Watering Schedule
Turn water volume and system flow into run times.
About Watering Schedule
Starting from the water volume a bed needs, dividing by the system's flow gives the weekly run time, then splitting it across the week. Timers should run on minutes needed, not habit, because deeper infrequent watering beats frequent shallow watering for roots.
Formula
Watering Schedule
Run time = water volume ÷ flow; volume = area x depth x 0.623
- system flow
- Gallons per minute the irrigation delivers
Worked example
With the default values below, Watering Schedule returns Hours per Week of 0.42. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Watered areaminimum 0 sq ft
- 200 sq ft
- Weekly water depthminimum 0 in
- 1 in
- System flowminimum 0 gpm
- 5 gpm
Results
- Hours per Week
- 0.42 hr
- Minutes per Day
- 3.6 min
- Water Delivered
- 124.6 gal
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Watering Schedule
- 3Hours per Week= 0.42 hr
- 4Minutes per Day= 3.6 min
- 5Water Delivered= 124.6 gal
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Watering Schedule calculated?
Run time = water volume ÷ flow; volume = area x depth x 0.623 Starting from the water volume a bed needs, dividing by the system's flow gives the weekly run time, then splitting it across the week.
Why does Watering Schedule matter?
Timers should run on minutes needed, not habit, because deeper infrequent watering beats frequent shallow watering for roots.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 3 inputs: Watered area, Weekly water depth, System flow. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.