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Good for you in giving it a go @Nev. I put in a watering system last year and actually found it a fun project. I'm also really happy I now don't have to spend time standing around with the hose hand-watering the garden.
I'll ask the wonderful @MitchellMc to assist you so you get some expert advice. Apologies for the delay but he will be back on the site tomorrow to help. Many thanks for your patience in the meantime.
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. We're so pleased to have you join us and look forward to reading about all your projects and plans for around the house and garden. Please reach out anytime you need assistance - we're sure you will get plenty of helpful information, advice and inspiration from our amazing community members, who are posting great projects and helpful advice on the site every day.
Also, please don't hesitate to let me know if you ever need a hand getting the most from the site, or have any feedback about how we could improve Workshop for you.
Jason
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Nev. It's fantastic to have you join us and many thanks for your questions.
It sounds like you have a reasonable pressure at your home, and the single outlet should be able to supply several pop-up units at one time. You will use poly pipe for your irrigation, and that comes in both rigid and flexible. For most residential purposes, I would suggest the flexible variant as it is easier to work with.
You will use solenoids if you have many zones and specific pop-ups which you want to switch on and off at different times. Solenoids introduce 12v power into the system and an added layer of complexity. If you only have a couple of areas which you want to operate independently, then there is no need to use solenoids. A simply multiple outlet programmable tap timer would achieve this. Here are some examples from our range: Pope Low-Pressure Dual Outlet Timer, Orbit 12mm Tap Timer 1 Dial 2 Outlet and the GARDENA MultiControl Duo Water Computer. These timers will allow you to set cycles and length of water for up to two independent sections of your yard and are more than adequate for most residential purposes.
If you can draw up a diagram of your yard, the location of the pop-ups and tell me how you would like to control them, then I can advise what the best approach would be.
Mitchell
Dont forget some string - you can jam a couple screwdrivers in the ground and link with string, you will dig a nice straight trench for the pipework to the tap. Also be gentle sticking the shovel into the ground until your sure theres no stormwater/sewer pipes or whatever beneath you (hate to crack one with a shovel)
Just as a sidenote - if you think you will expand or dig things back up again in the future - a "mud map" you create of where all your pipes are can help as you find them or put new ones in (years down the track you might not remember where everything is, and if u get a leak it saves digging half the backyard up chasing pipework lol, and a rough plan can also help u visualise any later adjustments, and addons if you want to tap into a existing line - or in my case - keep track of all the old fittings etc I found lol
That's a great tip there @Prawns. There's nothing worse than having to stop a project to repair pipework that you have damaged.
Many thanks for sharing.
Mitchell
@Nev,
There is no need to use solenoids in this application. A dual outlet tap timer will allow you two separate irrigation lines that run independently of each other and have specific runtimes. Those two lines can run in different directions to cover all the garden beds. You could easily run this entire system off a single outlet tap timer if you are happy with all the areas receiving the same amount of water and runtime.
You might like to consider using Pope micro sprayers instead of pop-up units. They screw into the standard poly pipe and are very easy to install.
Mitchell
