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Improving water pressue outside for sprinklers?

Gn0meGn0me Posts: 85
in Problem solving
I have bought two garden sprinklers from Screwfix. When one is connected, it works fine but when both are, they don't work properly. This must be because of not enough pressure is being created.

I thought my water pressure was fine. It's certainly fine indoors. Apparently, Screwfix say you need 2.0 bar to operate the sprinkler but don't know for two.

What I'm wondering, are there certain things I can replace to increase the pressure?
For example, would it help if I replaced the hose connectors that have the built in water stop valves with ones that don't? Increasing the hose size? Replacing the garden tap with a special one? Using a more rigid pipe between the sprinklers?

Thanks very much.
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  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    I would try plugging both sprinklers in as close to the outside tap as you can manage, cut a bit of hose up to do it, you'll probably get rather wet but then you will know if you're getting enough pressure for them to begin with. If they work a couple of foot from the tap then;
    How long is the hose to the sprinklers? if it is a long hose 20m or more it may be worth changing it to a 32mm pipe I run water around 150m and I found that I can only do a maximum of 40m on a "normal" garden hose, any longer and it needs to be a wider pipe.
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    Run each sprinkler from it's own hose, don't daisychain them. You can use a Y splitter to serve two hoses either at the tap or at the end of the hose on the lawn which would use less hose overall.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    If you have one of the connectors that automatically stop the flow when you disconnect the pipes (autostop I think) anywhere along the line, I found that dramatically reduces the pressure.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    steephill said:
    Run each sprinkler from it's own hose, don't daisychain them. You can use a Y splitter to serve two hoses either at the tap or at the end of the hose on the lawn which would use less hose overall.
    When we had a new lawn laid we tried using a Y splitter and still couldn't get two sprinklers to work effectively.  Unless they both create exactly the same resistance, the majority of the flow will go to the one with lowest resistance.
    Best solution is to add a second outside tap and run separate supplies to each sprinkler.
  • Gn0meGn0me Posts: 85
    Thanks for all your replies.

    A second tap would solve the issue I'm sure. A bit of a nuisance though!

    What about this? It could sit under the kitchen sink since the garden tap is on the other side. Just not sure if it's made for an issue like this.

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Forgive my stating the obvious, but why not just use one a time?
    Devon.
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    The pump is going to be a lot more expensive to install than a second tap.
  • matt_fendermatt_fender Posts: 169
    Gn0me said:

    A second tap would solve the issue I'm sure. A bit of a nuisance though!

    It really depends on where the "weak link" is. Our house had a 15mm copper connection from the mains which we had upgraded to 25mm (I think, or 32mm?) blue plastic, and it made a big difference. Even still, if someone puts the kitchen tap on when I am using the hose I can notice the flow drop off, since the garden tap and kitchen share a connection back to the stop cock. As others have mentioned, length and internal diameter of the hose connector will also make a big difference, so as short a length of 3/4" as you can get away with might improve things.
    I would suggest getting a plumber in to quote for a new tap (not that expensive really) at which point I am sure he could tell you what your best option is. If you do get a new tap you probably don't want it teeing off the same internal pipe as your current one, but your flow issue might be between house and mains in which case things get a lot more expensive.
  • Gn0meGn0me Posts: 85
    Finally managed to make some changes.

    Firstly though, I haven't got round to testing the flow & pressure but TBH, when I turn the tap on, it really does come out strongly. Also, there's no problem using one sprinkler with a 10 metre hose so I can't help thinking if I could just improve the connections and fittings as mentioned by others. I will still test at some point but I'm sure someone in the know will just look at it and say that's fine.

    Now that said, I took out the auto-stop in a couple of the fittings and noticed a fairly big difference. The issue now is that the sprinklers don't seem to rotate when connected together. They'll do one turn but then stay in one place. They'll go back and forth if they're on their own without issue.

    I actually want to fix the two sprinklers along a border where the hose between the two will be hidden under slate chips. The distance will be about 6.5 metres between the two. Should I buy a hard plastic pipe instead of a hose? I will run the same hose/pipe down to the end of the border where it meets the patio where I'll connect a hose that runs directly to the tap. Just wondering if all these fittings impedes the pressure & flow? Would I get better flow/ pressure using the old fashioned connecters with jubilee clips?

    Thanks again.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I can't help thinking you're over complicating things. You're talking about a distance of "6.5metres" Would it not just be simpler to move the sprinkler from one spot to the other?
    Devon.
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