Inline pressure regulator install

A question out there for any of the irrigation professionals in the community:

I have very high pressure coming into my irrigation system, and no apparent pressure control that I can find. What is the best way to install a pressure regulating device in the system? I have a pressure reducing valve on the house side, but the irrigation water splits prior to the mainline entering the house. My guess is the pressure is north of 100 psi, as I can reach that pressure in the house by increasing at the pressure reducing valve.

I have found these style inline reducing valves. Where in the system would one be installed? Just prior to the sprinkler valves? Closer to the water meter? Or are these intended for drip lines coming off of a house faucet?

I have also seen the style that attaches to the valves themselves like this from rainbird. Which would work better?

For my drip line I converted a popup head using this kit. It should reduce pressure to 30psi, but I think the incoming pressure is too high to reach that.

If I add PRS stems to my rotor zones, I think I may have the same problem with the drip line, in that the pressure will not reduce all the way down to the pressure rated on the stems.

Optimally I would like to reduce the pressure to 45psi entering the system, convert rotor zones to rotary nozzles which are optimal at 45psi, then the drip line should manage this pressure and reduce to 30psi. Just not sure the best way to approach this.

Thanks for any help

Install a Zurn Wilkins, Watts, or Apollo brass pressure reducing valve just past the backflow prevention device. They come preset at 50 psi but have a pressure range adjustment between 25-75 psi. I think the Wilkins model is N3XL. You probably should hire a plumber or irrigation contractor to install. They work great.

For the drip you must install a drip control zone kit. It includes the valve, pressure regulator and filter. This is in addition to the pressure reducing valve for the whole system.

The inline pressure regulators you show are not the solution.

Thank you for the replys. I’m not even sure that there is a backflow device on the irrigation side. Would that usually be just past the split between house and irrigation? There is a valve at that point I can use to turn off the irrigation water, but nothing else. Whole system is all underground in my area.
Are those inline pressure regulators not built to handle high city water pressure?

If you don’t have a backflow device, install the brass pressure reducing valve i mentioned after the isolation ball valve. You should always have a backflow prevention device. It protects the drinking water from contamination. Those plastic Rain Bird pressure regulators are not intended to be used to regulate pressure on the whiole system. They are meant for drip irrigation. Your city’s plumbing code likely requires back flow prevention.

Sounds expensive.:cry: Thanks for the advice. I am not the original owner of the house, but the irrigation was certainly installed by the builder. Surprised they would not have been required to put in the backflow preventer. Maybe I will have somebody come out to take a look.

I just looked at pricing for a Wilkins 1 inch 1-70XL and the price is $85.00. For excessively high water pressures this is the best solution. High water pressure is fog irrigation. The water droplets become so fine that the nozzles spray pattern is destroyed.

2 Likes

As far as the backflow preventer this does surprise me. There are so many contractors who will do installation on weekends and don’t get a permit and they don’t get inspected. You can blame the builders for this.

1 Like