Shocking irrigation water bill

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  #31  
Old 06-15-2019, 08:53 PM
pauld315 pauld315 is offline
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Could the OP tell us what they think a high bill is for irrigation is a shocking amount since they never had a home with one before, especially in Florida.
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Old 06-16-2019, 05:56 PM
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Default Shocking irrigation water bill

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Originally Posted by Toymeister View Post
Do have an interior, corner or pie shaped lot? Do you have a designer home?



With knowing nothing about your lot size or how green you want your lawn the average May water consumption is about 14,000 gallons. This is based upon over 40 irrigation years looked at of public records on water usage in TV.



Asking a 'irigation expert' is like asking how often should I change my oil. It is a meaningless opinion.



What I would do is install a Rachio irrigation controller less than 200.00 on Amazon. You punch in lawn type, soil type, slope. It calculates evaporation rate, checks with the weather service if it will rain, if it has rained, total irrigation for that zone including rain, checks if it is saturated. It changes the time based upon season. As a computer it doesn't have an opinion, just the facts to work with.


Edit: sorry, seemed to have quoted your wrong post but you get the idea.

I have a similar controller but their rain delays are wacky because when it says it rained 75% of the time it never did. They have no idea if it rained in Amelia vs Virginia Trace. Around here you can get 4” at LSL but 1/8” half mile away. Other then that they are great. I look at my weather station and use that and add my own rain delay. If I went with their rain delay I’d probably only water 1/5 the needed time OR 10x more than necessary.


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Old 06-16-2019, 06:30 PM
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Originally Posted by pauld315 View Post
Could the OP tell us what they think a high bill is for irrigation is a shocking amount since they never had a home with one before, especially in Florida.
OK, OP here, I think it is obvious from my second post that I felt 40,000 gallons for one month was a "shocking" amount of water usage and the bill was also a "shocking" amount to me. I thank all the people who have given useful ideas, suggestions, and examples of typical water usage. To your comment above, I just shake my head and wonder what purpose you have in trying to belittle my post.
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Old 06-16-2019, 06:47 PM
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Not sure the hysteria is warranted given many Villagers blow $75. a month on golf balls.
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Old 06-19-2019, 08:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Tom52 View Post
OK, OP here, I think it is obvious from my second post that I felt 40,000 gallons for one month was a "shocking" amount of water usage and the bill was also a "shocking" amount to me. I thank all the people who have given useful ideas, suggestions, and examples of typical water usage. To your comment above, I just shake my head and wonder what purpose you have in trying to belittle my post.
Belittle ? I was just curious.
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Old 06-19-2019, 10:15 PM
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25,000 gallons would be high with your lot size. May and October are brutal (95F, 35%H, 10MPH) on biolife so you should run the sprinkler everyday under those conditions.

Here is video instructions for the controller unit:
Pro-C Basic: 01, Setting Date and Time | Hunter Industries

ProC manual:
https://www.hunterindustries.com/sit...OM_ProC_EM.pdf

You need to dial to "Seasonal Adjust" and set that to "100" before setting your zone "Run Times". The solar sync will adjust the seasonal adjust value to typically "50" everyday at midnight calculated on rolling weather conditions...usually from "20" to "70".

Last edited by MorTech; 06-20-2019 at 01:17 PM.
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Old 06-19-2019, 10:28 PM
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My irrigation for average size lot was 4,500 gal last month with sprinklers on 3 days a week and I thought that was too much. I have read that using a lot of water can contribute to the formation of sink holes so I’m trying to use the least amount that the grass and shrubs really need.
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Old 06-20-2019, 07:53 AM
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I received a letter stating that my recent meter reading exceeded the usage that is considered normal. It was 35 000 gallons. But it was during that hot dry spell where I had the setting on two days a week for eight of the nine zones.

I consider it a no brainier to keep the lawn and shrubbery looking good and not stressed. Won't see a letter next month though. Quite a change in the weather [emoji939].



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Old 07-09-2019, 12:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom52 View Post
We just moved to TV about 7 weeks ago. We are not at all familiar with irrigation systems or proper watering/timer settings. We had an "expert" from Superior Services come and check the system and to set the zones up with proper settings. He also bypassed the rain sensor. I suspect his setup was way overkill as we also received a letter from CSU noting the high irrigation water usage this last month.

Can someone suggest ballpark settings for frequency and minutes during summer months for Zoysia grass zones and shrubbery zones?

Many thanks in advance for your suggestions.
No one can tell you time settings for zones over the internet. Someone has to come to your home and set zone times appropriate to locations. For example, shade area need less time than areas with sun most of the day. North side may need lees time than south. Have someone with experience set your system. Also have someone train you as you may have to make adjustments as it needs.
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Old 07-09-2019, 12:35 PM
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My system is only watering my Zoysia grass 5 minutes, two times a week, and it is growing like crazy, with no shade.
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Old 07-09-2019, 12:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chi-Town View Post
I received a letter stating that my recent meter reading exceeded the usage that is considered normal. It was 35 000 gallons. But it was during that hot dry spell where I had the setting on two days a week for eight of the nine zones.

I consider it a no brainier to keep the lawn and shrubbery looking good and not stressed. Won't see a letter next month though. Quite a change in the weather [emoji939].



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Bill for irrigation - $152.00

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Old 07-09-2019, 05:33 PM
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  #43  
Old 07-10-2019, 05:42 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom52 View Post
We just moved to TV about 7 weeks ago. We are not at all familiar with irrigation systems or proper watering/timer settings. We had an "expert" from Superior Services come and check the system and to set the zones up with proper settings. He also bypassed the rain sensor. I suspect his setup was way overkill as we also received a letter from CSU noting the high irrigation water usage this last month.

Can someone suggest ballpark settings for frequency and minutes during summer months for Zoysia grass zones and shrubbery zones?

Many thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Are you sure he bypassed the rain sensor?

A lot of irrigation companies bypass the "seasonal adjustment" feature
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Old 07-10-2019, 06:20 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rango View Post
Are you sure he bypassed the rain sensor?

A lot of irrigation companies bypass the "seasonal adjustment" feature
FYI, the rain sensor bypass is just an on/off switch on the control panel. This is easy to check by just looking at the control panel. But, bypassing the seasonal adjustment would require either disconnecting a wire, or making an advanced adjustment setting on the panel. If he bypassed the seasonal adjustment, he should have explained in detail how and why he did that.

Last edited by retiredguy123; 07-10-2019 at 06:33 AM.
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