I would like to have an irrigation system installed for my lawn, but I
don't have unlimited money.

One of neighbors invested tens of thousands of dollar in a "tank farm"
in his basement. He can water his entire 1.5 acre lawn in a couple of
hours, and it's all filtered for iron.

My other neighbor, for whatever reason, doesn't have iron in his water
(we all have well water, btw), so he just got a quote of $3300 for the
outdoor part, and he's already upgraded his well pump and tank, so
he's ready to go.

If I decide to skip the iron filter for irrigation, will that be a
problem? How quickly will the driveway and sidewalk become stained
with rust, and how hard will it be to clean it off?

Is it a bad idea?

It all depends on how much iron you have in your water. You can have
it tested, but if your neighbors have wells at similar depths and have
a problem, you will too.

If the water has high iron, things will get stained in a season or
two. And it's not easy to get off. I've seen it turn sidewalks a
deep orange brown, it will stain brick, painted surfaces, most
anything. With careful sprinkler placement, you can minimize it, but
it's hard to avoid completely.

If you want to water, then the surest solution is a filter to remove
the iron. Alternatively, if you can find neighbors that have wells at
different depths that don't have an iron problem, then drilling a new
well is an alternative. I've seen guys drill a shallow well in an
area and wind up with low iron, while another guy nearby goes deep and
winds up with more iron.

Neither solution is cheap.






" wrote in message . ..
I would like to have an irrigation system installed for my lawn, but I
don't have unlimited money.

One of neighbors invested tens of thousands of dollar in a "tank farm"
in his basement. He can water his entire 1.5 acre lawn in a couple of
hours, and it's all filtered for iron.

My other neighbor, for whatever reason, doesn't have iron in his water
(we all have well water, btw), so he just got a quote of $3300 for the
outdoor part, and he's already upgraded his well pump and tank, so
he's ready to go.

If I decide to skip the iron filter for irrigation, will that be a
problem? How quickly will the driveway and sidewalk become stained
with rust, and how hard will it be to clean it off?

Is it a bad idea?

Since posting my question, I came across a product that neutralizes
iron in irrigation systems.

Do you know anything about those?

I don't know what size lawn you have, but have you ever looked at
products such as a water winch?
Who cares if he can water his lawn in 1.5 hours. Slow watering that can
soak and not run off is the best, you have a minimum of 8 hours during the
day and 7 days a week you can water, take advantage of it. The lawn should
be watered so it throughly soaks in. Found out how much water your lawn
needs and do it in one or two waterings a week. If you water frquently and
too a shallow depth the lawn will not be healthy. Use a smaller pump system
and water the lawn systematically turning each sprinkler head on
independently. An installer should be able to size spinkler heads so you get
the volume you need to run the sprinkler using your current well pump. Also
well pumps usually are not set to anywhere near there PSI limits. Most are
set to cycle between 30 and 40 psi, I bought a new switch which was made to
run between 70 and 80 PSI. A suggestion for an iron filter and I am not sure
if this will even work is to get a water softener. You can get substitutes
for the salt such as potassium which your lawn uses. Who knows depending on
the cost of the iron filter system and replacement filters you might be able
to buy salt for years. Take a look at the iron filter and see what it is. As
we do in the business world explore your options, look at the costs
including maintenance and see what is best then. I have seen $30000.00
pieces of equipment scrapped because it was to expensive and hard to
maintain. Proper prior planning was not done.
As for the well pump if you water systematically you might be able to
use your current pump for years. I have used my stock well pump for over 5
years on a sprinkler system. You can get a booster pump that hooks up to the
sprinkler line and increase the pressure. This will let the well pump feed
the booster pump which will supply the pressure. This decision would also
depend on the cost of the well pump versus a booster pump. The booster pump
relieves the head pressure from the well so it does not have to try and pump
the volume of water you need through the sprinkler lines.

wrote in message
...
I would like to have an irrigation system installed for my lawn, but I
don't have unlimited money.

One of neighbors invested tens of thousands of dollar in a "tank farm"
in his basement. He can water his entire 1.5 acre lawn in a couple of
hours, and it's all filtered for iron.

My other neighbor, for whatever reason, doesn't have iron in his water
(we all have well water, btw), so he just got a quote of $3300 for the
outdoor part, and he's already upgraded his well pump and tank, so
he's ready to go.

If I decide to skip the iron filter for irrigation, will that be a
problem? How quickly will the driveway and sidewalk become stained
with rust, and how hard will it be to clean it off?

Is it a bad idea?

On Fri, 20 Jun 2003 21:41:08 -0500, "Chris" wrote:


Thanks for your reply.

My other neighbor just priced out irrigation, and the outdoor part
will be $3300, which is very doable for us. However, he doesn't have
iron in his water (lucky dog).

He already upgraded his well pump, and said it was only a couple
hundred bucks. He also upgraded his well tank, but couldn't remember
how much that was.

I do want to look into the pressure booster, since that could be
plumbed in so that it only feeds the outdoor system.

I'm still considering just watering with iron-laden water, and having
the zones set up to miss the concrete.

Lots to think about...probably won't happen this year at this rate.