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Joliet, IL

my system is basically a 50' 3/4" poly main line teeing off to 30' and 40' sections of 1/2" poly tubing around the outsides of the plants. from those i tap 1/4" barbs and tubing to a tornado mister zip tied on top of a 5' garden stake. last year i had 52 tornado misters used at once and with my water pressure, that is about all i can get with the sytem without a pump. i would like to be able to add more heads this year and bring them closer together for better overlapping and coverage. and besides that, when my leaves become mature, i want to disconnect the tornado mister and reconnect a microsprinkler on a 13" stake and drop it below the leaf canopy as the plants grow and continue to do this until all leaves are mature and eventually have about 60 microsprinklers. (thank you don young for the idea) so at some points i will have say 30 rotating micro sprinklers below and 30 tornado misters above going at the same time, but never a combined number over 60 or maybe 70 at the most.

now i need to find a pump that can do the trick. i would like more power than less and have a pressure control to lower the pressure if i am blowing out connections. i would like to have the pump self priming and hooked up to a hose after a water timer so i can set the timer and when the timer clicks and the water pressure hits the pump, it starts automatically and when the water timer clicks off and water pressure stops from the faucet, then the pump turns off.

i have seen these features available on pumps on line and have heard from other pumpkin growers that 2hp is the way to go. can you suggest a water pump that would suit my needs. i could always add pressure regulators, but i would prefer to have a pump with variable pressure rate control to play with the right size of jet patterns and water coverage.

any advice is greatly appreciated,
jeff shenoha

12/10/2009 4:11:22 PM

Frankfort Ohio

you would need at least a 1hp motor lowes and manardes carries them you may be able to find a 110powe but most are 220 for best results.

12/10/2009 5:23:12 PM

Winston Salem NC

jeff you would need to figure out how many GPM you are going to be using at one time to decide on the pump to buy. Without doing that it would just be guessing. You may have to zone it out to have enough volume.

12/10/2009 7:23:05 PM

GPM supply from the faucet is the key here, pressure will have to be set at 20-25psi or the fittings will blow. You can only pump (GPM) what the supply (hose/faucet) will supply. I guess I don't understand the need for a pump in the first place. If you think you will need more water to the heads then increase the size of the main and drops. Best answered by an irrigation designer though, usually free for the asking.

12/11/2009 6:23:16 AM