Rainbird Wiring Diagram (2024)

FAQs

How many sprinkler wires do I need? ›

Your sprinkler wire needs to have at least one more wire than the number of zones being installed. This extra wire is the neutral or common wire that completes the circuit allowing your system to work properly.

You want to design the sprinkler system to deliver 100% overlap of the watered areas to eliminate dry spots. To achieve head-to-head overlap, make the distance between heads to be the sprinkler's radius. If the lawn has an odd shape, you can increase the inter-sprinkler spacing.

Every irrigation has a common wire that connects all of the solenoids together and in most cases it is a black wire, as this is the colour most commonly used. The common wire is found in the 'c' terminal and is vital to the systems operation.

This will primarily be determined by the total flow rate and pressure you have available at your source. For example, you generally have a flow rate of 10 gpm from a ¾-inch spigot where you connect your hose. With your 10 gpm flow rate at your spigot, you could run two sprinklers at 5 gpm each.

As irrigation programs execute, the controller sends commands via the 2-wire path cable to the decoders located at each valve and sensor. The decoders directly activate the solenoids on the valves and monitor the sensors.

A common rule that is followed for obstructions within 18 inches of the sprinkler deflector is the “three times rule”. This requires sprinklers to be positioned away from obstructions a minimum or three times the maximum dimension of the obstruction.

In head to head coverage, every spot in the irrigated / watered area needs to be covered by at least 2 sprinkler heads, and each head should throw water far enough that it reaches or slightly overlaps the adjacent heads. This is done by considering each sprinkler as a geometric shape.

The “common wire” is run in series and is connected to all the valves in your system. The “hot wires” are run from each zone at the controller to each valve in your lawn/property. Therefore each zone is operated independently through the controller.

If you live in the U.S., as per electrical codes, a common wire should be either white or gray. White common wires are seen more often. On the other hand, blue is a commonly used color code for common wires in European counterparts.

How do you test sprinkler wires? ›

Place the multimeter in resistance and connect one lead to the zone wire (disconnected from the clock) and the other lead to the common wire for that zone (also disconnected). If the multimeter shows a reading of between 20 and 60 Ohms, the wire and the solenoid at the far end are probably good.

Is the water turned on, is the controller plugged in and programmed correctly, are there isolation valves that might be turned off? Verify valve operation by using the manual bleed. This might indicate a controller or wiring problem if the valve works properly when using the manual bleed.

Where practicable, piping shall be so arranged that the maximum number of heads on a branch line shall be eight.

Sprinkler lines should be buried below the grass roots, and deep enough the sprinkler heads sit flush with the soil surface or slightly above grade. The depth varies depending on factors but typically ranges from eight to 12 inches.

The number of sprinklers per zone depends on the pounds per square inch pressure (PSI) and gallons per minute (GPM) flow of the system as well as the gallons per minute used by each sprinkler head. Sprinkler heads use more gallons per minute at higher PSI but can be spaced farther apart.