Sprinklers and rain guns
Water thrown through the air over the whole field, like rain, from sprinklers on risers or from large rain guns.
- Source and pump
- Sprinklers work at a higher pressure than drip, and the pump is sized for it.
- Filter
- A screen filter keeps sand and debris out of the nozzles.
- Mainline and hydrants
- A buried mainline brings the water to hydrants spaced across the field.
- Sprinklers on risers
- Set on a grid, so that their circles overlap and the field is watered evenly.
- Rain guns
- A single large sprinkler that covers a wide circle, moved from hydrant to hydrant.
- Cereals and field crops
- Pasture and fodder
- Densely sown crops
- Open ground and paddocks
What the design looks at
- Sprinkler spacing and overlap, for even watering from edge to edge.
- Nozzle size and working pressure.
- Wind, which moves the spray and changes the spacing.
- How fast the soil takes in water, so it soaks in rather than runs off.
- For rain guns, the hydrant positions and the order in which they are moved.
- A pump sized to the pressure the sprinklers need at the far end of the field.
Indicative field application efficiency, with good design and management: 60–85% (solid-set sprinklers). Source: FAO (1989) Irrigation Water Management Training Manual No. 4, Annex I; USDA-NRCS (1997) National Engineering Handbook Part 652, Ch. 6. These are indicative ranges, not guarantees.
We design the system, supply the equipment and install it, then start it up, check it and train the people who will run it.
Equipment we design with and supply: Nelson Irrigation, Rain Bird. Trademarks belong to their owners; no partnership is implied.
Drip irrigation
For row crops, orchards and plantations, with the water and the nutrients delivered at the roots.
Centre pivot
For large, regular fields, with sprinklers and a control panel matched to the crop.
Pumping
From a borehole, a river or a reservoir, sized to the water the source can give, solar where it suits.
Filtration and fertigation
Filters that protect the emitters, and dosing that feeds the crop through the water.
Valves and automation
Automatic valves and controllers, so each block gets its water at the right time.
your project.
Location, area, crop and water source are enough to start. We will come back to you with the next step.