Two sprinkers: connect in sereis or parallel?

I have a lawn geometry that is best handled with two sprinklers.

Would it best to connect them in series (faucet to 1st sprinkler and then 2nd sprinkler to the 1st one), or parallel (put a Y splitter at the faucet and connect both sprinklers independently by separate hoses)?

Thanks.

Reply to
Ajanta
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With a series arrangement the pressure will drop going down the line which means that if the sprinklers are the same the one close to the tap will theoretically put out more water than the one further away. Whether or not this is important in your case I cannot guess. If your water pressure is high and the sprinklers are low volume you may not even notice the difference.

With the parallel, if the sprinklers are the same, and the length of hose from the Y to each is the same, they should put out the same amount. This arrangement has some flexibility as you can put in taps to adjust the flow in the two arms.

There are other theoretical considerations (eg relative height from the tap) that could make a difference but which may not be important in practice. Which uses more hose depends on the geometry.

Not knowing your situation or how important even flow may be to you makes it hard to be specific.

David

Reply to
David Hare-Scott

Use the "y" connect. Better water pressure. You'd need to have such high starting pressure with the series arrangement that the hoses would be stressed.

Cheryl

Reply to
Cheryl Isaak

If you use a Y splitter, make sure you get one with full sized passages. Some of them have tiny passages that restrict the flow even more than it would be just from using the splitter.

This one

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works well and is cheap but doesn't have individual valves.

This one also works well and has individual valves. Note that Gilmour makes several other y connectors that either restrict the flow or that are plastic and in my experience leak, so make sure you get the right one.

All of the y connectors that I found at Home Depot restrict the flow except for one labelled "Goodyear" that busted on me after about 2 hours of use.

Reply to
J. Clarke

: If you use a Y splitter, make sure you get one with full sized : passages. Some of them have tiny passages that restrict the flow even : more than it would be just from using the splitter. : : This one : :

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1 : works well and is cheap but doesn't have individual valves. : : This one : : : also works well and has individual valves. Note that Gilmour makes : several other y connectors that either restrict the flow or that are : plastic and in my experience leak, so make sure you get the right one. : : All of the y connectors that I found at Home Depot restrict the flow : except for one labelled "Goodyear" that busted on me after about 2 : hours of use.

Thanks to everyone. This is very helpful. I'll remember to get one with individual valves for each line.

One more thing: Our tap is not at the edge of the lawn itself but some distance away. So instead of putting the Y connector at the tap itself, I could save some hose length by running one hose to the edge of the lawn and put a Y connector there. Any problems with that?

Reply to
Ajanta

It depends on two things, hose size and water pressure. Assuming you are using 5/8 inch hose and have very good water pressure you should not have a problem putting the Y connector at that point.

Reply to
Bill R

If you had an automatic irrigation system you may have six to a dozen heads on each zone, all in series. With two sprinklers, unless you have very low pressure and volume, I doubt it would make a lick of difference how connected... only one way to know, try it each way. I would probably use the Y connection only so I'd have a valve for each sprinkler, you probably don't want them each to operate exactly the same. With auto sprinkler heads they are individually adjustable but not so with standard garden sprinklers. Often with only two sprinkler locations it's best to run one sprinkler at a time rather than both together. And it's more important to choose the right sprinkler for the job... you might need a different kind of sprinkler for each of your two sectors. Anyway, how difficult can it be to try a few different arrangements... hmm, now I'm wondering if you are capable of showering yourself.

Reply to
Sheldon

Shelly with his brown colored glasses on;o))

Reply to
Billy

Nope - actually that is the best way. IMHO any way....

Best splitter I ever got was "odd lots" type place. Nearly no flow restriction and three valves. Can't read any name on it, but since I ID'd other pieces as repackaged Gardena items.....

Cheryl

Reply to
Cheryl Isaak

: Best splitter I ever got was "odd lots" type place. Nearly no flow : restriction and three valves. Can't read any name on it, but since I ID'd : other pieces as repackaged Gardena items.....

Is it plastic or metal? Gardena's tend to be plastic with "grey+orange" color theme. However, the design *might* have been different in the past.

Reply to
Ajanta

: hmm, now I'm wondering if you are capable of showering yourself.

Thank God, my family is rich and can hire somebody to shower me. :)

Cheers!

Reply to
Ajanta

This is grey (almost a silver) and green. Bought it 15+ years ago...

Cheryl

Reply to
Cheryl Isaak

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