Aug 10 2012

It’s just neat.

Had trouble coming up with a topic and started browsing the Sprinkler Warehouse website.

Found out we sell some interesting things. Some are just interesting, some are downright useful and one made me look twice and then start laughing. You get to figure out which one.

Superman’s x-ray vision has nothing on these. The TurfSpy glasses let you see problems early, long before they are visible to mere mortals. The earlier you treat turf disease the faster it goes away. Not only do you stop disease and infestations before they start, you look good doing it.

Next is the mobile garden planter. It has wheels! Now, you might wonder why that is exciting. I’ll tell ya’. I live in Houston, Texas. There is a law here that says we cannot get freezes unless it is a year in which I bought my wife new plants for the entry and walk. Then the freeze comes and I have to move all the plants inside. I have been told that, while my efforts are appreciated, the rusty Little Red Wagon does not really go with our décor. These will.

I want one: the Magnum Hose Nozzle. I am far from gentle using tools. When I am through watering I just drop the hose and nozzle. Doesn’t matter if I’m on grass or concrete, on the ground or on the ladder. Later I go to the hose bib and start pulling in the hose. Across the yard. Through the gate. Did you know that when pulling a hose and nozzle through the yard and around a corner that the nozzle handle acts like a grappling hook? Did you know that when it’s 100 degrees outside I have little patience and just pull harder? Did you know that most nozzles have many or are all plastic parts? Between dropping the nozzle on concrete and catching it on the gate I replace the nozzle every year. This is better. It’s all metal, no handles to catch and will survive my abuse for years. I’ve already proven I can’t learn new tricks. Might as well buy something that puts up with my old ones.

Ever notice that no matter how much you try to clean your back yard there is always something that really doesn’t fit anywhere? Especially if you have kids. There’s always that one toy, that one tool or hose or gas can or just general clutter that never seems to go away. Now you don’t care if it goes away. You won’t be able to see it. Look at the Storage Rock. Open it up, fill it up, close it. No clutter, no problem.

Remember those woven finger traps you had as a kid? Put your fingers in and the harder you pull the harder it holds. Well, they grew up, just like you did. The Wire Mesh Grips work the same way. Put the pipe in, start pulling and the grip just gets tighter and tighter. Wire Mesh Grips are used for pulling irrigation pipe, insulated wire, wire rope, tubing, PVC, and bare conductors. Far easier than pulling by hand and automatically adjusts to the size of the pipe. No programming needed.

Well, playtime’s over. Gotta go back to work.

Jul 27 2012

The Traveling Sprinklers! Weren’t they a rock group in the 80’s?

Let’s face it. There are times when an underground sprinkler system just isn’t practical. If you’re a school with a football field, baseball field, soccer field and track the cost to install a system can be prohibitive. You also lose use of the facility during installation and have to wait for the turf to re-grow.

Have a ranch and you just need to water some areas every now and then? Want to keep the dust down on the horse pens? Multiple areas with crops on the farm and no irrigation? Neighborhood park dying from the heat?

Traveling sprinklers handle all of these with a song in their heart. Coverage ranges from a low of 54’ x 165’ to a huge 145’ x 595’ with gallons per minute from 3 to 95. That is some serious watering.

Most have hydraulic propulsion so all you add is water. One has a built in drive motor with rechargeable battery. None have MP3 players.

ABI IRRIGATION MICRO 505 The big boy first. The with a Honda 5.5 horse booster pump. This thing can put out 95 gpm and cover an area 131’ wide. With a hose length of 560’ that is some serious acreage on each pull. It handles supply pressure ranges of 35 to 96 psi.

Don’t have that much pressure? Check out the ABI IRRIGATION MICRO 25. It will give you 42’ wide with only 30psi with a hose length of 165’. That’s not bad at all.

What? You don’t even have 30psi to work with? That’s no step for a stepper. Look at the KIFCO E110 ELECTRIC. It has an electric drive motor with rechargeable battery so your supply pressure requirement is smaller. At only 23psi you get coverage 85’ wide with a 280’ hose and around 30 hours per charge. Great for low or fluctuating pressure water supplies.

Each of these can handle terrain that is slightly unlevel or rough, as you would have on a farm or ranch. But what if you have a nice, smooth area that doesn’t need the all terrain capabilities? Maybe a nice, smooth football field?

Now comes the Underhill T-400-Tracker. This thing puts out up to 85’ x 400’ of coverage on 85psi and 9 to 15gpm. Another advantage is it only weighs 58 pounds, compared to the 120 to 800 pounds of its big brothers. Running goal post to goal post helps keep the weight down.

Finally we have the Buckner traveling sprinklers, the Rain Coach and Storm Cruiser. The Storm Cruiser is the Rain Coach with a cruiser shaped protective cover. These give you a coverage of up to 145’ x 450’ using a supply pressure of 55 to 75psi. It only weighs 56 pounds, making it easy to handle.Unlike the Tracker, it doesn’t keep its weight down by running the football field. It’s more of a hot-rod.

Look for the Sprinkler Warehouse sponsored Storm Cruiser at the next Traveling Sprinkler International Showdown!

There are more traveling sprinklers than I could show today. Start your browsing at Traveling Sprinklers and you’ll find what you need.

Jul 24 2012

SPF = Some People Fry SPM = Some People Melt

Couple of safety issues to go over today. We want to keep our customers healthy and buying stuff.

Some people fry.

No sunburn. Sunburn = bad. Too much sunburn = cancer = really bad.

I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on sunscreen lotions. I do, however, know how to get a bad sunburn, if that helps. In researching this post I came across the expected advice and two more things I didn’t know. So use sunscreen, stay in shade, cover your skin, etc.

First thing I didn’t know: SPF probably doesn’t mean exactly what you think and it’s not really mathematical. The really high SPF ratings don’t do what you would expect. Because he sums it up so eloquently I’ll quote Dr. James Spencer as reported on the very useful WebMD site.

“SPF is not a consumer-friendly number,” says Florida dermatologist and American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) spokesman James M. Spencer, MD. “It is logical for someone to think that an SPF of 30 is twice as good as an SPF of 15, and so on, but that is not how it works.”

According to Spencer, an SPF 15 product blocks about 94% of UVB rays, an SPF 30 product blocks 97% of UVB rays, and an SPF 45 product blocks about 98% of rays.”

And now, the best technical summation I have ever read.

“After that, it just gets silly,” he says. (webmd.com: sunscreens)

The other thing I learned is that, while SPF 45 is not three times as good at SPF 15, many doctors still recommend it and higher but not because of the minor increase in efficiency. It seems most people do not apply sunscreen properly, usually applying far too thin a layer. By recommending higher SPF they hope to compensate for the fact we don’t read instructions.

Oh, and wear a hat.

Some people melt.

If you don’t count holes, snakes, saws, shovels, picks, trenchers, mud, sun, mosquitoes and PVC cutters then there are very few hazards in irrigation work. So let’s forget those and look at primer and cement.

Working with PVC primer and cement is easy and quick. With any minor precautions at all it’s pretty safe. Even with no precautions it is hard to hurt yourself unless you try. Unfortunately, people seem to try all the time.

You should wear gloves. The primer not only stinks but it will help you find every cut and scrape on your hand and set them on fire. Do you really want that stuff going in an open wound? It also tends to dry out your skin and you lose that ‘satiny smooth’ touch you’ve worked so hard for. Then you get the great fun of telling everyone why your hand is purple. The cement can take a day or two to come off and you look like you have Rigelian Fever.

The cement is really a solvent. It loves to melt plastic. Get some on your new eyeglasses and you’ll need another pair. Get some on your contacts? Not only will your eye scream in pain but your contact is shot.

Keep cement and primer out of your eyes or your kids will hear those words they aren’t supposed to say.

Now the serious part. Primer stinks. Badly. Primer vapors are bad for you. People will pour it on rags, hold it up to their nose and breathe deeply for a dumb and dangerous high. Dangerous and you end up with a purple nose telling everyone you are less than smart. Make sure you use primer in a well-ventilated area.

Most situations are low risk: the outdoor repair, the quick under sink fix, etc. The danger lies in lots of exposure in confined areas. You will stop smelling it. Your brain will think the nose is lying to it cuz’ nothing can smell that bad that long. The brain stops registering the odor. You can stand there breathing in all the vapors without the built in alarm system your body started with. This is known as ‘not good.’

In 20+ years of working with primer and cement I’ve never known anyone to be harmed during routine use. I have seen people working in small closed rooms get dizzy from the fumes. It’s neither fun nor funny.

Have lots of ventilation when gluing pipe. Outdoors is best.

The bright spot is if you are at risk of sunburn doing repairs it’s not likely you are in a small closed room. Keep your hat on, use sunscreen.

Jun 29 2012

The Fourth of July and what I can’t do.

Well, I tried and couldn’t do it. Couldn’t figure out how to tie the Fourth of July into irrigation systems.

You’d think this would be easy. I’ve tied in zombies, Corvettes, the Bellagio and the Nile river into some aspect of irrigation: stream rotors, insecticides, nozzles and water barrels.

These have, admittedly, been a stretch at times. Big stretch. Can’t do it this time.

Instead, the staff at Sprinkler Warehouse hopes that you and yours have an enjoyable holiday. This is the day that started our country. On July 4^th, 1776 the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, one of the most important documents in history. It’s the reason we are here. It’s a great day to enjoy and celebrate our freedoms.

Be careful with the fireworks. From experience I’ll tell you that you don’t want to hold bottle rockets in your hand, firecrackers going off in an open palm DO hurt, you don’t want to bend down to see if the rocket fuse is really lit, if you drop your sparkler don’t try and catch it by the wrong end and the best way to enjoy fireworks is to sit back and let someone else do the work.

Y’all have a good holiday.

May 25 2012

Thank You

Memorial Day weekend is here.

We want to thank all veterans and all active duty military personnel for their service. Without them we would not be here. It is because of you that we are free to vote, travel, argue with our officials, work in our chosen career, and live a life of freedom.

We want to thank the families who have supported our military through the years. Because of your support they can do their job. It is difficult to raise a family when a spouse is away for months at a time. It is hard to watch your child or spouse leave knowing they are going into danger. And it is hard to explain to your children why Daddy or Mommy won’t be home for Christmas. A lot is asked of you and you come through. Your support is indispensable.

Finally, the last veterans of WWII are disappearing fast. They are truly a generation that saved our nation. Please take a moment to thank them while you still can.

We wish one and all a great Memorial Day weekend.

Mar 20 2012

Zombies coming? You need a rain barrel!

You’re wondering how I’m going to tie zombies in with rain barrels, aren’t you? It’s easy. First I want to talk about rain barrels and why you want one.

I generally believe that “free” is better than “costs money.” I really like “free” when it’s going to be handed to me with no effort on my part. Rainwater is free. Tap water costs money. Twice. It costs when you get it and you pay for sewage when it goes away. It’s going to cost more as time goes by. Population growth and nationwide drought means we don’t always have all the water we need. Water is becoming hard to get and “hard to get” always means “expensive.”

As water becomes scarcer, regulations on its use will increase. If you want to know where your water regulations are heading, check out San Antonio, Texas or Santa Fe, New Mexico. They are hurting for water. Examples are: you may not wash your car more than once a month; you may not use water to clean your driveway or patio, no fountain or waterfalls in any landscaping, indoors or out. Only water your lawn once a week. More and more restrictions are being established to make sure there is enough water for survival. Survival does not mean washing your car or filling your swimming pool. And it doesn’t mean watering your garden.

Back to rain. Rain does a very good job of watering your yard and your garden. Besides the fact that it is free, it is also pretty clean. Tap water has all kinds of chemicals your plants don’t want or need. Rain is soft water, readily absorbed by your plants. No iron deposits to stain, no calcium build up, just water.

Just because it is raining doesn’t mean you are using it. Rain falls on your house at the rate of about a half gallon of water per square foot of roof area during a 1-inch rainfall. If you have a 2,000 square foot roof you can collect around 1,000 to 1,200 gallons of water. What do you pay now for 1,000 gallons of water? Why are you giving it all away?

Rain barrels collect water from your downspouts and put it where you can use it. Most residential rain barrels hold around 50 gallons. They have faucets for your water hose and can be linked together to increase capacity. They come in numerous colors and designs to blend into your landscaping. Put one in your front yard, one in your back and one in the garden. If you figure you need to have ½” of water to irrigate your garden then 50 gallons can irrigate about 160 square feet at a time. With no time/day restrictions.

Ok, it’s zombie time. For many people, “zombies” is short hand for TEOTWAWKI. That stands for The End Of The World As We Know It. You know: civilization collapses, you have no electricity, no running water, no cell phone, nuthin’. Your world just fell apart around you.

It doesn’t take a deadly mutant virus to cause this. Hurricanes will. Earthquakes will. Wild fires will. Don’t forget tornadoes. All of these can bring your normal world to a screaming halt. All of these can leave you without a domestic water supply.

Besides watering plants, water from rain barrels can be used to flush toilets, wash your hands, clean counters, furniture and floors, top off your car radiator, and, if really desperate, wash your clothes. You’ll be surprised at how useful 100 gallons of water can be when your water supply is cut off.

The water from a rain barrel is better for your plants, it’s free and it’s not subject to watering restrictions for time or day. And it’s zombie proof. That’s a hard combination to beat.

Mar 5 2012

Who do I ask? Not me. I just do irrigation repair. You need to talk to…

Well, not me, that’s for sure. I’ll tell you why. First, the questions being asked:

Why are my leaves yellow?
What fertilizers do I need?
What plants should go behind my house in the shade?
Is my soil absorbing enough water?
What is the best herbicide for my yard?
Are you married?

Actually, I don’t get the last one a lot. If ever. The rest come up frequently in every variation. Why? What makes me such an expert? Well, I’m a licensed irrigator and I’m doing work in the customer’s yard. That makes me an expert on plants, right?

Did you see where I said I was a horticulturalist, botanist, gardener, arborist or even farmer? No? Well, I am related to a number of farmers and one horticulturalist but the knowledge is not DNA based. It is training, experience and education based. My training tells me how to get the water to your yard efficiently and economically. It doesn’t tell me what you need for your particular soil and landscaping. The question now is: who knows? How do you find the information you need? I’m going to work backwards, from the big guns down to local experts.

The Big Guns

In every county of the country there is a county extension agent. Every county of every state and Puerto Rico, no matter how small the population. As of this writing, Loving County, Texas is listed as the smallest county population in the nation with less than 100 people. Actually, only 82 as of the 2010 census but someone may have broken down there since. Loving County has a county extension agent.

Get to know your county extension agent. They know their business, help is generally free and their resources are vast. They can help with plants, fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides and general advice. To find yours, go to the United States Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension System.

The more information you give them, the better they can help. One very important piece of information is the makeup of your soil. It’s more than just dirt. It has all kinds of important chemicals that can help or kill your plant, such as lime, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sodium, nitrogen, iron and more.

Finding out what is in your soil is very easy and amazingly cheap. Most states have at least one college that has an agricultural program that will test your soil. Some soil tests run as low as $10. Many I found were only $15. Send them a sample, give the results to your county agent, listen to the advice and get ready for a very healthy yard.

The universities listed here are purely random and provided as a country wide sample. The links will give you an idea of what tests are available. To find one in your area go to your web search engine and enter your state name and ‘soil analysis’. You will find one.

**University Websites With Soil Analysis Services**
University:	Website:
North Dakota State University	http://www.ndsu.edu/soils/services/soil_testing_lab/
University of Idaho	http://www.agls.uidaho.edu/asl/services.htm
University of Maine	http://anlab.umesci.maine.edu/default.htm
Virginia Tech University	http://www.soiltest.vt.edu/
Kansas State University	http://www.agronomy.ksu.edu/soiltesting/p.aspx?tabid=34
University of Hawaii	http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/Site/ADSC.aspx
Utah State University	http://www.usual.usu.edu/
Texas A&M University	http://soiltesting.tamu.edu/

Local Experts

Don’t want to go through all that? No problem. The key to finding good local advice is finding someone you can trust and who has experience in your area. These are both important. I’m pretty trustworthy, I think, but you don’t want my advice on anything outside of my garage.

Get to know your local nursery. Real nurseries, not bulk distributors. Ask for any accreditations or degrees the company or its employees might have, such as Certified Nursery Professionals, horticulturist or botany degrees, arborist, master gardener certification, etc. There are national and regional certifications. Don’t hesitate to ask. They’ll be glad to show them to you. Find out how long they have been in business in your area. When you are satisfied, start asking questions. I have never found a nursery that was not more than willing to help.

Talk to a professional landscaper. Again, feel free to ask them for their credentials. Being a member of a regional landscape association is nice and can be of benefit but it’s not the same as that degree or certification. Ask for those. They should be proud to share them.

One note about professional landscapers: don’t expect it to be free. County agents and colleges are government funded. Your local nursery hopes to get your repeat business. A professional landscaper’s income is based on his/her knowledge and experience. Most of it is hard earned. It would not be right to ask them to give it away free. While they might give general advice just for goodwill, expect to pay a fair price for a real consultation. Since they can come to your house and see the actual conditions and plants they may be well worth the expense.

Who do you not ask, besides me? Your neighbor, for one. Plant damage can take a while to show. A good yard today doesn’t mean they didn’t just put down way too much fertilizer and it will be burned tomorrow. Some people think the best weed killer is gasoline or diesel. Care to guess what diesel does to your soil? It’s effective. No weed will ever grow there again. Nor anything else.

Ask a professional. You and your yard will benefit for years to come.

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