Can someone please explain lawn watering and irrigation system.
 

Might be a stupid question but....
I thought the irrigation systems were managed by TV? I see a watering guide in the book I picked up. Am I supposed to manage the irrigation? Am I supposed to know what I'm doing?

Every house has a clock in the garage. Inside it should list your days. Set it up for how long you want the water to run. If a new house there should be a number to call and someone will come out to explain it.

Irrigation
 

Have you system adjusted. The adjustor will set it for recommended days and times.

The irrigation system for your house is owned and managed by you, not The Villages. You can hire a company that will come out every 3 months or so to check for broken sprinkler heads, adjust the heads, and make sure the system is operating correctly, or you can do this yourself. I would suggest that you learn how to program and adjust the main controller in the garage. It is probably made by Hunter Industries. You can go to their website and download the operating manual for your specific controller model. The controller allows you to set the watering schedule, but it is a little complicated. Good luck.

Due Diligence....
click bait .....

You need to call an irrigation guy he will take good care of you!

Turn him onto the WiFi controller!

I grabbed one of these:

Watch the instructional videos on YouTube. Several are available. Not difficult at all.

Water Wisdom Link
 

Here is a link to a site from the villages community district web page:

http://www.thevillageswaterwisdom.com/

It will help you understand the systems. There are a lot of web pages available for information about Villages @

Village Community Development Districts
VCDD Utilities/Amenities

You really need to learn to do this yourself. I'm sure you have a manual, just take it one step at a time. If it's a Hunter, it is factory set to program A. The installer would have set for appropriate time and days. Go to YouTube and learn so you can do it yourself , checking for broken heads or spraying in the wrong direction. You can learn to change a head yourself and run tubes to shrubs and flower pots. Or, if you have deep pockets you could call a service company.

I too didn't know anything about irrigation sprinklers. Many of us who move down here were in your position. The best thing to do is ask your neighbor for a quick lesson and learn the basics. With summer coming your sprinklers probably won't be going off very much because it rains every day for a hour or so. I suggest you set your sprinklers to go off twice a week. Wednesday and Saturday mornings for instance.

Watch your water bill. It is not too hard to make a mistake and run an extra day or more likely run twice on the same day.
Also every couple of months run each zone for a minute or two and observe the sprinkler heads to see that they are working.

It is a hunter. Didn’t even notice it when moving in. I have family that works in irrigation and will have him show me how to do it. Thank you.

Thank you all for your help. Now it doesn’t seem to be that difficult.

And there are area owned by the CDD that have irrigation. All the nice community areas along the major roads (with no house backing up to the road). They run these sometimes before and during severe weather to lower the level of the ponds (besides just normal irrigation). This running at strange times confuses people, but it is normal.

You set your own irrigation. They only want you to water twice a week.

Irrigation
 

I have hunter called them and they explained everything and walked me through setting it up. Easy very helpful.

call Joe Sheldon 352-409-3163. he is a Village resident and will adjust your sprinkler heads and explain how the system works and set your watering times/days for you. But, do it soon because the heat of the summer sun will burn your grass if it doesn't get enough water.

Yes, you are. And if youre not aware of how to set it up, Im sure you have scores of neighbors willing to help or else pay for a professional to come out.

No one mentioned changing the little discs in the outdoor sensor. These dry out and don’t react to the moisture in the air. Less than $5 on Amazon. Easily replaced by you.

Endless debate and opinion not necessarily fact. As far as irrigation, perhaps a better term is lawn watering. In the older sections they use the regular drinking water. In newer sections it is recycled water-not fit to drink. I think everywhere the water from the hose bib is normal drinking water. There have been several threads on whether the recycled water is safe on plants you are going to eat-fruits and veggies. Truth-I don't know.

Everyone has two watering days. I think the reason is so that you and your neighbor are not watering on the same day.

We all have a float valve kind of thing that is supposed to shut off your automatic sprinkler if it rains. They have a limited life. Repair means replacing it. I expect few of the are working and since the sprinklers are or should be run a night to lessen evaporation
few know that it isn't working.

Some people have decided the must water everyday. That is contrary to good lawn care.
It makes for lazy grass. The roots have no reason to go deep in search of water. So one day without water and your lawn will brown out. Water and fertilizer also need to be in balance. The bag says 5,000 sq feet. My lawn deserves better. I will apply twice that.
Result is your lawn needs more water, needs to be mowed more often and is more subject to fungus and insect damage.

Time to run each zone? That is the wrong question. If, you have an assortment of heads they put out different amounts of water per minute. What you should do is put many shallow cans around you lawn and measure the true amount of water being applied.
Cleaned tuna or cat food kind of cans work great for this.

If your house is new your builder and/or irrigation vendor will show you how it works. If preowned, call the number listed in your garage and someone will come show you how it works. You may be charged, though.

Irrigation Pros 352-306-0280 are great. They only charge $29. or $39. to come out and check your system. Of course cost is more if you need anything more.

You can definitely learn how to work it. A bit of a learning curve but worth it. Why pay someone to check the system when you can do it yourself? I have even replaced heads when I could not get anyone here to do it. Mowers break them.

If its been rainy
 

Turn it off a few days. The sensor doesn't always work and I think there is a big tendency to overwater around here.

Hi,

What is the name of the disc and/or do you have a link to the part?

TIA

Take a chance. Have some guts. It is fun to MESS things up! It's not like you are in Alaska with a rifle and a Kodak bear is charging you. Sprinklers are NOT life-threatening.

What is the link to these discs on Amazon? I have seen several types advertised on EBay, but cannot find them on Amazon.

How do you like it ? I’ve been looking to get this. Did you swap it out yourself ? Thanks !

How do you like it ? I’ve been looking to get this. Did you swap it out yourself ? Thanks !

Everything you need is available here:
Sprinkler System & Irrigation Parts | Sprinkler Warehouse

You need to be more specific. I have been to that website, Amazon, Home Depot, Lowes, ACE Hardware, Central Pump and Supply, and other sprinkler parts sites. The only place that I can find that sells the replacement hydroscopic discs for the Hunter rain sensors is eBay. I don't shop on eBay. I would appreciate a specific part number and place to purchase, if you can provide it, other than eBay. Thanks.

Gotchya.
You could ask at:
Florida Irrigation Supply
15430 S Us Highway 441
Summerfield, FL 34491
352-245-4428
Since I'm here year-round I don't use the rain sensor.
I found watching the weather and manually turning off the system is more reliable.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...7-51-28-am-jpg


I also use the b-hyve Orbit system. Bought it at Lowes a few years ago. Works great.