The design and installation instructions we recommend are sponsored by Jess Stryker and are excellent tutorials. These programs are both good as general guides for your project and are appropriate for most common brands of irrigation equipment. Design is extremely important. You can purchase the finest equipment, but if the design is poor, your system will never work correctly to water the lawn as it was intended to do. Below are some design hints and recommendations on types of sprinkler equipment we have found to be effective and dependable. Other brands and types may be acceptable.

Piping - When designing your piping, we suggest you follow correct plumbing theory as Jess Stryker also recommends, rather than adopting a one-size-piping-fits-all philosophy. This is easily accomplished by following tutorial design instructions or just using a rule of thumb guide; use 1" pipe from the water meter (connect nearby) to the solenoid valves. Use 1" pipe from the solenoid valves to the first two heads, then use 3/4" pipe until you get to the last two heads. If they are small spray heads, use 1/2" pipe to feed both heads. If they are rotors, feed the last head with 1/2" pipe. Any time your coming off a larger line to feed one head, use 1/2" pipe. This isn't perfect, but it's better than using all one size pipe, which will cause some heads to have more pressure than others.

Controllers - For indoor residential use, the brands and models we have found generate almost no complaints or returns are the Hunter SRC and Pro-C series controllers, the Rainbird ESP-TM, ESP Modular, while the ESP-LX is excellent but a little pricey. Irritrol offers a really excellent line of controllers with the KwikDial KD Series and long-trusted Rain Dial Series, the nod going to the KwikDial as being in my opinion the best controller buy on the market today.  Inexpensive, easy to program and very dependable. Of course I still pine for the discontinued Rainbird RC series (non-computer) controllers, possibly the best controllers ever built. But alas, they are no more. 

For outdoor use, the Rainbird ESP series, RainDial outdoor series, or Hunter Pro-C series are all excellent outdoor controllers. All are time-tested controllers and are models proven to be resistant to surge and nearby lightning strike damage. The Pro-C is also expandable. Keep in mind that many "economy" computer type controllers, particularly the inexpensive ones available in discount stores, are prone to damage by electrical surges. While discount stores offer a 1 year guarantee on their products, our controllers are professional grade, and most are covered by a 2 or 3 year manufacturers warranty.

Solenoid Valves - You can use any 24 volt solenoid valve, but we prefer the Rainbird 100DV series or the Hunter SRV or PGV valves. Our customers in northern climates seem to prefer the Hunter SRV or PGV series and tell us they believe the thicker and softer plastic of the Hunter valves makes them more resistant to freeze damage. I will also comment that while we do sell a lot of diaphragms for almost all brands of valves, we rarely ever have an inquiry on purchase of a Hunter diaphragm, they must be doing something right. Irritrol valves have also developed a reputation for dependability over many years, but are subject to needing occasional diaphragm replacement.

Spray Heads - The Toro 570Z series is still the very best of the small pop-up spray heads. In our opinion, it will outperform and outlast any competitive small spray head, period. Over the years, we have installed many thousands of these Toro pop-up spray heads and can tell you we would use no other brand. Due to our longer Florida grasses, we use the 4" variety, but you may prefer the 3" or 2" variety. If you want an alternative to Toro, the Rainbird or Hunter heads are good, but they don't have the easily renewable seal available with Toro. The few extra pennies for the Toro small spray heads will be repaid in durability and performance.

Rotor Heads - Hunter rotor heads are, in our opinion, the very best rotor heads on the market today, bar none. We used the PGP or I-20 on just about every job we did for well over fifteen years, after switching from Toro. 

Hunter PGP's pop up further, cover more evenly, are more dependable, are easier to adjust, are easier to change nozzles out on and will last longer than any competitive rotor heads I am aware of, and I've installed just about all of them. Yes, we have tried most of the competitive brands over the years, but found Hunter to be head and shoulders (no pun intended) above the competition. The Rainbird 5000 series is also earning an excellent reputation for performance and durability. We do not recommend or sell K-Rain rotor heads, even those assembled by Toro and called the Toro S800 head.

Anti-siphon equipment - is a hodge-podge of different jurisdictional requirements in different states. Requirements often differ from one city or county to another, so don't spend any money on backflow equipment until you find out exactly what is required in your area. We sell it all on our website - www.lubees.com . To find out the requirements for your area, contact either your local water company or your local government building department. If you are in a frostbelt area, you need to opt for brass equipment and arrange to protect it from freeze conditions.

Rain Sensor - Throughout America, these devices are becoming mandatory just about everywhere. They stop your system from coming on when it rains, saving you water and money. The best type on the market is made by Mini-Clik, a company now owned by Hunter Industries. The Hunter Mini-Clik has fibrous rings inside that swell when wet, which depresses a shut-off switch, deactivating the system temporarily. They are adjustable as to how much rainfall is required to prevent system operation. Another less problem-free type is what we call "the cup"and a third type has sensors buried in the ground to actually measure soil moisture levels. The cup device fills with water when it rains, and in sunny humid climates the water often fails to evaporate and algae grows, making a messy insect swimming pool and generating malfunctions. The types with probes underground are probably more accurate for the particular small area they are buried in, but are expensive to purchase and replace, and seem also to be quite prone to lightning or surge damage and mineral build-up on the probes.
We installed a Mini-Clik on every one of our sprinkler system installations for over 14 years and have found this device to be extremely dependable and virtually maintenance free. It is our opinion that the probe type Underground probes) devices are not really appropriate for residential application.

Pumps - I believe Goulds is argueably the best pump out there, but it is built in West Senaca, New York in a very high-end labor market. We discovered Betta-Flo pumps, now owned by National Pump, about 10 years ago. I was impressed with their reputation... "a poor man's Goulds".... so we gave them a try and have been using Betta-Flo pumps ever since. I can look anyone in the eye and tell you that performance-wise and dependability-wise and even right down to similar construction, performance and looks, I believe the Betta-Flo Pump to be every bit as good as Goulds Pumps and they cost a lot less money, because they are built in Georgia, which is a lot less expensive labor market. Of course Sta-Rite and Red Jacket also build excellent pumps. Sta-Rite still puts out an excellent professional grade pump, but also has less quality oriented models showing up in Discount stores.

There is a war going on in the pump industry. For many years a lot of manufacturers built reputations for quality by using the trusted Franklin motor, a benchmark of the industry. Now many of the pump manufacturers, such as Goulds and Sta-Rite are attempting to manufacture there own pump motors and control boxes. We are sticking with Betta Flo and one reason is their continued use of Franklin motors. As far as I'm concerned it will be many years before the jury is in on Sta-Rite and Goulds motors.

Fertilizer Injectors - We had some early and rather unfortunate experience with these devices. Our basic opininion is that you are better off without one, unless it injects a liquid.  Most water soluble fertilizer contains a petroleum base and the residue tends to cake and gum up the working parts in a system, particularly if any insecticide injection is attempted and particularly if "dissolvable" tablets are involved.

Many sprinkler systems tend to water unevenly, putting more water in some areas, less in other areas. Injected fertilizer will follow this same pattern, with more fertilizer going to areas that are getting overwatered and less fertilizer going to areas that probably already are stressed because of underwatering. It is also an extemely poor idea to inject poisons (insecticides) into your irrigation system, if it is connected to the same water supply going to your house and family.
Water soluble fertilizers are also exactly that; they may green up the lawn temporarily due to a high nitrogen content, but come the next rain, any remainder is washed away. Any claims of slow release would mean you are passing undissolved solids through your sprinkler system valves, piping and heads; not a good idea.

So if you want a fertilizer injector to use for a high-nitrogen green-up effect and plan on supplimenting it with twice yearly application of a good granular well-balanced (6-6-6, 8-8-8) slow-release high-potash type fertilizer, you should have a fine looking lawn.

If you are wondering where we get off evaluating products, keep in mind we have spent much of the past 25 years planting these products in the ground and honoring our guarantee when they go bad. We know what has worked well for us and our customers, and we know what has given us and our competitors problems.

Our opinions may be strong, but they are based in long professional experience without bias. We installed thousands of sprinkler systems during the past 25 years in Florida's sugar sand and sun - one of the harshest environments for irrigation equipment anywhere on earth.

Equipment in general - much of the irrigation equipment stocked in discount stores or hardware stores is just not professional grade. It may carry a well respected major brand name, but is manufactured for the discount market. For instance - Toro rotor heads sold in discount stores, are not the same professional grade we stock and sell. So when you see prices in discount stores rivaling ours, please realize they are usually selling discount versions, not the professional contractor grade versions available to you from our webstore at the lowest prices possible. Don't compare apples and oranges.

A case in point would be the Toro "single stream rotor". The Toro rotor heads sold in our webstore are the Toro Super 600, Super 700 or Super 800 professional grade rotor heads. They come in either full circle non-adjustable or part circle adjustable types. They are both good professional grade sprinkler heads with a solid track record.

But the Toro rotor head sold in discount stores is the Toro "Single Stream Rotor". It is a head produced by Toro expressly and exclusively for discount store distribution and comes in fixed arcs that cannot be adjusted, with small non-changeable nozzles. In our opinion, this head does not perform at a professional level, yet is sold in discount stores for about the same price we charge for the professional contractor grade Toro heads. This scenario holds true for many discount store irrigation products. Even the best brand names usually have a discount level version of their equipment to market in discount stores. Like discount store clothes, they aren't built to perform well or last, they are built to sell cheap to people looking for a bargain.

You will probably design and install your system only once. Your system design and the products you choose to install will determine your system performance level, dependability, efficiency, frequency of service and equipment replacement costs for the rest of the time you own your home. So remember - Quality doesn't cost, it pays!

Courtesy of Lubee's Pump & Irrigation, Inc