an option with the challenger sprinkler to reduce the distribution width by swapping the rotary wing for the detachable dot you see in the picture. With the dot, the water is delivered as an inverted cone. Occasionally I run into clogs primarily due to broken lines/sediments, and it is easy to unclog with a needle by separating the wing.

For young trees I have experimented with a few different options and here are my observations - with the 10 and under GPH rotary spinners the prime concerns were the density of the water delivery and the resulting wind drift. The delivery is more like a spray rather than droplets in these spinners, and at least in my location is easily affected by wind. The few varieties I have tried are similar to the RK12-110 in your picture, and a few others with barb base. I have also tried some bubblers with not much success. An additional problem I encountered with barb base sprinklers was that they easily snapped off the dome fixture and was a hassle to manage.

Recently I started trying 6GPH bowsmith sprinklers (https://www.bowsmith.com/assets/fanjetmicrosprinkler_performancedata2.pdf), and appears to work well with a few caveats. I especially like that the water delivery is like droplets and is not affected by wind. I encounter a bit of clogs especially in the end laterals, which I suppose can be better managed with some filters. The clean up is a bit tedious compared to the Challenger sprinkler. I think I may be able to alleviate the occasional clogs by switching to a higher capacity. It is likely the orifice of the smallest/black nozzle I currently use is just too small for the sediments to pass through. The default delivery diameter is large for small/young trees, and I have adapted by adding on a hat (https://www.dripdepot.com/product/bowsmith-top-hat). The hat reduces the delivery diameter by half. This is on 1/4” poly fittings which tends to attract additional work from the squirrels. I have found wrapping the tubing with aluminum foil helps, but I also tend to be less diligent in doing this extra step.

There is this whole world of pressure compensated sprinklers, I have not experimented yet mostly because of the cost differential. I am always on the look out for better sprinklers especially for the young trees. Thanks for all the suggestions so far in this thread, will check them out.

[spaugh]

My trees are planted on a slope. Here is a configuration used, a sub-main valve to control the source water for the slope. From the sub-main valve 2” PVC pipe runs across the slope. From this feeder line multiple 1/2” pvc/poly laterals are laid. Each lateral line covers a set of trees at the same elevation. The feeder/lateral junction is controlled via a Senninger 20psi pressure regulator (https://www.senninger.com/sites/senninger.hunterindustries.com/files/pressure-regulator-catalog.pdf) along with a shut-off valve. The pressure regulator/shut-off is set off a 3/4” pvc riser.

As for the sprinklers, I use a combination. For mature trees it is the Challenger micro sprinkler (https://www.philmac.com.au/app/uploads/2018/01/WSS001-Orbitor-Challenger-Specs.pdf). The lowest volume in this series is 14GPH, and one of the features I like about these sprinklers is that the rotation is smooth and the water delivery is consistent with large water droplets. This allows the water to fall within the canopy and is not easily affected by wind. The one drawback is with weeds strangling/blocking the spinning rotor. If the GPH will work, there is an option with the challenger sprinkler to reduce the distribution width by swapping the rotary wing for the detachable dot you see in the picture. With the dot, the water is delivered as an inverted cone. Occasionally I run into clogs primarily due to broken lines/sediments, and it is easy to unclog with a needle by separating the wing.

For young trees I have experimented with a few different options and here are my observations - with the 10 and under GPH rotary spinners the prime concerns were the density of the water delivery and the resulting wind drift. The delivery is more like a spray rather than droplets in these spinners, and at least in my location is easily affected by wind. The few varieties I have tried are similar to the RK12-110 in your picture, and a few others with barb base. I have also tried some bubblers with not much success. An additional problem I encountered with barb base sprinklers was that they easily snapped off the dome fixture and was a hassle to manage.

Recently I started trying 6GPH bowsmith sprinklers (https://www.bowsmith.com/assets/fanjetmicrosprinkler_performancedata2.pdf), and appears to work well with a few caveats. I especially like that the water delivery is like droplets and is not affected by wind. I encounter a bit of clogs especially in the end laterals, which I suppose can be better managed with some filters. The clean up is a bit tedious compared to the Challenger sprinkler. I think I may be able to alleviate the occasional clogs by switching to a higher capacity. It is likely the orifice of the smallest/black nozzle I currently use is just too small for the sediments to pass through. The default delivery diameter is large for small/young trees, and I have adapted by adding on a hat (https://www.dripdepot.com/product/bowsmith-top-hat). The hat reduces the delivery diameter by half. This is on 1/4” poly fittings which tends to attract additional work from the squirrels. I have found wrapping the tubing with aluminum foil helps, but I also tend to be less diligent in doing this extra step.

There is this whole world of pressure compensated sprinklers, I have not experimented yet mostly because of the cost differential. I am always on the look out for better sprinklers especially for the young trees. Thanks for all the suggestions so far in this thread, will check them out.

I have my stuff setup the same way with the main supply line running down the hill and 1/2" pvc or poly coming off horizontally and feeding 6 or 7 trees per run of 1/2" pipe.  My pump is 2HP and can happly water around 50+ trees at a time.  So I have things split into 3 zones that covers one acre. 

Do you mind sharing what kind of boost pump you use or does it come straight out of the well to the trees?

I'd like to run a bigger pump so I can water everything at once but the 2HP is small enough I can power it with a generator if theres a power outage.  Last time there was a fire here the power was out for 2 weeks and it was hot dry conditions out.  Trees will die without water for 2 weeks in those conditions. 

[Avoman]

Excellent ideas from everyone this will help me alot when i set up my water system , what about irrigation king for buying equip ? Keep ideas coming for ideal micro spinners or best source to buy them from.

[Avoman]

For most days i dont have much wind  problems under 8mph for most days so not sure if i should need a large droplet model, i bought a few pressure compensating heads mainly to experiment with but i noticed that one company you can adjust the pressure right at the the head from 0- to 26gph and that seems like a smart ideal if it works well and maintanance is not high.

[Avoman]

The back up generator to power well pump seems like a good idea for power backup and if im going to try to water 4 acres at a time perhaps i need larger than a 2 horsepower pump ? Also does anyone power a well pump by solor panels or is it too costly to run well pump on a gas powered generator ?

[pineislander]

The most practical way to use solar power for a large volume water supply is to pump slow with a small pump and store the water with gravity. If your storage is large enough you may be able to pass through a short outage with pre-stored water. That would mean simply buying a large plastic tank(s) and keeping it filled up. My last home had such a system with just three panels and a 1500 gallon tank, for household water.
These guys have great products:
https://www.sunpumps.com/

[spaugh]

A lot of that stuff is going to depend on how deep the well is and what kind of refresh rate the well has.  Is the well already there?  Did you have it tested?

[Avoman]

My well not drilled yet but it will be like my neibors well his is 100 feet deep and rated at 18 gallons a minute, i thought about having a 1500 gallon storage tank for water if thats better for a solor powered set up i have pg& E lines at border but not sure i even want to tie into the power grid.

[spaugh]

The water table here is 100ft down and well is over 600ft deep.  2hp well pumps at 11gpm.  It goes into a 10,000 gal tank.  Then theres another 2hp booster pump that pulls from the tank and pressurizes the irrigation lines and my house at 40gpm.  I can run both pumps on a bbq propane bottle off a 8000w generator during a power outage.

Grid power will probably be cheapest.  Just depends how much it costs to get a meter installed.  You could get a big propane tank and have them keep it filled and use that.  Would probably cost more than grid power though.  I use the same generator on my house on a big propane tank if power is out. 

DC solar pumps are nice too.  No boxes or batteries etc, they just run when its sunny.  You would need a big tank for that. 

Lots of options.  With several acres you will probably want to get the grid run to your well.  You will probably need bigger pumps than Ive got too.

Brad

[Mark in Texas]

I like Grundfos Constant Water Pressure, SQE pumps.  Touch of a finger on the small console that talks to the variable speed pump and you can adjust the pressure from 40 - 70 psi for the house and yard.  I used their regular SQ on a relay switch and controller and there was so much pressure on a mile run of irrigation pipe and emitters I had to install a 60 PSI inline pressure limiter.  They do solar too.

Grundfos SQE pump on the house is going on 15 years and doing fine.  Our TDS is thru the roof too, like 580-830 PPM year round.

33 gpm well, 28' static water level, submersible pump set at 120', well depth 220'.  Just for shits and grins I could open a 600' run of line at the end and still shoot a stream 30' with all emitters going.  https://www.waterpumpsdirect.com/Grundfos-Pumps-96160193-Water-Pump/p80386.html

An Amiad water filter is great for sand filtering.  One before and one after a Mazzei injector for me, see the pic.  I installed one with a self flushing valve off the well head. Just open and blow the collected crap into a 5 gal. bucket once a week.

I used a Mazzei injector and would clean out super Ca bicarb lines out with 78% sulfuric acid once a year.  Worked fine.  5 gal. box/bag at an auto parts store.

Whatever you do, you just need to do it cause you'll have a dozen tweeks before you're finally satisfied with your program.

[Avoman]

I still dont know if i should tie into the grid , its cheaper at first but over time solar might pay for itself if i live long enough to get investment back, propane seems more costly than gasoline powered generator but im just guessing. I havent priced out a 2000 gallon water storage tank yet, but i can get 275 gallon totes used for 50 or so each.

[Mark in Texas]

I still dont know if i should tie into the grid , its cheaper at first but over time solar might pay for itself if i live long enough to get investment back, propane seems more costly than gasoline powered generator but im just guessing. I havent priced out a 2000 gallon water storage tank yet, but i can get 275 gallon totes used for 50 or so each.

When it comes to farm equipment I'm selling off my gas powdered stuff.  Am tired of changing oil, filters, etc.

I'd go with the grid unless you're strapped for cash.   Our KWH charge is only 8.72 cents. I can open up a hose and run it all night long on the lawn for a dime of electrical costs, 1 HP pump.

I priced 2,500 gal. tanks a while back.  Less than .50/gal.  https://www.tanksforless.com/p/770/polymart-2500gallon-plastic-water-storage-tank

[spaugh]

When you are talking about irrigating acres of avocado trees, its a lot of water.  You would need a lot of gas to keep things flowing.  We aren't talking about a few jerry cans of gas.  With propane you can easily get a 500 or 1000 gallon fuel tank and have a truck come keep it topped off for you.  Propane is cheaper than gas and doesnt gum up carburators or go bad.  But it still will probably cost more per kilowatt hour to generate your own power than buying off the grid.  It sounds like you need to sit down and run some numbers and figure out how much water you will be using, what size pump you will need, how much power that will require etc.  You are talking about building a farm from scratch, you want to have a solid plan.

Using 275 gallon totes is ok for a backyard op but how many trees will you water with 275 gallons?  After a few years thats only going to cover a couple trees. You need to think bigger if you are really going to have hundreds of avocado trees.  They take a huge amount of water.  When its 110 out and hasnt rained in months those trees are going to be sucking a ton of water.  Theres also the possibility your well water quality is not great and will require RO filtration to lower the tds.  That means now you have to pump twice as much water.  A lot of the farms down here run their well water through a giant RO system and into holding tanks.  If sounds like consulting with someone already in the business would be worthwhile.  You got to get into the mindset of doing things on industrial scale.

[ricshaw]

I use only two types of sprinklers.

I purchase in bulk... it works for me.


 


 

[Avoman]

To keep design simple prob best to use 2500 gallon tank a 1000 bucks or so not bad, gas generator would be well power backup only but then have to decide solor or grid for well pump power.

[Bananaizme]

    Ricshaw

 This is the same emitters that I use and they have worked out well for me. I purchased them from fruit growers supply.

 William

[Avoman]

The ones ricshaw posted appears to be a sprayer not a spinner, so the distance putting water out seems like not far enough i looking mostly for a range of 4 foot circle up to 10 to 12 foot circle as trees get alot bigger. I want large water droplets like brad talked about not a fine mist or even heavy mist.

[SeaWalnut]

There are somme real cheap emitters ,360 degree but that you can also adjust them so they dont spray water on the tree trunk.
I would pick those and as far as the pipes go ,i would choose polypropilene pipes heat glued because they have warranty for like 180 years ,they are the best and cheap.
In the orchard i would bury the pipes deep enough so that tilling would not cut them.
Digging with a special chainsaw with a big blade ,diy from motorcycle chain ,sprockets and big teeth @1 inch wide.

[Mark in Texas]

The ones ricshaw posted appears to be a sprayer not a spinner, so the distance putting water out seems like not far enough i looking mostly for a range of 4 foot circle up to 10 to 12 foot circle as trees get alot bigger. I want large water droplets like brad talked about not a fine mist or even heavy mist.

12' circle? Curious, how big is that greenhouse of yours and how many trees are you talking about?   Many of my trees are big. I hand water RootBuilder raised beds.

[pineislander]

The ones ricshaw posted appears to be a sprayer not a spinner, so the distance putting water out seems like not far enough i looking mostly for a range of 4 foot circle up to 10 to 12 foot circle as trees get alot bigger. I want large water droplets like brad talked about not a fine mist or even heavy mist.

The Antelco rotorspray line will do what you want. See their website and download the brochures then look at the specifications. They show the spray diameter for various pressures and flow rates. Be aware that the wetting diameter is also a function of the height you place the sprayer. That is why I chose an 18 inch riser, without it gravity limits the diameter achieved. The tubular risers I use plug directly into the main line tubings which eliminates small tubings usually needed for staked sprayers. I use 2 ft pieces of #9 gage tension wire and a zip tie to secure it. at 18 inch.