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Sprinkler run time calculator

Type your weekly target, watering days and your zone’s measured rate, or pick a head type. You get minutes per zone and a cycle-and-soak split.

1–2½ in/hr what pop-up spray heads apply CSU Extension GardenNotes #265: spray heads apply 1 to 2½ in an hour and rotors ¼ to ¾ in, so the same minutes can put down several times more water on one zone than another.

Run time in minutes = inches needed per watering day ÷ your zone’s rate in inches per hour × 60. EPA WaterSense starts at one inch a week, including rain. Over two days on spray heads at CSU’s 1.75 in/hr, that is 17 minutes a day. On rotors at 0.5 in/hr, 60 minutes.

Work out your run time

Measure the rate first if you can. Nothing is stored or emailed.

EPA WaterSense starting point: 1 in. Use your water district’s figure if it publishes one.

Subtracted, because EPA’s inch includes rain.

CSU for Colorado soils: once a week in spring and fall, twice in summer.

Used only if you chose “Yes” above.

Watch one run. This sets the cycle-and-soak split.

— Run time
— Cycle and soak
— The arithmetic
— Fine-tuning
— What this rests on

What this assumed —

A starting schedule to tune by watching the lawn. HyreYard does not install or service irrigation.

Start here

Minutes are not an amount of water

Twenty minutes on spray heads and twenty on rotors put down very different amounts of water. The rate decides the run time.

The published range. CSU Extension: “Pop-up spray heads typically apply 1-2½ inches of water per hour, whereas rotor heads only deliver ¼ to ¾ inch of water per hour.” Twenty minutes at the working estimates is about 0.58 in on spray heads and 0.17 in on rotors.

So measure inches per hour. The precipitation rate depends on head type, brand, pressure and spacing, and it can differ zone by zone. The six-can test below measures it in ten minutes.

Why it matters. EPA WaterSense: “as much as 50 percent of this water is wasted due to overwatering caused by inefficiencies in irrigation methods and systems”. And: “Watering plants or grass too frequently can drown plants or result in shallow roots”.

The six-can test

CSU Extension’s method, from GardenNotes #265. It takes ten minutes per zone.

  1. 1
    Get six identical cans

    Straight-sided and flat-bottomed. CSU: “Do not use short cans like tuna cans as they are too shallow, and water may splash out.”

  2. 2
    Scatter them in one zone

    Place them randomly between the heads, not right next to one.

  3. 3
    Run the zone for exactly ten minutes

    Use a timer, not the controller’s display.

  4. 4
    Pour into one can and measure

    The depth in inches, read with a ruler, is your rate in inches per hour.

  5. 5
    Look at the cans before you pour

    CSU: “If the amount of water in some containers is significantly more or less than others, the system is poorly designed, or head(s) are malfunctioning.” No run time fixes uneven coverage.

  6. 6
    Repeat for each zone

    Write the rates down. They change only when the hardware does.

Minutes to apply half an inch and an inch, by rate

HyreYard arithmetic: minutes = (inches ÷ rate) × 60. Half an inch twice a week is EPA’s one inch a week split across two days.

Rate (in/hr)Minutes for 0.5 inMinutes for 1 inWhat runs at this rate
0.25120 min240 minRotors, low end of CSU’s range
0.5060 min120 minRotors, CSU working estimate
0.7540 min80 minRotors, high end of CSU’s range
1.0030 min60 minSpray heads, low end of CSU’s range
1.7517 min34 minSpray heads, CSU working estimate
2.5012 min24 minSpray heads, high end of CSU’s range

Rates are CSU Extension GardenNotes #265, retrieved 5 September 2026. Your measured rate beats every row.

Split the run when water stops soaking in

If water pools or runs onto the path before the run ends, the rest of that run is wasted.

CSU: “On slopes or compacted, clayey soils, water is generally applied faster than it can soak into the soil, resulting in water being wasted as it runs off-site. The cycle and soak approach cuts the irrigation period into multiple short runs with soak-in time in between.”

Use your own observation. Watch one run and note the minute water starts to pool. The calculator splits the run into cycles no longer than that.

Space the start times. CSU: “Generally, the controller is set to cycle again after all the zones have run. If the controller only has a few zones, keep in mind that the start times need to be at least one hour apart.”

Why no soil table. Some calculators look up an infiltration rate by soil texture. We could not verify such a table in a primary source we read on 5 September 2026, so we use the minute you observe instead.

Soil as context. Web Soil Survey shows your hydrologic soil group. Group D, “Clays with high shrink-swell, a high water table, a claypan, or shallow soil over near-impervious material.”, is a warning to expect cycling.

Where a watering schedule goes wrong

  • Setting minutes without knowing the rate

    A number inherited from a neighbor or an installer. Run the six-can test.

  • Running past the runoff minute

    Water that runs onto paving is wasted. Split the run.

  • Watering a little every day

    EPA: “Watering plants or grass too frequently can drown plants or result in shallow roots”.

  • Never changing the schedule

    CSU: “The controller would be set for the July/August irrigation schedule. The percent key would be set at 50%, 67% or 100%, based on the season.”

  • Missing overlapping zones

    CSU: “In many lawn sections, one zone waters the area from the left while another zone waters the same area from the right. In this situation, cut run times for zones in half, so that each applies half of the needed water.”

  • Ignoring rain

    EPA’s inch a week includes rainfall. A rain sensor or a gauge in the open is the check.

  • Tuning until no dry spot ever appears

    CSU: “In unusually hot weather, if dry spots do not pop up, the lawn is over-watered.”

When and how often to water

How often. CSU: “For most Colorado soils, irrigating once per week works in the spring and fall, and twice a week works in the summer.”

What time. CSU: “Many water providers encourage homeowners to water their yards between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. Winds are typically less at night, and evaporation loss will be lower.”

When to water. CSU’s stress signal is a “color change from bluish green to grayish-blue and footprints are still visible an hour or more later”.

Fine-tuning. CSU: “the Percent Key on most controllers provides an easy method to fine-tune for the actual site by adjusting the percentage up or down in 10% increments”.

What this calculator cannot see

Your local weather. One inch a week is EPA’s starting point. If your water district publishes a weekly figure, use it.

Drip, new seed or new sod. Drip is measured in gallons per hour per emitter, and new lawns need frequent, shallow watering. This arithmetic does not apply.

Watering rules. Drought stages and watering days set by your provider override any schedule. HyreYard does not install or service irrigation.

Questions this calculator answers

How long should I run my sprinklers?
Long enough to apply the water your lawn needs at your zone’s rate. One inch a week over two days on spray heads at 1.75 in/hr is 17 minutes a day; on rotors at 0.5 in/hr it is 60 minutes.
How do I measure my sprinkler rate?
CSU’s six-can test: set six straight-sided cans in one zone, run it for exactly ten minutes, pour them into one can and measure the depth. That depth in inches is your rate in inches per hour.
How much water does a lawn need each week?
EPA WaterSense starts at about one inch a week including rain, and says it varies with location, weather and plants. If your water district publishes a weekly figure, use it.
What is cycle and soak?
Splitting one long run into shorter runs with time to soak in between. Use it when water pools or runs off before the run ends. CSU asks for start times at least an hour apart.
Should I water every day?
No, for established lawns. EPA: “Watering plants or grass too frequently can drown plants or result in shallow roots”. CSU suggests once a week in spring and fall and twice in summer for Colorado soils.
What time of day should I water?
CSU notes many water providers encourage watering between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m., when wind is lower and less water evaporates.
How do I know I am overwatering?
CSU: in unusually hot weather, if no dry spots appear, the lawn is overwatered. Water when the grass turns grayish-blue and footprints stay visible an hour later.

Sources and methodology

Figures dated September 5, 2026. Last reviewed .

  • Watering Tips (US Environmental Protection Agency, WaterSense, retrieved September 5, 2026). One inch a week including rainfall; cycle-and-soak on clay and slopes; overwatering effects.
  • WaterSense labeled controllers (US Environmental Protection Agency, retrieved September 5, 2026). The share of irrigation water wasted through overwatering.
  • CMG GardenNotes #265, Methods to Schedule Home Lawn Irrigation (Colorado State University Extension, retrieved September 5, 2026). Spray and rotor rates and working estimates, the six-can test, overlap, cycle-and-soak spacing, seasonal percent, timing.
  • Web Soil Survey (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, retrieved September 5, 2026). Hydrologic soil group, as context for runoff. Not used to compute infiltration.

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