Flow meter tested in Lawn box?

post by larrywal on May 16, 2018

Has anyone tested the flow meter’s distance when installed in a lawn box that’s buried in ground (with the top accessible and flush with the top of the lawn)?

My valve box is in my front yard near the curb so it’s not practical to have pipe sticking above ground with a place to install the flow meter. I was thinking if I add a lawn box next to the valve box and have 10" of straight pipe running through it, maybe I’ll be ok. The box would be about 50-60’ from my controller with only one wall for the signal to pass through.

Building a house now and the landscapers are plumbing the system tomorrow - so any advice welcome. Otherwise I’m just going to cross my fingers that the above is reasonable.

post by brad on May 17, 2018

Hi @larrywal, If your controller is above ground that should not be a problem. We are still running field testing in these scenarios, but are pretty confident 50-60’ will work fine.

post by johnny2678 on May 18, 2018

@larrywal - congrats on the new house. Stay on top of your builder

If you are able to observe the irrigation install, make sure they set your zones up correctly. Eg. Multiple grass only zones, drip zones for trees/large shrubs, drip zones for annuals/small flowers.

Also, check for head-to-head coverage in your spray/rotor zones.

I’m in the same boat on the underground install. Still waiting on my flow meter but I plan on trying the same setup. No reason the radio wouldn’t work through a plastic project box if the controller is 50-60ft away but I won’t know for sure until I try it.

Good luck!