Irrigation System Directly Bypassed Pressure Tank

[htrimble]

My irrigation system (18 zones) bypasses my pressure tank -- it runs directly off the feed from the well pump. The system runs for about 2 hours a day.

Will this setup burn out the pump in my well?

Should I have the irrigation system is connected after the pressure tank?

Thanks

[Pumpman]

The hardest thing on a well pump is for it to cycle on and off. When your irrigation system is on, does the pump cycle frequently?
When the pump is already in place, I try to design the irrigation system so that once the pump starts, it will continue to run for the duration of the time the zone is set for.
Even if the system is tied in before the pressure tank, the tank may still be in play as long as there are no checkvalves between the tank and where the irrigation system is tied in.
Ron

[red light]

if all your zones consists of very large sprinkler heads (ex. impacts) and are putting alot of gallonage then your pressure tank is not needed. the main thing to figure out is, "was your irrigation system designed properly?" you want your pump to run continously while the sprinklers are running. so when setting this up somebody should have figured out how many gallons of water your pump could pump without cycling off and on. so lets say you could pump 15 gallons at 50 psi and your cutoff point is 60 psi. the person that designed the sprinkler system should have figured out how many heads could go on one zone to reach that magic number. so he would have been shooting for 15 gallons or slightly over per zone. the only time that he likes to hook up an irrigation system to a tank is when there are trickle zones, for flowers and such. those only take 1 to 2 gallons per hour.

like i said in the title i am no expert but my buddy is. i helped him install a pump irrigation system and that was basically what we did. the idea is basically right; i might have left out some steps when designing the system. but the one thing that is for sure is you do not want your pump cycling on and off, that burns up electric motors in a hurry.

the other interesting thing that my friend said was people that get their water from wells and pumps are doing more harm watering their lawns with regular garden hoses than with a underground sprinkler system. same principle with the hose; your pump is cycling on and off. hope that helps, my $.03.

rob "redlight"

[htrimble]

Thanks for the response(s).

I will have to check on how frequently the pump comes on when the irrigation system is active. I did not realize that the pressure tank came into play since is is behind the irrigation valves.

Harvey