Installation of control wires in the irrigation cabinet has begun!
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Really Richard I love this stuff, I would just need a great engineer to run it and fix it!!!
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I agree that someone with “propeller head” tendencies is a good choice for installation. But these particular controllers are very easy to operate once they’re correctly installed and labeled. There’s no menus to navigate … all the choices are right in front of you. My daughters learned how to operate them at ages 7 and 10. 
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How many irrigation zones do you have?
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There is hope for me yet!!!
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The term “irrigation zones” usually infers to an irrigation system divided into specific areas of a property. I don’t do that because I have plants with differing needs in terms of watering times and fertigation.
Instead, I have a water supply that comes into a fertigation shed where three different “flavors” of irrigation waters are disbursed to planters throughout the yard by about 25 valves scattered around the property, plus another set of 3 valves that refresh water in my bird fountains.
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This past weekend I finished repotting various plants and installing irrigation on our fireplace patio. Next I need to complete hooking up my fertilizer injectors – then the watering, pH control, and feeding will be entirely automatic.
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How has this system been working for you Richard? Hindsight is 20/20… Anything you can recommend to do differently if someone was about to embark on a similar project?
For me, a way to drain the lines for winterizing is important, along with likely burying the valves in ground for similar reasons.
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Invest in more union couplings so that system modifications including additional circuits and re-routing are easier. I initially built out with perhaps 10% of junctions with unions and now I’m up to 40% after alterations.
About 3 years ago I helped someone in zone 7 put in a fair weather irrigation system. The pipe runs entirely above ground from the garage/barn along fence lines, mounted with commercial pipe hangers used in factories. Come Fall the entire thing is disassembled and stored until Spring. All pipes, couplings, conduit, and emitters are PVC.
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In my area pex has became a big thing. Most people here who are using pex are doing so for its price and ease of working with it Amazon.com
This thread is a great place to bring up pex because in Kansas we have vole problems not to mention mice and rats. PVC is very expensive now but i feel it or metal are the only way to go where rodents are an issue. Was watching a video where they used pex in the desert but when i was in amarillo rodents were so bad they were attacking nopal cactus. Here is an article on the drawbacks of pex https://www.bobvila.com/articles/rodents-chew-pex-pipe/#:~:text=Mice%20and%20rats%20will%20chew,the%20result%20can%20be%20disastrous.
Richard you have worked with tons of this stuff are people finding a way to make this work or is it as naive long term as i think. By the way they are installing this as radiant/geothermal under the concrete slab. In my opinion i would expect the voles to work under the slab they do at my location. Pex seems beneficial above ground for the watering systems you mentioned but i would never install these as a permanent solution. This is the 1/2" pex Amazon.com
Here is how pex is used
Inside of a concret slab i dont see as big of a problem but i would not think about underneath.
It can be kept in place with these staples Amazon.com
Their are some benefits to pex
So i know what i said up to now seemed off topic but i wanted to explain how pex is used and why its used and finally why its not a good fit in Kansas in my opinion on many installations. This is an example of how its used for water lines leading up to the home or irrigation system
Here is confirmation of my suspicions people are being to quick to embrace new technology
Would love to say no rodent will ever be on my property but thats not reality. This year was invaded by sugar ants 7 or 8 times, saw one wood roach , 1 lizard , 50+ spiders, and 2 crickets, wasps etc. Last year the voles made a run on my house in the winter and i killed a dozen of them.
Slabs crack. And when they do, anything inside them is toast.
Those videos - they are preying on people without critical thinking skills.
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There might be something like tar that can be applied to pex to discourage rodents but the way its being used i have huge concerns these peoples homes will be destroyed withing a few years. More importantly irrigation systems for gardens and orchards are going to be installed with pex for years to come because of the price. I’m raining on everyones parade here telling them im not at all convinced its a viable solution below ground for irrigation or in homes. Have no problem with seasonal above ground systems where damage is visible. Use flexible plastic for irrigation myself sometimes above ground. Pex comes in 3 types A, B, C. The 3 types are discussed here PEX A, B or C - Understanding the Differences :: Apollo Valves . Voles live in the ground everywhere here and its a constant battle https://smithspestmanagement.com/blog/post/how-to-get-rid-of-voles-in-your-yard-and-garden/
Most of the world’s chili pepper crop is grown for capsaicin which is used in boat paint and cable casing to discourage pests.
But overall I agree with you, pex appears to be a product for “throw away” homes.
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That’s some impressive plumbing, Richard.
Unlike yourself we get plenty of rainfall for our orchard, on average, but we also suffer droughts, like now, so I do need to water from time to time.
We are rural enough to need a well which really makes you appreciate having a reliable high-pressure city water supply. Laundry, dishwashers and showers nearly monopolize our water supply so I had to install a barrel reserve to which I added a rain spout diverter. I top up the barrels from the well off-hours.
The advantage of using a barrel system is that the distributions lines are low pressure which eliminates the need for pricey emitters. A 33 inch pressure head puts the flow rate in the laminar range so that the flow rate through small holes drilled directly in the piping is equal at the nearest and farthest points on the system so long as the holes are at the same height.
This system delivers about a gallon of water to each tree over about 45 minutes.
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I have a low-pressure water supply. To compensate I have 40 electric valves administered by 5 controllers. The pressure is such that I can water 4 in-ground fruit trees per valve. I do not use “drip” or soaker hose on my in-ground plants because it is not a good match for our climate and soils. Each set of trees is watered in 8 minutes. I also have 700 repository saplings in 3-5 gallon Stuewe tree pots. These are irrigated with open-ended 1/8" “drip” line, each coming from a 12-way manifold mounted on 1/2" pipe. I have 5 to 8 manifolds per valve which will satisfactorily water the downstream pots In 8 minutes. All plants are usually irrigated on Sunday, and during our warmest weather some are watered again on Thursday. Water restrictions here only permit irrigation on Sun., Tue., Thur.
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Underground PEX might be OK in colder climates where the lines are buried below frost line. Here that is like 3’ or more underground, and even the pocket gophers don’t go that deep. But in warmer locales, I could see PEX being gnawed on…
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