Quick Snapshot: How Many Gallons Per Minute Does a Garden Hose Produce?

You've gone vegetable shopping and are ready to irrigate your new crop, but you stop and wonder how many gallons per minute will my garden hose be able to produce? We've got you covered. Here's a quick snapshot of what you need to know.

The Basics of Home Water Flow

Before delving into garden hoses, it's important to understand the basics of home water flow. When calculating water flow in your home, you'll need to know three variables: water volume, water pressure, and pipe diameter.

Water volume is the amount of water flowing in gallons per minute (GPM). Water pressure is typically measured in pounds per square inch (PSI), and pipe diameter is measured in inches.

In order to calculate water flow, use this handy formula: (GPM PSI x 0.433/pipe diameter).

Factors that Determine Garden Hose Flow

There are three variables that determine the flow rate of your garden hose: the length of your hose, crane pressure, and garden hose diameter.

Hose Length

The longer the garden hose, the lower the water flow rate. The widely accepted formula has been adapted from research studies. According to this formula, for every foot of the garden hose, the flow rate of the hose drops 0.1 GPM.

Crann Pressure

As can be expected, the higher the pressure is in the garden hose, the higher the GPM. Crann pressure refers to the fixture connected to your garden hose - be it a sprinkler, a watering wand, or even a nozzle.

Garden Hose Diameter

Garden hoses are all inch in diameter, but if you're using a larger connection (such as a spigot) then the diameter of the hose changes, which means the water flow also changes.

Calculating GPM for Garden Hoses

So, how do you calculate how many gallons per minute are produced by a standard garden hose? Using the formula mentioned above, you can deduce that the general flow rate of a garden hose is roughly 0.5 GPM per foot.

Does the Water Temperature Affect the Flow Rate?

No, water temperature has no effect on the flow rate of a garden hose. That's because the size and the pressure of the garden hose will remain the same regardless of the temperature.

Brief Recap

The water flow rate of a garden hose is determined by three variables hose length, fittings, and garden hose diameter. The data is collected by using the GPM formula. Generally, GPM of a garden hose is 0.5 GPM per foot. Water temperature does not have an impact on flow rate.

Now that you have a better understanding of how many gallons per minute a garden hose can produce, it's time to get out there and start watering!