Add Drip Equipment to a Project
Quick video
- Adding Drip Equipment: Overview
- Adding Areas for Drip Emitters
- Adding Dripline
- Adding Areas for Dripline
- Adding Drip Rings (Drip Ring Builder)
- Adding Pipe Transition Points
- Importing Drip Equipment from a Project or Template
- Changing the Symbols for Drip Equipment in Your Projects and Drawings
- Related Webinars
- Troubleshooting
Before you can place drip irrigation equipment in your drawing, you'll need to specify the equipment by adding it to your project.
The default install does not include all symbols, but many of them will download on demand. If you go to place a head, the symbol should download as necessary.
You can also have the system download all irrigation symbols from the Check for Updates feature if you would like.
Adding Drip Equipment: Overview
Access the Irrigation Manager:
F/X Irrigation ribbon, Irrigation button
F/X Irrigation menu, Irrigation Manager option
or type ProjectIrrigation in the Command line
The Irrigation Manager will open.
To add drip equipment to your project, select the Drip option and click New.
Select a type of equipment to add, then click OK.
You can now start configuring the exact drip equipment you want to add.
Once you've added and configured the drip equipment, it will be listed in the Irrigation Manager and will be available to edit or place in your drawing.
Adding Drip Control Valves (aka Drip Kit Valves)
To add a drip control valve, also known as a drip kit valve, select the Drip Control Valve option and click OK.
The Select Manufacturer dialog box will open.
Select a manufacturer, or select Generic to specify a generic valve (if available).
The Select Series dialog box will open.
Click a valve series from the selected manufacturer to select that series.
You can also click More Info to see the manufacturer's Web page on the selected valve series with detailed information about the equipment.
The Select Model dialog box will open.
Select a valve model from the list. Then click either:
- Add to Project to add the model to your project, or
- View Data to open the manufacturer's Web page on the selected model, where you can view further data about the valve.
The drip kit valve you added will now be listed in the Irrigation Manager.
Quick video
Adding Tree Rings
The best way to add tree rings to a project is to add them as custom drip emitters.
First, add new drip equipment from the Irrigation Manager.
Select the Drip Emitter option, then click OK.
In the Select Manufacturer dialog box, select the Generic / Custom option.
Select a pressure rate for the tree ring, and click OK.
Click the symbol thumbnail area in the Equipment Info dialog box, then select a symbol for the tree ring.
You're also welcome to add your own custom tree ring symbol. The easiest way to do so is to edit one of our default symbols and save your edited symbol as a new file.
Back in the Equipment Info dialog box, change the equipment name to Tree Ring Irrigation, or any other name that denotes this equipment as tree rings.
Add the necessary notes for your tree ring.
Enter a pressure rate for the tree ring (example: 18.00 GPH). Click OK to save your changes.
Your tree ring will be available in the Irrigation Manager to place, edit, etc.
Ready to place your tree rings?
Option to Set Symbol Rotation: Drip Emitters and Bubblers
When adding drip emitters or bubblers to a project, you'll have the option to set the symbol rotation when selecting a symbol family. If you select this option, the symbol for that emitter or bubbler will rotate with the spray direction in your drawing.
To set the symbol rotation, select the Rotate symbol with spray direction option when selecting your symbol family.
Adding Areas for Drip Emitters
Areas to receive drip devices do not show the individual drip emitter locations for each plant. Instead, they define the overall “area” to receive these emitters. The process for adding Areas for Drip Emitters is similar for areas to receive single outlet emitters or drip bubblers.
You'll need to add your plant palette to the project before you place your drip areas. If not, you may receive the following error message: No plants in project, unable to assign emitters.
If you're designing a system without regard to planting, you'll still need to use the Plant Manager to add at least one plant of each container size that will be planted in the drip area. Adding the container sizes to the project will allow the software to assign an emitter type and numbers to each container.
Select the Drip option in the Irrigation Manager, and click New.
You are now able to add more than one Area for Drip Emitters to each of your projects.
In the Select Type dialog box, select Area for Drip Emitters. Click OK.
Select a manufacturer, series, and model for the emitter.
When you add the emitter model to your project, you'll see a dialog box where you can select a pressure and, if you want, a radius percentage for the Area for Drip Emitters.
Note that only available pressure options are selectable in the pressure selection dialog box.
Select a pressure to assign to the emitters, then click OK.
Assigning Emitters to Plant Container Sizes
Once you've assigned a pressure for the emitter area you're adding, the Equipment Info dialog box will open.
Select one or more of the plant types (Trees, Shrubs, Shrub Areas, and/ or Groundcovers.
Select a container size from the list, and assign an Emitter Type and Number of Emitters to that container size. Repeat these steps for each plant container size you plan to irrigate with this type of emitter area.
Use the Emitter and Number menus to assign an emitter and a number of that type of emitter to each container size that will require an Area for Drip Emitters in your design.
This step is absolutely crucial. If you don't assign an emitter type and number of emitters to a plant container size, the drip emitter area won't be able to read plants of that size.
Notes on unchecking plant groups:
If you uncheck a plant group (example: Trees, that plant group will be ignored by the system – even if, for example, the emitter area with the same container size as the shrubs also includes trees. If you check the Trees group, the system will assume you want the calculations to account for the trees as well.
Unchecking a plant group automatically deletes that group's emitter assignment. Adding that plant group back in by re-checking the box will pull those container sizes back in (as long as they weren't already shared with another plant group), but the group's values will reset to 0 qty, and its emitter assignment will default to the first emitter available in the list. So use caution when unchecking plant groups, or keep in mind that you might need to re-enter emitter assignments to certain sizes.
You can also assign emitter types and numbers to Drip Emitter Areas after you've added them to a project. To do so, highlight the Drip Emitter Area in the Irrigation Manager and click Edit. The Equipment Info dialog box will open. Click Emitters to expand the dialog box to include the Emitter Assignments section (pictured above). There, you can assign emitters to each plant container size you plan to water using this emitter area.
Ready to place an Area for Drip Emitters? See our Place Areas for Drip Emitters or Drip Spray documentation.
Adding Dripline
Follow the instructions outlined above for adding drip equipment.
In the Select Type dialog box, select Dripline and click OK.
Select a pressure to assign to the dripline, then click OK.
The Equipment Info dialog box will open. Click OK to add the dripline to your project.
Adding Areas for Dripline
An Area for Dripline is a grid pattern of either above- or below-grade dripline. These lines incorporate poly pipe tubing with emitters built in at set intervals. These areas are represented in your drawing by hatch patterns with a dashed border outline.
Follow the instructions outlined above for adding drip equipment.
In the Select Type dialog box, select Area for Dripline. Click OK.
Select a manufacturer, series, and model as described above.
When you add the dripline model to your project, you'll see a dialog box where you can select a pressure and, if you want, a radius percentage for the Area for Dripline.
Note that only available pressure options are selectable in the pressure selection dialog box.
The Area for Dripline will be added to your project.
Select a pressure to assign to the emitters, then click OK.
Ready to place an Area for Dripline? See our Place Area for Dripline documentation.
Skipping Dripline Rows
We've engineered the ability to skip a row of dripline in a pattern after a set number of rows. This feature is mainly geared toward agricultural uses (such as grapes and other row crops), but it also makes it easy to stay within a hatch area for dripline while still giving spacing gaps for paths or gaps between different varieties of vegetation.
When you choose to skip rows of dripline, the flow and dripline length for that dripline will be reduced accordingly.
When adding dripline to your project, you can now use the Skip every menu to set the number of dripline rows that will be placed consecutively before a row is skipped.
In this example, we won't make a selection from the menu, meaning no rows of dripline will be skipped.
If you choose not to skip any rows, the dripline will appear without breaks when placed in your drawing.
The Irrigation Schedule will show the proper flow and line length for dripline placed at your set spacing without skipped rows.
In this example, we'll set the system to skip a row of dripline after every three rows by selecting 3 from the Skip every menu.
When we select this option, the dripine will be placed with a break after every three rows of dripline when placed in your drawing.
The Irrigation Schedule will show the proper flow and line length for dripline placed at your set spacing accounting for the pattern of skipped rows you set.
Adding Drip Rings (Drip Ring Builder)
When trying to come up with a drip ring setup, you'd previously add a custom drip emitter, add your total flow you wanted to account for, and place the drip ring in your plan with a symbol that represented rings. We've improved the calculation and options of this workflow by creating a Drip Ring Builder. More information
Adding Pipe Transition Points
If you need to pipe to a drip area, your options include placing a valve directly within that area or simply dead-ending a section of pipe into it. However, some designers prefer the look of pipe transition points to a bare length of pipe ending in a drip area.
Our Drip Equipment library includes pipe transition points for this purpose.
For further information, see our documentation on piping to a transition point within a drip area.
You can then place transition points in your drawing and pipe to them, as you would any other equipment.
Importing Drip Equipment from a Template or Project
If you find yourself adding the same drip equipment to multiple projects, we recommend setting up a project template and then adding your commonly used equipment to that template. You can then import individual components into a new project from that template. This practice can save you immeasurable amounts of time, considering all the data you need to fill out for each component you add. With templates, you only need to add and configure your equipment once, then import it – along with all attached data – into the present project.
For instructions on importing irrigation equipment into a project, see our Importing Irrigation Equipment documentation.
Take care when importing irrigation equipment from other projects. Remember that a manufacturer could have changed or even discontinued a product line or model since you last used it in a project.
Changing the Symbols for Drip Equipment in Your Projects and Drawings
If you've already added a particular drip component to your project – even if you've already placed it in a drawing – you may want to change its symbol to another one of our default symbols, or a version you've created. See our documentation on changing symbols for irrigation equipment.
Related Webinars
- Irrigation for Beginners: We'll show how to navigate through the Irrigation ribbon and build a familiarity with our conceptual-level tools. You'll also learn the basics of adding equipment to a project, placing, piping, sizing, and scheduling. (1 hr 45 min)
- Designing with Drip: Learn to use drip irrigation, from placing drip rings, bubblers, single emitters, emitters by area, and dripline by area all the way to zoning and piping. (1 hr 3 min)
- Drip Irrigation: We’ll go through the entire process – from placing drip rings, bubblers, single emitters, emitters by area, and dripline by area to zoning and piping. (1 hr 5 min)
- Drip Irrigation Selection: Shelly Walker of GPH Irrigation goes over some applications that will help make your projects as efficient and environmentally responsible as possible. (50 min)
- Irrigation Tools – What You Need to Know: We'll show you the ins and outs of basic irrigation setup using our software, including how to add drip, sprays, and rotors to a project. (1 hr 6 min)
- How The Manufacturer Connection Works: The Manufacturer Connection is the relationship between the designer and manufacturer that Land F/X has used to separate ourselves from other design software programs. Learn how it helps you spec equipment for irrigation designs. (53 min)
Troubleshooting
Issue: CAD is crashing when you try to access a manufacturer's equipment
Issue: Error accessing equipment data in the project
Issue: Specify (add) equipment that is not currently in our database
Issue: The pressure loss is too high in your drip control valve or drip kit valve
Issue: High flow (GPM) calculated in your drip valves
Issue: The drip tubing calculations are incorrect (too high) in an Area for Dripline
Issue: Your hatch library is blank when you attempt to select a hatch for an Area for Drip Emitters or Dripline, or all the thumbnail previews are missing in the Hatch dialog box
Issue: You are unable to change the rotation of a drip area hatch pattern
Issue: You are unable to change the rotation of a hatch pattern
Issue: A placed Land F/X hatch looks fragmented or isn't joined like it should be
Contact
- Land F/X
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