What is this website about?
Irrigation-guide.com is an online guide for all those who are thinking of installing a home irrigation system on their own or are looking for individual answers to detailed home irrigation questions.
A few years ago I was faced with the same question: Continue to stand in the garden for hours and laboriously water the lawn and garden plants with the garden hose, or invest some time and money in the implementation of an automatic irrigation system. The decision was quickly made in favor of automatic irrigation. The biggest challenge was gathering the necessary knowledge: How do you even start, which system should you use and in which order is it best to carry out which steps? I found the necessary information laboriously and time-consuming on various websites, in online forums and in the product information of the manufacturers. As far as this was at all possible, because surprisingly little or no information was available on many details to be clarified, so that I was often only able to find out many details by the trial and error method.
My automatic home irrigation project was ultimately successful, the irrigation system has been in use for several years without any problems. Irrigation systems implemented together with friends and relatives also run to the fullest satisfaction.
The realization of an irrigation system is no book with 7 seals and also possible for the technically unsophisticated, but motivated layman – as I was back then. I don’t come from the industry, nor did I ever deal with the topic before my private irrigation project. Precisely because of this, I believe that I can put myself in the shoes of the average consumer. I pass on the knowledge I have gathered and gradually expanded in the course of the project here on the website.
The information is structured in project form, from the initial information and planning, through the specific purchase decision and the assembly of the system to the final implementation of the control including programming, so that you can go through the individual stages step by step.
I would be delighted if the information offered here helps you to save time, money and effort and I wish you every success with your home irrigation project!
Johann Kodnar, webmaster
Step by step to your own home irrigation system
Advantages of a Do-it-yourself home irrigation installation:
Myths and facts about home irrigation
Unfortunately, it is not that simple in practice. Even if the lawn is consistently moist after watering, that doesn’t mean you’ve done everything right. The magic word is “even watering”, meaning that all areas receive the same amount of water at the same time. Otherwise it can happen that some areas become brown due to a lack of water, or that some areas get too much water and you continually waste water or waterlogging occurs. The planning pages explain how to do it right.
As with every topic, it is also necessary here to deal with the topic at least a little before starting the project. If you are willing to do so, an automatic irrigation can also be easily implemented by a motivated do-it-yourselfer. The criterion is less manual dexterity than good planning. Everything you need can be found here on the website.
The running costs mainly consist of the water costs. For smaller gardens these are rather low, for larger gardens they increase proportionally to the irrigation area. If you have your own well, you can save it. Apart from that, there are still low electricity costs for the pump and battery / electricity costs for the irrigation computer and possibly solenoid valves. The construction costs depend on the size of the system and whether you build it yourself or have it built by professionals. A small, simple system that you build yourself and control manually starts at around 300 to 400 USD, for a larger 5000 square feet lawn with professional control with an irrigation computer and solenoid valves, a do-it-yourself implementation costs between 1,500 and 2,000 USD. If you have the system implemented by a professional instead, you have to calculate the costs at least 2.5 times. You can find detailed information and calculation examples in the blog post on the costs of automatic irrigation.
Exactly the opposite is the case! Compared to manual irrigation, optimally coordinated, even irrigation can save water. This is achieved by watering the lawn and plants only as much as is necessary. Modern sprinklers also ensure slow, gentle irrigation so that the water can be completely absorbed by the plants.
Latest blog posts
Winterizing a Cistern
When using a cistern, there are a few things to consider before the onset of winter. This article gives an overview of what to do in which case. How extensive the winterization work required is [...]
Introducing Netafim Netspex: Free sprinkler planning tool for agriculture
For many years, the only free online irrigation planning tool available was the myGarden planner from Gardena, but a few years ago the very advanced DVS irrigation planner and the Orbit irrigation planner were added. [...]
Options for tree watering: tree watering bag, root zone watering system, watering ring and more
Young trees need a lot of water in the first few years after they are planted in order to grow properly and develop their roots. And as a result of climate change and the [...]
What is the difference between a suction hose and a pressure hose?
The following article answers the question of how suction hoses and pressure hoses differ and for which application you need which of the two hoses. With suction pumps, which are the usual garden pumps, a [...]
How do you water a hedge?
Watering a hedge has a few things in common with watering a lawn, but there are some differences to consider. Below is the most important information on hedge watering. First of all, the basic question: [...]
How to realize automatic garden irrigation in just 10 days
In principle, my recommendation is to read up on the topic of irrigation carefully and start planning early. This way you develop a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter and get the most out [...]
Overview of the different connectors (fittings) used in an irrigation pipeline
This blog post provides an overview of connectors, also known as fittings, used in an irrigation system. Each with a brief description of the intended use. The connectors shown here are clamp, push to fit [...]
What is a 2-wire irrigation system and what advantages does it have?
The trend towards using 2-wire irrigation systems comes from the USA and is becoming increasingly important in the professional sector. Here I explain what distinguishes a two-wire system from a conventional system and what advantages [...]
PVC or PE pipe: which one is better for an irrigation pipeline?
While PVC pipes are traditionally used on the west coast of the USA, PE pipes are primarily used on the east coast. In Europe, almost exclusively PE pipes are used, in Australia both systems can [...]
Introducing Orbit Online Irrigation Planner
In this blog I have already presented two free online tools for planning garden irrigation: the DVS irrigation planner and the myGarden planner from Gardena. Unfortunately, the former is currently only offered in German language [...]
1/2 inch vs. 3/4 inch garden hose – when do you need which and what are the differences?
If you have not had much to do with watering before, then the question inevitably arises: Would you rather use a 1/2 inch or a 3/4 inch garden hose? Or which of the two do [...]
Ways to monitor and secure an irrigation system
There are also certain risks associated with the operation of an automatic irrigation system. Here you can find out what these are, how relevant they are for your own situation and which methods you [...]
Latest tests and comparisons
Gardena Smart Water Control web-controlled irrigation computer in practical testing
The Smart Water Control is the current top model from the European irrigation company Gardena. In the following practical test I describe what functions it includes, how to install it, how well it all [...]
Cheapest WiFi irrigation computer on the market in the test: Orbit B-hyve Smart Hose Watering Timer
In terms of price, the Orbit B-hyve Smart Hose Watering Timer is a challenge to the smart competing products from Gardena, LinkTap, Eve Aqua and others. But can it keep up with these providers [...]
Orbit B-hyve Smart Outdoor irrigation controller in the test
The web-enabled Orbit irrigation computers are a comparatively inexpensive alternative to the irrigation computers from established providers such as Hunter, Rain Bird or Racchio. In this article I put the Orbit B-hyve Smart Outdoor [...]
This is how the Orbit B-hyve system works
In this article I describe how the Orbit B-hyve system works, which is used in all web-enabled Orbit irrigation computers. This allows the irrigation computer to be programmed and operated from anywhere in the [...]
In the test: Hunter Pro HC Hydrawise vs. Rain Bird ESP-TM2 with LNK WiFi module
In the following article I will compare the Hunter Pro-HC irrigation computer with the Rain Bird ESP-TM2 in combination with the Rain Bird WiFi module in a practical test. The article also includes a [...]
This is how the Hunter Hydrawise system works
The following article introduces the possibilities of the popular Hunter Hydrawise irrigation system. This is cloud-based and is used on the web-enabled Hunter Hydrawise computers HC, Pro-HC, HPC, HCC and the X2 in conjunction [...]
How the Rain Bird Smart Watering System works (Rain Bird LNK WiFi)
This article introduces the features of the Rain Bird Smart Watering System used in web-enabled Rain Bird computers. This allows access to the irrigation computer from anywhere in the world and is used on [...]
Comparison of the sprinkler timers available on the market
Purchasing a sprinkler timer is not as easy as one would expect: It takes a lot of time to compare the products available on the market, because many sales offers only give part of [...]