What kind of irrigation pump do you need?


It is most convenient when a summer house or a private house is connected to a centralized water supply system with good water pressure. In this case, you can save money and not buy a pump(on the other hand, a cube of tap water is much more expensive than the same volume from your well). But outside the city, as a rule, there are no water pipes, and everyone independently pumps water for their own needs.

When choosing equipment for water supply, it is necessary to answer two questions: what kind of liquid and from where will we pump, and what should be the power of the pump for irrigating the site? The principle of operation of the pump ( centrifugal, screw, vortex or vibration) does not matter much.

When choosing a station or pump, you need to know the quality of the water. “Clean” is considered drinking and industrial water that comes from a water supply system or is pumped out of a well, well, pool or tank for collecting sediments. "Dirty" refers to water from lakes and rivers with grains of sand and silt particles. Clean water pumps can break down if impurities of 3 - 5 mm in size get into them. And equipment for dirty water is designed just for such conditions. To draw water from very dirty water bodies (uncleaned lakes or swamps), special drainage pumps with grinders should be used, which can grind algae, leaves and grass stalks.


The second important parameter is the power of the pump. Pumping equipment used for irrigation should pump at least 3-5 l / h per square meter of irrigated area. That is, for irrigation of 4 acres (approximate area of the coverage area of one large sprinkler), it is desirable to have a unit with a capacity of about 2 m³ / h. These are quite modest characteristics, and the vast majority of pumps meet such requirements. But here it is necessary to take into account the third important parameter - pressure. In order for a sprinkler installed in a garden or vegetable garden to spray 5-10 meters, and not pour water under itself, it is necessary to create a pressure of 2-4 bar (only rare models of sprinklers can work at a pressure of 1 bar). This requires sufficient force. The pump head is indicated in the characteristics of the equipment. To calculate whether it is enough for irrigation, you need to know the depth at which fluid is taken from a well, well or reservoir, as well as the length of the hose from the pump to the sprinkler. Suppose we take water from a depth of 5 meters and supply it with a hose that is 50 meters long. Then you need to divide the length by 10 (for pumping liquid horizontally, ten times less energy is spent than for lifting it) and add the depth of water intake. We get: 50÷10+5=10 - this is exactly the pressure needed in this task, if we want, for example, to fill a barrel. But, since we need to spray water with a strong stream, and not a miserable stream, we need to add another 10 - 15 meters of pressure to the obtained value. The calculation of household systems is deliberately carried out so rough and with a large margin so that watering works even when we change the hose for a longer one or replace the sprinkler with a device with a different water flow.

What is the best sprinkler to buy?


There are several types of sprinklers with different operating principles.

  • Oscillating sprinklers are best suited for irrigating rectangular areas. They make pendulum movements in one direction and another, evenly watering the whole strip. With most models, the swath width and spray range can be adjusted to tailor the sprinkler to a specific area.
  • Turntables water the space in a circular continuous stream. They are simple and cheap, so they are in the greatest demand. The coverage area of the turntables is small (as a rule, no more than 1 - 2 acres), and the irrigation uniformity is far from the best. Usually they are used in low-cost irrigation systems in small areas.
  • Pulse sprinklers are used in professional irrigation systems. They are used to water lawns on sports fields, golf courses and parks. An unpleasant feature of this type of sprinklers is a loud "clatter" during operation, which makes them inconvenient to use near residential buildings.
  • Turbo sprinklers are suitable for irrigating areas that need to be watered frequently and in large quantities. Many of them are made in the form of cylinders that are buried in the ground to the full depth. Installation and maintenance of such devices are fraught with some difficulties, so it is not always advisable to buy sprinklers of this type for a summer residence.
  • Micro sprinklers are the best option for installation in greenhouses and under bushes. But because of the very small coverage area, it is necessary to build complex irrigation systems, including a dozen sprinklers. Such a game is not always worth the candle.

The choice in favor of one or another type of sprinkler depends on a combination of several factors: the area and shape of the site, the pressure in the system, the type of plants, the climatic characteristics of the region and your agricultural practices.

Oscillating Sprinklers

Which hose is suitable for watering the area?


In addition to the obvious and understandable characteristics (length and diameter), when choosing a hose, one should take into account its design and the properties of the material from which the sheath is made. Garden hoses are rubber (less common) and plastic (the vast majority). Rubber "live" longer (such a hose can last up to 20 years), but they are more expensive and weigh much more due to thick walls. The plastic ones are made from PVC. The service life of the hose depends largely on the manufacturer and operating conditions. But even the highest quality PVC products, with careful handling and careful storage, rarely last longer than 10 years. This is due to the fact that the polymer shell gradually “ages” and degrades, despite the presence of additives in its composition that provide UV resistance.

The design of the hose is of great importance. A single-layer PVC sheath will not withstand even a pressure of 2 - 3 bar. Therefore, it usually consists of several layers, between which there are braiding threads. Thanks to the reinforcement with polymer threads, the hose sheath does not break due to stretching or bending. The more layers, the stronger the product, but the price is higher.


Gardena, Hozelock, Karcher and Fiskars hoses are considered good, reliable and durable. Verto and Cellfast products belong to the "middle peasants" in terms of quality and price.

In order for the hose to last for a long time, it must be properly stored, not twisted too tightly or bent too sharply. It is not recommended to hang the hoses on the wall or tie them with ropes. It is better to use special reels and trolleys, thanks to which the plastic shell does not bend. Spiral and self- expanding hoses fold differently and do not need coils.

What connectors are best?


To create an irrigation system, you will need several types of adapters. Ordinary connectors can be used at the hose inlet, but it is better to put a connector with a button, flow regulator or hitch at the outlet. The last option is the most convenient. Autostop means there is a locking mechanism inside the connector. When the hose is disconnected from the sprinkler or sprinkler gun, the valve automatically stops the flow of water and not a single drop is spilled by. That is, you do not have to run to the tap, valve or pump to turn off the water. You should also make sure that the farm, just in case, has adapters that allow you to connect hoses of different diameters, and double-sided repair couplings. It is advisable to buy a hose and a set of connectors of the same brand, so as not to run into problems in the form of their incompatibility.

How to do automatic watering?


Depending on how much of your personal time you plan to spend on watering, you can organize the irrigation process in different ways. If you like to spend time in the garden with a hose in your hands, then you can use ordinary guns and hose nozzles, manually watering every bush and every bed. If you plan only to turn the water on and off, then it is worth making a distributed system with several sprinklers at key points in the area, interconnected using a distributor and a couple of hoses.

But, if financial possibilities allow, it makes sense to buy automation for irrigation. Manufacturers have different approaches to irrigation automation. Some of them offer simple solutions, like ball valves with the simplest mechanical timers (like kitchen ones), which turn off the water after a predetermined time. And the companies Karcher, Gardena and Hozelock have sophisticated electronic control units that allow you to programme the irrigation system on and off on days and hours for a month in advance.

Timers and automatic control units can be found in the "Other for irrigation" section of our catalog.