Watering Guide

Existing Grass: If you have just had a system installed and your lawn is already well established, follow the following rules:

1. Do not overwater. Overwatering can be just as harmful to your landscape as not watering at all. Turf may at times become brown, but is quite resilient and will “bounce back” when your watering schedule is adjusted to accomodate. Overwatered landscapes, however, can become permanently damaged.

2. Water everyday for the first 1-2 weeks. We suggest watering your lawn every night to be sure the fresh cuts and trenches receive adequate water and do not brown out.

3. After this period water only once at night, 2-3 times a week. Rotor zones should run for about 20-30 minutes and spray zones 5-10 minutes.

4. Keep this schedule unless it becomes very hot and dry. If your yard seems to be dry or brown increase the frequency or duration of your watering. It may be better to water less frequent, but adding more run time to your zones. Your can run your rotors up to 45 minutes per zone and sprays up to 15 minutes per zone. This depends on your soil type and slope of your yard. You do not want to overwater and have runoff.

5. Check your lawn. If only certain areas of your yard are dry or brown, only increase the zones in those areas.

Existing Shrubs and Annuals : Water existing shrubs 2-3 times per week for approximately 15 minutes per spray zone and 30-60 minutes for drip zones. If you have a lot of annuals, you may have to increase watering frequency. Annuals may need to be watered as much as daily or every other day. However, reduce zone running times to 5-10 minutes for sprays, and 20-30 minutes for drip zones.

New Sod: It is very important to keep new sod wet for at least 2-3 weeks. It takes a lot of water, especially if the weather is very hot and dry. Follow these instructions to be sure that your new sod is watered properly.

1. Water Thoroughly: Rotor zones should run for about 30-40 minutes per zone and spray zones 10-15 minutes per zone.

2. Water Frequently : Sod areas should be watered at least 2 or 3 times daily for the first two weeks.

3. Stop Watering: After 2-3 weeks, when your lawn seems to be very saturated and the sod is growing long, turn the sprinkler off. Let the lawn dry out for a good 3-5 days. This is usually a good time to cut the grass, while the lawn is dry and not swampy.

4. Once the grass is cut, we suggest just watering once a day, during the early morning hours. Beginning after midnight and finishing before 8 am is best. During this time, run rotor zones 20-30 minutes and spray zones 5-10 minutes.

5. If the yard still seems very wet, reduce run times or frequency. If there are dry areas, you may have to increase run times or frequency for zones in those areas. It may take some time to figure out exactly how much to water, but you do not want to waste water or drown your sod.

New Seed/Hydro seed: Seed and hydro seed watering procedures are very similar to watering new sod. You want to water it frequently, but do not run the zones as long as you would for sod. Following the same frequency as new sod, you should only run rotor zones for about 10-15 minutes, and spray zones about 5 minutes. You only need to keep the seed and top of the surface wet. Do not overwater, as the seed and soil will wash away in the resulting run-off.

New Plantings: Plantings are very different than sod. Plantings can drown very quickly if overwatered. Planting zones should be on a separate program and watered less frequently than sod.

1. Water Thoroughly: When new shrubs are planted, it is recommended to soak them in. We suggest watering spray zones 30 min per zone, 3 times per week. Run this schedule for one week only. After one week, water plantings only 2-3 times per week for about 10-15 minutes per spray zone, and 30-60 minutes for drip zones.
2. Check Soil Moisture: It is very important to touch the soil in the planting beds to see how wet it is. If the soil is wet and saturated, reduce watering. You may have to dig under the mulch slightly to accurately measure how wet the soil really is. Plants will wilt and turn yellow if they are overwatered (just as they would if they were underwatered), so it is important to feel the soil to ensure they are not being drowned.

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Programming Your Timer

To ensure that your landscape is watered correctly, you must know how to properly set your timer. Most sprinkler controllers operate in the same way, and most are easy to setup and adjust if you follow the following basic rules. These are general guidelines for your assistance. You may need to follow your manual to pickup details that may have been left out.

1. Set the Time and Date : follow the instructions in the manual; make sure that the am/pm setting is correct.

2. Programs : All timers usually have 3 or 4 different programs. Programs allow you to water certain areas (zones) of your landscape at different times and days. Programs are usually represented by the letters A, B, C or the numbers 1, 2, and 3. It is common to set one program for plantings and one program for grass areas. We recommend scheduling plantings on Program A (or 1), and grass on Program B (or 2). For the purpose of this guide, we will use letters A, B, C to reference programs.

3. Setting Program A (Plantings) : Be sure you are modifying program A. Depending on what type of controller you have, you may have to turn the program dial to A or push the program button until A is displayed.

4. Set Start Time : Enter the time that you want your plantings to begin their watering cycle. Ex: 5 am.

5. Set Schedule : Schedule refers to the days of the week program A will run. There are usually several schedule options such as Even/Odd Days, Interval, and Exact Day. Set the days you would like the shrubs to be watered. Remember, plantings should be watered 2-3 times per week. Ex: Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

6. Set Zone or Station Time : Each zone that you want to run should have a time duration set. Ex: if your system had zones 1 and 2 as planting zones, you would need to set each of these zones for running time, such as 15 minutes. Set zones 1 and 2 to 15 minutes, and all others should read 0 minutes since they will be on a different program. Program A is finished. Let's move on to Program B.

7. Setting Program B (Grass): Turn dial or push program button to B.

8. Set Start Time : Repeat as above for program B. However, do not set program A and program B times to overlap. Doing so will cause the timer to try and run both programs at once, and water pressure may not be sufficient to properly water all zones. For program B, we will use a 1 am start time.

9. Set Schedule : Set the days of the week you want the grass to be watered. You can set the programs to run on the same days, but not the same times, as this will cause an overlap as mentioned above. For our example, we will set program B to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

10. Set Zone Time : You will need to set running times for all of your lawn zones. Ex: If your system has zones 3, 4 and 5 as lawn areas, and you want to run each zone for 20 minutes, set the times in the same manner as step 6. In this example, Program B will run for 1 hour.

11. Running the System : Turn your dial to Auto Run, make sure your rain sensor is on, and you are set for full operation. Using the examples shown in the preceding steps, your system would run as follows:

Program A starts at 5 am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Zones 1 and 2 run for 15 minutes each.

Program B starts at 1am on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Zones 2-5 will run for 20 minutes each.

Programming your controllers can be very easy as long as you understand the programs, start times, schedules and zone running times. You may find that you need more than 2 programs for your property. Every property is different and these are just basic guidelines to help you. Reading your manual to learn more about the functions of your controller is always recommended.

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Frequently Asked Questions

• Does my rain sensor work? Your timer must be on sensor for your rain sensor to work. Be sure the button or dial is at the sensor position. Rain sensors are set at about ¼” of rain. They will not turn your system off unless they are wet enough. Sometimes, with a lot of wind and sun, rain sensors can dry out rather quickly, and we recommend turning your system off for a few days if there is substantial rain. In doing so, you will not waste water or damage your plants by overwatering.

• My sprinkler is coming on at the wrong times. Make sure the timer is set correctly, and that the am/pm settings are correct on both your clock and your start times. You may have also accidentally added more than one start time for your programs. Check to make sure you only have the start times you need.

• My sprinkler isn't coming on at all. Make sure there is a display on your timer, and if so, make sure there is power at the outlet your controller is plugged into. Back up batteries may keep your display functioning, but will not run the sprinkler.

• My drip zones are not working . Drip waters underneath the mulch and you may not be able to see any water. Sometimes, you may see small circles of water at the surface.

• Is my sprinkler leaking? We get this type of call often when homeowners receive higher water bills, especially if there is new sod that must be kept wet for a long period of time. If you do have a leak in the system, the rest of the system will usually malfunction as well due to the loss of water pressure. Also, check your water meter. If the meter is not spinning when the system is off, there are no leaks. If your water bill is extremely high, follow the helpful hints on the next page.

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  Helpful Hints

  1. Do Not Overwater. Watering less is sometimes better than watering too much. Set the sprinkler to come on 2-3 times per week in the beginning of the season. As the weather turns warmer and drier, adjust your timer according to the conditions of your lawn and plantings. If your grass is green and lush, do not change your settings. If areas seem to be getting dry, add more time to those areas or schedule them more often. If you overwater and your plants are deprived of oxygen, they will turn yellow and wilt, and will appear as if they are not getting enough water. When this happens, your plants have a slim chance of surviving. If your plants wilt due to a lack of water, adjust your timer to water more frequently. It is best to do this as soon as you notice your plants are looking dry.

  2. Rain . During the summer we tend to get a lot of heavy thunderstorms, and some summers are rainy all season. Although your system does contain a rain sensor, they tend to dry out quickly, especially if windy conditions are present. We suggest turning your system off for a couple of days after a very rainy pattern or if it has rained more than an inch during a storm. You rain sensor will work; it is not necessary to turn your system off after every rain. Water usage is expensive, and the less you water unnecessarily, the more money you will save.

  3. Check the operation of your system at least monthly. Sprinklers run during the early morning hours when most people are asleep. We suggest you do a test on the system monthly to be sure all zones are running properly and that none of the heads or nozzles are damaged.

  4. Leaks . If you do find a leak in your system for whatever reason, turn your sprinkler system off at the shut-off valve located in your basement. These valves are usually at the point where your main water source enters your home and should be labeled with a Sir Sprinkler tag.

  5. Problems . If you have any problems or questions, please call us. We can often help troubleshoot problems over the phone.

• Call us at 610-558-2678 or 1-877-WET-LAWN.

• Thank you again for choosing Sir Sprinkler.

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