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Pressure regulator for irrigation

Hydraulic type regulators allow you to control the pressure before and after yourself, maintain it at a given level and protect the system from hydrodynamic shock. The optimal manufacturing material is considered to be a polymer that is not prone to corrosion, but metal modifications are able to withstand higher loads and work longer.

The approximate nominal flow capacity of the valves can be: 30 m3/h – for 2″, 60 m3/h – for 3″, 90 m3/h – for 4″, different manufacturers have different ways. If the permissible values are exceeded, the value of the pressure loss during the passage of the valve will increase.Preventive washing is carried out at least once a month.

Instead of a regulator, you can use a manual pressure monitoring unit – a simplified version that requires constant monitoring and correction.

Supply pipeline

The requirements for this component are similar: a material that does not corrode, a correctly calculated diameter depending on the performance of the system. If for a small area you can do with a PE pipe from primary raw materials of small diameters, then for large-scale purposes, where the area exceeds 1 ha, you will need a flexible reinforced PVC Layflat hose. It is equally important to choose high-quality connecting and locking fittings, on which the reliability of the system operation depends.

Air valve

The air vent valve is especially relevant for fields with slopes, but no large-scale irrigation system can do without it either. It is mounted at the end or highest points of the pipeline.

Locking and connecting fittings

For the installation of drip irrigation systems, it is not advisable to use fittings made of ferrous metals. Products made of polyethylene, PVC and other corrosion-resistant materials will be a good alternative. When choosing, it is worth focusing on the quality of manufacture, ease of installation, as well as performance characteristics, primarily the maximum operating pressure.

Among the locking fittings, it is better to give preference to full-bore structures, for example, instead of wedge valves, choose ball valves. The optimal sealing material for threaded connections is the FUM tape.

Drip lines

Due to some design features and high cost, hoses with a thick wall for drip irrigation are recommended to be used not in vegetable growing, but in fruit and berry orchards and perennial plantings.

For the cultivation of vegetables, it is better to choose an annual drip tape with a solid emitter:

• the distance between the outlets determines only the value of the water flow per 1 linear meter of the drip tape and is not tied to the distance between the cultivated crops, since watering occurs until a uniform wetted strip is formed along the entire drip line.;
• the minimum operating pressure of the droppers is 0.2–0.3 atm, the operating pressure at which the nominal flow rate of the dropper is 0.8-1.0 atm., the rupture of the drip tape occurs at 2.0 atm for a drip tape with a wall thickness of 0.15 mm (6mils), and 3 atm for a drip tape with a wall thickness of 0.2mm (8mils).;
• the minimum wall thickness is 0.15mm (6mils).

The drip tape is produced with a distance between the outlets of 10, 20, 25, 30, 40 and 50 cm and functions normally already at a pressure of 0.3 atm. Due to the unique design, it can be laid directly into the ground, but no more than 5-7 cm in depth.

Manufacturers offer a wide range of products in terms of cost intensity – in the range from 0.5 to 4 l/h. The largest choice in wall thickness is presented among tapes with an integrated emitter –0.15-0.60 mm. It is the wall thickness that affects the cost.

The right choice of each component of the drip irrigation system will help to take advantage of all the advantages of this innovative economical technology.