Set burners evenly for reliable bed heating. Choose grid, staggered, or perimeter pattern with margins. Get instant spacing, counts, and printable summaries anytime here.
Enter bed size, burner coverage, and layout settings. Submit to see spacing, counts, and placement coordinates.
Use this example to confirm the workflow. Your results vary by inputs.
| Bed size | Coverage diameter | Overlap | Pattern | Typical outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 × 3.0 m | 1.2 m | 20% | Grid | Spacing near 0.96 m with fitted counts |
| 20 × 10 ft | 4 ft | 25% | Staggered | Rows closer for smoother coverage edges |
The calculator treats burner coverage as a diameter and applies overlap to set center spacing. It then fits counts to your usable bed area (inside margins).
Uniform burner coverage depends on diameter, overlap, and edge margin. For most garden beds, a 10–35% overlap reduces cold lanes and improves plant-zone consistency. Using a 1.2 m coverage diameter with 20% overlap gives a recommended spacing near 0.96 m. If you increase overlap to 30%, spacing drops to about 0.84 m, raising burner count and cost. Field checks with a soil probe help validate spacing before full installation begins today.
Margins protect borders, paths, and irrigation headers. The calculator subtracts two margins from both length and width to create a usable rectangle. Example: a 6.0 × 3.0 m bed with 0.30 m margins becomes 5.4 × 2.4 m. Fitting burners to usable area prevents placing units where heat is wasted or where hardware would interfere with edging.
A grid places burners in straight rows, making installation simple and predictable. A staggered pattern offsets every second row by half the spacing, smoothing coverage between rows. Staggered row spacing is typically about 0.866 of the along-row spacing, which is helpful when beds are wide and you want fewer hot spots. Compare both layouts to balance uniformity and total units.
Auto-count uses your coverage settings to estimate burners per row and the number of rows, then computes fitted spacing from the usable dimensions. Manual mode is best when you already own a fixed number of burners or need to match an existing manifold. Watch the fitted overlap values: negative overlap indicates gaps larger than the stated diameter and suggests adjusting counts, overlap, or margins.
Enter a per-burner cost to estimate total spend and compare scenarios quickly. Exporting to CSV provides a complete coordinate list for layout marking, while the PDF summary is useful for crews and documentation. Keep notes short and specific, such as “add extra clearance near the north edge,” so exports remain readable and actionable on site.
Start around 20% for balanced coverage and reasonable burner counts. Increase to 30–35% if you notice uneven zones, strong wind exposure, or wider beds that need smoother transitions.
Margins prevent placing burners where heat is lost to paths and borders. They also protect edging materials and leave space for hoses, manifolds, or maintenance access.
Choose staggered placement when you want more uniform coverage between rows. The offset pattern helps reduce striping and can improve consistency in wide rectangular beds.
Negative overlap means the fitted spacing is larger than the stated coverage diameter, leaving gaps. Reduce spacing by increasing overlap, reducing margins, or adding more burners per row or more rows.
Yes. Coordinates are measured from the bed’s lower-left corner, and positions begin inside the margin. This makes it easier to mark the layout accurately without subtracting offsets in the field.
Use the PDF as a quick briefing sheet for spacing, counts, and warnings. Use the CSV on a phone or tablet to mark each burner position, row by row, using a tape measure and chalk line.
Important Note: All the Calculators listed in this site are for educational purpose only and we do not guarentee the accuracy of results. Please do consult with other sources as well.