You Get More With LESS

Posted on September 3, 2010, 9:05 am, by ontarget and received No Comments ».

Can you have a greener lawn and landscape with LESS water? The answer is YES! All you have to do is apply the water evenly.

Most people have a spot in the lawn that is always dry. Usually to compensate for this dead spot, people just run their sprinklers longer. With this process the spot tends to go away, however, soon different pests show up as a result. Some of these pests could be sod web worms of fungus. Dry spots appear in your lawn because of unevenly applied water, leading to chinch bugs.

The first thing you must have is an irrigation system that applies water evenly. This way, during a drought you have a way to keep the lawn and landscape healthy. Unevenly applied water is the biggest reason for over-irrigating.

We have always preached a rain sensor or moisture sensor so your irrigation system does not water the lawn when it has rained. Now we have something better and cost effective than these sensors: the smart controller!

The smart controller changes the run times of the irrigation system in accordance to the weather conditions. For example, when it is hot and dry the water run time increases. When the weather is more wet or cold the smart controller automatically decreases the amount of time the lawn is irrigated. This occurs every day. The new key is to give the lawn what it needs to be healthy.

If you have coverage issues in your lawn or are interested in utilizing a smart controller for your irrigation, call us at Bruce Hage Irrigation 407-275-0804.

Carbon and Pollution of Irrigation

Posted on August 31, 2010, 9:00 am, by ontarget and received No Comments ».

We all know too much water is bad for our lawns and landscapes. But, have you given any thought to the extra resources that are used to waste the water?

Extra energy to run the pumps that pump the water do just that. These add extra wear and tear on equipment such as pumps sprinklers, valves and pipes.

The extra water pushes the fertilizers and pesticides into the ground causing pollution and  quicker reapplications . The extra fertilizer and pest control create more man power, more fuel to get to the property, and more chemical. It also causes more pest forcing you to treat extra pests!

Because of this, you have to use more products, waste more products and PAY EXTRA to get the products. Woo, that’s a lot of waste. Waste of water, waste of electricity, waste of fuel, waste of man power, waste of chemicals and a HUGE waste of MONEY!

A properly installed and operated irrigation system is necessary for a cheaper, greener lawn and landscape.

For help with your irrigation needs call us at Bruce Hage Irrigation at 407-275-0804.

Water Conservation

Posted on August 27, 2010, 9:07 pm, by ontarget and received No Comments ».

Irrigation is 58% of the water we use. Yes, more than half of the water we use is to irrigate our lawns and landscapes. Sadly, irrigation is responsible for our water crisis.

You can improve the efficiency of you irrigation. First make sure your irrigation system is calibrated. Make sure you reduce your water times when possible. Also, be sure to check that nothing is broken or leaking.

Irrigation calibration is when you can apply an even amount of water when the irrigation operates. Very few properties residential or commercial have calibrated irrigation.

You also need to know how much to water each month. September we need about 6.2 inches of water applied in 3/4 of an inch per application. If it rains, reduce the water. If you do not have time for this ( I do not ) they have Smart controllers that will do it for you.

Last, make sure you do not have any broken irrigation materials. Broken and leaking sprinkler heads waste a lot of water. Also check for broken pipes and low pressure on valves.

Check your sprinklers at least once a month and as always Keep it Green.

If we can help you call us at 407-275-0804. Bruce Hage Irrigation.

Turf-grass = Americas largest irrigated crop

Posted on August 23, 2010, 9:14 pm, by ontarget and received No Comments ».

I just saw in a magazine advertisement that Turf-grass is Americas Largest crop. I never thought of that before but it does make sense.

It is now the rainy season which means it is time to start cutting back your irrigation.  Your irrigation controller should be between 1 hour to 1.5 hours on your rotors and 30 to 20 minutes on your sprays. The irrigation reduction should be gradual and by  November you should be watering 1 time per week.

Remember to water and keep the grass green. The reduction in water will come soon enough.

If we can help you with anything Please call us. 407-275-0804.

Hot Hot Hot!

Posted on August 4, 2010, 6:43 pm, by ontarget and received No Comments ».

Well it sure is hot outside. I hope you left some extra time on your controllers because you probably need to add time to your controller. The maximum you should run your spray zones  is 30 minutes. The maximum you should run your rotor zones is 90 minutes. Do not water any longer than you have to. If you water too much it will not only raise your water bill but help bring fungus and weeds to you lawn and landscape.

Your soil type will also be a factor on how long you need to run your irrigation. If you have a dense soil like Waterford Lake or Hunters Creek you should not need to run your irrigation that long. However if you are in Sand Lake  Hills or Dr. Phillips you may need to run the system for 30 and 1.5 hr.

We now have a device that will do this for you. It will increase run times as it gets hot and reduce run times when it cools down. It is called a SOLAR SYNC and cost only $129.99.  It is only compatible with the Hunter Controllers. If you have a Rain Bird controller there are other products available but the cost is greater.

Don’t forget to increase run times for now and soon it will be time to reduce run times and start saving water.

Keep it green! Call us if we can help. Bruce Hage Irrigation 407-275-0804

Working Sprinklers ?

Posted on July 13, 2010, 1:38 pm, by ontarget and received No Comments ».

There is a difference between a working sprinkler system and an operational Irrigation System.

A working sprinkler system is a group of sprinklers that turn on and spray. An operational Irrigation system is a group of sprinklers that can deliver water evenly.

Lately, we have run into something that appears to be a operational irrigation system but is not! We have seen some instances in which some nozzles are not projecting water correctly. As far as the eye can see everything is fine, however the water is not falling correctly. This is called a dry spot!

If your sprinklers look like they are working perfectly and you still have a dry spot, you need to do the old “catch can” test. Place a few cups or tuna cans in your Orlando yard and run the irrigation system to make sure the heads are  delivering water through out the lawn.  If it is not, you need to correct the nozzle issue. For help on getting your sprinklers up to working condition, call today. 407-275-0804. Bruce Hage Irrigation is your source for sprinkler repairs in Orlando.

Lightening!

Posted on June 22, 2010, 7:46 pm, by Bruce Hage and received No Comments ».

It looks like there is a lot of lightning this year in Orlando. The biggest thing you can do is check your irrigation controller.

Just make sure that the the controller has a display and will turn on all of the zones. Lightening can do strange things such as destroy your solenoid valves and not even touch your controller. It can destroy 1 valve and nothing else.

We have had a few controllers that would turn on a zone even though the controller is off. Yes, that is weird. Lightening can do all sorts of odd stuff to your home irrigation system..

Here are a couple of tips during lightening season:
Check your controller.
Use your rain sensor bypass too make sure it will turn on all of your zones.
Be proactive!
Do not wait until your lawn and landscape starts to suffer.

If you have been hit by lightening in Orlando, give us a call we would love to repair it for you. 407-275-0804 We are your source for Orlando irrigation systems.

A Cool New Product!

Posted on June 11, 2010, 9:00 am, by Bruce Hage and received No Comments ».

Wow! I have to tell you about a really cool new product. It is called the ” Solar Sync”. It is made by Hunter Industries.

The solar sync resets your controller daily to the current weather conditions. Allow me to explain. It will turn off you irrigation system like a rain or moisture sensor. The difference is when it turns back on. It will adjust the run times of all of the zones. For example after the rain fall last night my irrigation system did not turn off. It adjusted itself to deliver less water. Yes we got about a 1/4  inch of rain and the solar sync adjusted the run time down to 10 minutes on sprays and 30 minutes on the rotors. A few days later it did not rain and adjusted itself back up to 20 minutes on the sprays and 1 hour on the rotors. This is something I have been waiting for!

The solar sync is not that expensive. It cost $130.00. It will take about 1 hour to install and adjust it. We install them for under  $250.00 if you have a Hunter Pro C or ICC  controller. To learn more or to get your own Solar Sync, call the experts at Bruce Hage Irrigation today! 407-275-0804.

Hot Orlando Weather and Rain!

Posted on June 9, 2010, 3:13 pm, by ontarget and received No Comments ».

Well it is hot, humid and rainy. This is a crucial time for you irrigation system. Because of the rain, your irrigation system may not need to run as much; But when is does not rain you will need to water! As hot as it is, the lawn and landscape will dry out fast, so here are some tips

1) Make sure everything is working properly. Check adjustments, No crooked heads.

2)Make sure you have a properly working rain shut off devises such as a rain sensor, moisture sensor , Solar sync or ET system.

3)Make sure you only water when it is not raining.

The Rotors should run between 1 hour and 1.5 hours and sprays between 20 to30 minutes. If you have standing water cut back on the run times and adjust your rain sensor.

For more information on how we can help you with your lawn irrigation needs, contact the experts at Bruce Hage today!

When should I water?

Posted on May 21, 2010, 9:00 am, by ontarget and received No Comments ».

When should you water and when can you water are two different questions. First you must follow your water management districts rules. Click here to learn a bit more about Water Restrictions.  Right now it is two times per week. Odd addresses are Wed and Sat. Even addresses are Thurs. and Sun. No more than 3/4 of an inch per watering.

Now if you are going to water Wednesday early morning. Then Tuesday in the late afternoon you should see a little stress in your turf or plant material. The leaves on the plants may droop a LITTLE bit. The sod should start to curl up like a straw and turn a LITTLE Greenish gray. Remember the word a little. If it is a lot you need to increase your run times. If there is NO stress you need to reduce the run times. Right now you will be increasing the run times until August /  September. Then you can begin to reduce the run times.

A few blogs ago we talked about how long to run a zone. No More than 1.5 hours on rotors and no more than 30 minutes on sprays.

If you have any issues we can help you with please call us at 407-275-0804 or contact us today. We are your choice for Orlando Irrigation Installation and Maintenance.

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