You can’t give an option of gpm or in/hr? Seriously? Do you guys have any experience with drip, in the real world?
Maybe you need to hire a retired irrigator to help you.
The reason I mention this is because a buddy is trying to get the schedule right, on his controller. It is a disaster. Let’s just say I am less than impressed with this product.
Add to that we have watering restrictions (which drip is usually exempt from), and this controller leaves a lot to be desired.
But, getting back to drip…
It works best when it is done on a daily basis. (Which is why it needs to be exempt.) Yes, it has very low flow rates, and could have very long run times. And could muck things up, if you have a lot of zones. (Not sure how brand x or y or z will fix that. Sounds like a basic design problem, in the system. 16 zones, for a residential property is a bit much. It must be a really big property. Which usually requires a larger meter, to handle larger zones. Like commercial properties do.)
The biggest problem that I see, which is not anything you guys have control over, is a mismatch of soil and emitters. A lot of folks try to shoehorn anything in, to an existing system, and hope it works the way the old spray heads do. Which, in the case of folks with heavy clay, is asking for BIG problems.
Anyway…
We played games with the settings for his drip zones. We know the root depth and the precipitation rate. (Well, I do, since I measured both. Not sure the average home owner has any clue about either, but let’s put that aside.) It didn’t seem to matter what we did: the schedule stayed the same! And it was way too short.
It would probably be fair to point out most “smart” or “Et-based” controllers are notorious for over-watering. Some by as many as 200%. (Based on work by the guys at Texas A&M.) The best one, which I mistakenly put in lots of, only went over by 20-25%. Which is what we also confirmed, by years of futzing with them. (The problems started when you tried to get one to back off by 20-25%. We eventually had to give up, and turn off the “smart” feature.)
So, bottom line is…
His landscape is burning up. We are trying to get it right, but your controller wants to pretend it knows more than I do, on how to set a schedule. It looks like a neat product, but I would never install one. Luckily…I am retired! So, you won’t have to worry about me putting in Brand W instead.
If any of the member would like my input, on drip, please feel free to ask. I am not sure how this forum works. Some send out notices, on replies. If so, I will know. If not…and I am not busy doing retired stuff, I will try to check back in. But, no promises. Someone expects me to do all the things I was supposed to do, years ago. Ooops…!