Turn flow into minutes

Drip irrigation runtime estimator

Balance bed area, a chosen weekly water depth, emitter flow, and watering frequency to estimate runtime.

Live worksheet

Tell us what you are working with

Each field explains what to measure, where to find it, and how to read the result. Change any value to update the plan instantly.

Area this zone waterssq ftOnly the planted surface served by the emitters in this irrigation zone. Length × width gives area for a rectangle.Example: A 4 ft × 8 ft bed is 32 sq ft.Weekly water depth targetinImagine an even layer of water covering the whole area. This is a planning target before subtracting effective rain.Example: 1 in over 32 sq ft is about 20 US gal.Measured flow from one emittergal/hrHow much one emitter actually delivers in an hour. A timed catch test is more useful than the package rating.Example: If one emitter catches 1 pint in 7.5 minutes, it is about 1 gal/hr.Emitters running in this zoneCount only emitters that run at the same time and serve the area entered above.Example: Eight active emitters at 1 gal/hr provide 8 gal/hr total.Watering sessions each weekHow many runs divide the weekly target. More sessions shorten each run without changing the calculated weekly volume.Example: Two sessions split the weekly target into two equal runs.

Starting runtime per session

75minutes

Weekly gallons19.9

Weekly liters76

Total zone flow8 gal/hr

This converts your chosen target into time. Check moisture at root depth and adjust for rain, heat, soil, mulch, and crop stage.

Sources & further reading

Drip irrigation for home gardensUniversity of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
The do-it-yourself guide to backyard drip irrigationUtah State University Extension

Tell us what you are working with

Measure drip output before setting a timer

Sources & further reading