Irrigation Install

Tuesday September 9^th, 2014 my Hort. 550 Irrigation class and I visited the Stanley Stout Center which is 5 min north of K-State's main campus, the Stout center is more of a conference building with fields surrounding it, and it is used mostly bt Veterinarian students. We got to view a landscape company come out and demonstrate how to install pipe for a sprinkler system around the Stout Center. The company's name is Blueville Nursery Inc. and Derrick Funk a landscape specialist and main man in charge of the company, along with one of his most trusted employees Brett Robinson demonstrated some of the simple yet necessary installment practices in accordance to irrigation. Both guys being K-State grads years ago have taken the very class I am in now, so they know how it goes from knowing absolutely nothing to knowing absolutely everything. I believe the best way to learn is through doing, and what better way to learn about irrigation installation from 2 certified professionals out in the field.

To start, the Blueville guys dug a hole about 5 ft. x 6 ft. deep right next to a hydrant that is used to connect hoses along the side of the building. Once they found the copper main line pipe that the city had installed years and years ago they were ready to make a POC or Point of Connection. The POC is a connection so that they can extend pipe away from the hydrant to other areas of the turf that we will be watering. To make the POC Derek cut the copper pipe (with the water off of course) and installed a Schedule 80 Toe Nipple which is about 6 inches long. This piece of pipe is the start of the system so that other ends of PVC pipe can be attached to it. In our case they are using Class 200 1” White PVC piping, the pipe they began to attach was only about 5 ft. long, just enough to get started. Piping is connected by the process of PVC solvent wielding, in which we use a purple liquid primer to start with and then a glue is applied to connect the 2 ends of pipe. This creates a water tight seal so that no leaks or other damage can occur. After a few feet of pipe is installed the boys installed a Master valve first, followed by a Double Check Backflow device which prevents water reversing back into the system contaminating the potable water source. Both devices must be on a level surface or facing downhill allowing gravity to take over. These devices are key in any irrigation system because without them we would not be able to 1. Turn the water on and off and 2. Without backflow the system we would contaminate water and potentially make people and animals very sick. All devices along the hydrant are also installed with a primer and glue to ensure a perfect seal within the pipe. Some costs to think about before installing some of these thing for a common homeowner would be approximately $5,500 for the entire install, this includes all the piping, equipment used, and labor charges. The Double Check Backflow device itself can cost $190 but to install is $390. The Blueville boys know how to make money id say.

Since this was all we had time for today I will be blogging a part 2 on the Irrigation Install. But as I said just watching the guys install these parts of the system is very beneficial because once you see it in the field it can become easier for someone down the road. Most people think irrigation is complicated, but with the proper training or schooling one can master irrigation and be able to check up on their watering techniques.