Need direction

Hi there

I need suggestions on which way to go with irrigation. I have a yard, about 3/4 acre of grass, and 4 acres of pasture that need irrigation. We have a canal behind us with water rights but im not sure of the best way to irrigate from it.

The canal is about 10 feet above our 5 acre level plot of land. The water level in the canal is usually about 5 feet deep and there is a rise of about 4 feet from the top water level to the top of the canal bank.

Nearest power source is about 75 feet away so any electric pump would have to run off extension cords. Not ideal. So, Im thinking a gas pump is the answer.

What I would like is first to be able to flood irrigate our fields. No concerns there that I can think of. Straight run of pipe, length of said pipe shouldnt matter.(?) Second I would like to water our lawn in some way. Above ground sprinklers are preferred but not at great expense. I can flood or drip irrigate the lawn if sprinklers arent feasible. Last, we have a bit of basement flooding in the spring when our neighbor floods his fields and our sump pump just cant keep up. I plan to use the pump for that issue also.

Id like to find a pump around the $300 range that I can use for all of the above.

What I have in mind is something like the 5hp gas powered pumps. I would run a straight discharge hose for flooding the fields, then reduce the discharge down to garden hose size to run a few sprinklers. Sound reasonable? Suggestions are much appreciated.

I would urge you to have your system professionally designed. There are many, many pitfalls that you can encounter that will make your current questions seem trivial. What you need to have is a good scale drawing of your property, including buildings, driveways, water source, and etc.. Then find an irrigation company in your area. They have designers on staff that know how to design a system that will work right. I don't know about every company's policies, but when I had my yard system designed a lot of years ago, they designed it for nothing! The only requirement was I had to buy all of my supplies from them. Their prices were about the same as the Big Box Store, but the quality of the sprinklers was better. Most of them are still working after 24 seasons. I did my own trenching with a Ditch Witch and planted the PVC pipe and sprinklers myself, but you might very well find their labor costs to be so reasonable that you won't want to mess with the work yourself. At least get the design done even if they charge you, you'll be money ahead I promise you.

Gary Swart said:

I would urge you to have your system professionally designed. There are many, many pitfalls that you can encounter that will make your current questions seem trivial. What you need to have is a good scale drawing of your property, including buildings, driveways, water source, and etc.. Then find an irrigation company in your area. They have designers on staff that know how to design a system that will work right. I don't know about every company's policies, but when I had my yard system designed a lot of years ago, they designed it for nothing! The only requirement was I had to buy all of my supplies from them. Their prices were about the same as the Big Box Store, but the quality of the sprinklers was better. Most of them are still working after 24 seasons. I did my own trenching with a Ditch Witch and planted the PVC pipe and sprinklers myself, but you might very well find their labor costs to be so reasonable that you won't want to mess with the work yourself. At least get the design done even if they charge you, you'll be money ahead I promise you.

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Thanks for the response. Sound advice you offer but Im not actually going to install a full sprinkler/irrigation system. Im ok with a few rotary sprinklers i move around the yard once a week even if i end up running them off the house water. Irrigating my pasture is the priority and for that flooding is the way to go. Im just in the market for a pump that will reliably pull water from the canal and put it where i need it. If it will run a few sprinklers also, ill be ecstatic

In selecting a pump, there is always a trade off between head pressure and volume. There are inexpensive pumps what will move 4000 GPH, but would not develop anywhere near the head pressure to operate a few sprinklers. Sprinkler pumps will develop the head, and will be in a much lower GPH range.

jimbo said:

In selecting a pump, there is always a trade off between head pressure and volume. There are inexpensive pumps what will move 4000 GPH, but would not develop anywhere near the head pressure to operate a few sprinklers. Sprinkler pumps will develop the head, and will be in a much lower GPH range.

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What if i were to reduce the discharge down from a 2 or 3 inch pump to 5/8 inch garden hose size. Would that increase the pressure enough to run a sprinkler, even just one? Or would reducing the discharge that much just cause problems for the pump?

davewest said:

What if i were to reduce the discharge down from a 2 or 3 inch pump to 5/8 inch garden hose size. Would that increase the pressure enough to run a sprinkler, even just one?

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It doesn't work that way

Forget about the sprinkler pump serving as a sump pump. Buy a second sump pump for periods of peak demand. 75 feet is nothing, so far as an electrical run goes. Extension cords? No way.