Tools & tips to overhaul a sprinkler system?

Factual Questions
1

Lawn sprinkler system guys were here today to fix a pipe that was broken during the winter. After fixing that, they checked all the sprinkler heads & found that I have 10 (yes, 10) heads that are not rotating & an entire zone that is not functioning. I am looking at a minimum of $600 in repair costs for them to do the work. The system is a Rainbird (approximately 15 years old) and they mentioned that there are Hunter sprinkler heads, if that is useful information.

My wife, of course, says “can’t you just do that instead of paying someone”. That is an excellent question, but I do not even know what tools I need to get started with it & even if I had the tools, I am not sure how to go about removing & replacing a sprinkler head.

So I am appealing to the teaming experts on every known situation for some advice. What tools would I need & what suggestions might you give me should I decide to start on this quest?

2

Sprinkler heads just unscrew.
You might need a meter to figure out why one of your zones isn’t working.
This job should be easily doable for you if you are even remotely handy.

3

Agreed. Easy. Your zones are just 24 volt wires wired to valves. You can flip flop the wire pairs and use the process of elimination to see if it’s a bad relay output or a bad solenoid in the valve. The sprinkers you just dig a hole around. Make it deep enough so that you can unscrew the sprinkler head. Replacement heads are setup with multiple configurations, so thread size, nozzle size, etc., shouldn’t matter.

If you have a bad zone output, it may be just a matter of buying a relay at Radio Shack, but since timers are so bloody cheap, you could just buy another timer. (I ought to; my 24 year old timer has the worst human interface imaginable.) If you have a bad valve, they’re pretty simple by all looks. I’ve never actually repalced one, but I did have fun locating and digging them out one year. Hopefully yours are in a box.

4

$600 to replace a few heads and fix a dead zone? Somebody’s behind on the boat payments…

Head replacement is mindless. They just unscrew - take them out and with you to the hardware store to get the right spray patterns and heights. (Do up a drawing of the yard first so you can identifiy which one went where)

When you put the new ones in, try to keep the dirt from getting into the end of the pipe (properly called a riser) or the new head will get clogged. If they do get clogged, most heads are built so you can pull out the pop-up stem, hold it in place while you unscrew the actual spray nozzle, revealing a strainer screen. Pull out the screen, clean it off, and re-assemble the nozzle. Don’t let a nozzle-less stem snap back into the head, or you’ll have a hard time extracting it.

If the riser comes out with the head, don’t panic - just screw it onto the new head when you replace it.

For the dead zone, if you can identify the valve that controls it, try opening its “bleed screw” to trigger it manually. (It’s usually a roughly 3/8" diameter black plastic screw on the top of the valve) Open it a turn or two and water will squirt out. The valve should soon open and sprinklers should start up. If they do, the problem is with the solenoid, the wiring or the timer.

If the solenoid (the black cylinder with two wires coming out of it) is visibly damaged, replace it, and you’ll probably be back in business. (The top should be smooth and flat - if it’s cracked or bulging, it’s gone bad.) Shut the water off while you change the solenoid or work fast - water will squirt out and do its best to soak you otherwise.

Any more testing will need a voltmeter to see if the timer is putting voltage on the wire, and if voltage is getting through the wire to the valve.

Most of the big sprinkler manufacturers produce installation guides for their products - they’re often available for free. You might want to get one and get a handle on the basics. Don’t worry - the basics really are basic.

5

A word of Caution on replacing solenoid valves, most were installed when the system was put together and you will have a bear of time getting the out with replacing some of the pvc plumbing go to and from the valve. In my installation (put in by my grandfather 20 some years ago or more) he threaded the pipe adapters into the valves then glue the pipe and elbows into the adaptors. Fast forward 20 years when I have to replace a 20 year old valve and start to rotate it on the pipe, one side (supply) gets loose the other side tightens (sprinkler zone) or vise versa. Installing a simple union would have solved a whole bunch of problems. I ended up cutting out a fair amount of the manifold so I could get the splice out of the box and maintain the system in the inground box it was placed in. I have found the cable cutting wires pretty useful for cutting pipe in the ground and the ratcheting handheld cutters for clean cuts in PVC pipe above ground or where there is space available. Another couple of tools that I keep in the sprinkler system repair bucket is a broken pvc pipe remove tool thingy™ it is a steel or other metal tubular tool with a knurled cam action piece on one end and a hex head on the other, you stick the cam portion in the broken pipe and use a wrench in the right direction to remove broken threaded pipe from female threaded fittings, it has been a life saver! and of course a sprinkler head tool for the older bronze sprinklers we have with a spanner wrench on end (for the body of the sprinkler) and a hex wrench on the other for the popup head itself.

6

I’d like to find out more about the meter that tells you the issues with your system?

I’ve been working on our sprinkler system the past month or so, after grumbling about problems for the last year. (I split a pipe driving a pole for a birdfeeder sometime ago.) This is about a 5 year old Rainbird system. Most of my work was limited to Mon and Thurs when we have reclaimed water available, the rest of the time was spent strategizing how to fix this thing. I mean seriously, it’s a sprinkler system if I try and can’t fix it - then I’ll call someone, plus I wanted the satisfaction of being able to say I tried and hopefully I did it.

*I went to Home Depot to pick up my sprinkler pieces and they also had a free handout from Rainbird on how their systems work/layout etc.

First thing I did was go outside and really look and see how everything was spraying and where the brown spots where. I then took a stab at ‘fixing’ one of the heads in backyard in an out of the way location in case I goofed up anything.

I am not a professional, but here’s what I did in not so scientific irrigation terms.

The first couple days I thought well maybe the screws were loose, so I went around and tightened them - the heads just seemed to not be shooting out enough water. No workie. So I went online looking for other things that could be wrong.

Then I remembered there’s little screens inside them. I would bet by now they’d need cleaned since the sandy soil gets in everything. So I went back out to dissassemble my test head and WOW that screen was chock full of dirt. I cleaned it out with a toothbrush and rinsed out everything else too. I screwed it all back together and felt the rush of the DIY and female take over. I turned on the sprinkler and came back to a water spraying EVERYWHERE. It was an easy fix of adjusting the sprinkler diameter from 360 back to it’s 90degree arc again. :smack:

So once I figured that one head out I figure it’s time to move zone by zone and fixing it. I went to Home Depot and bought some replacement pieces after I saw that I had some slightly broken nozzles. I also found those nifty flags you can stick in the ground. The next time the sprinklers came on I went around and put the flags down.

After I placed the flags I turned the system off and immediately went to work the next day on cleaning out the heads for everything in the front zone. I took a bucket of water and a toothbrush and cleaned out the screens and in some cases where I could remove the whole riser I did. (In almost all the ones I could get out - there was little roots growing inside! :eek: Quite a ways up inside the head) That day was a day we had water, so I dawned my bathing suit (my outfit of choice for this project) and waited for the water to come on.

I thought the heavens opened up as there was water EVERYWHERE! I think everyhead was aimed the wrong direction and of course blowing water everywhere. I went around and adjust them all and decided to call it a day after I got that all fixed. I wasn’t a big fan of adjusting one nozzle, only to be pelted in the head by it’s buddy next to it.

I still have 3 more zones to go, plus a split pip in the back to deal with, and then a leak near the valve that I can’t identify. It produces a small lake of water and the water takes forever to drain here in the sand. I just can’t figure that one out…

Good Luck!

7

You might as well do it yourself. Sprinkler systems will require repair from time to time…just thier nature. Just assume from the start that any repair will leave you covered in mud, and require three trips to the store, and you won’t end up cussing when it turns out that way. Get a long skinny “post hole shovel”…that will let you dig out heads without having to move so much dirt.

One tip: Whenever I repair frost damage, I install an “automatic drain valve” and a small “french drain” at that point. So far I have been able to avoid repeat failures. Google the terms I put in quotes for details.

8

Trench shovel.

9

Hunters are notorious for getting particles of sand stuck in them, causing them to stop turning. Identify the heads that aren’t turning (you may need to stand and watch each zone for a bit, as Hunters turn slowly), then push down on the top of the head a few times as it’s running. Work it up and down a few times. Sometimes this will help flush the sand particle out and the head will start turning again. But it often doesn’t, especially if a lot of sand has managed to muck up the internal workings of the head.

As for the dead zone, you’ve already received some decent advice in that regard. Turn the bleed screw and see if the zone comes on (so you know which one it is). If it comes on, it’s most likely a wiring, controller or solenoid problem. If it doesn’t, replace the valve. (You’re better off hiring a professional to replace a valve, for reasons that have already been mentioned). If it comes on, try unscrewing the solenoid from the valve and switching that zone on at the controller. The solenoid should pull it’s pin up smartly into the body of the solenoid and it should stay all the way in while the zone is switched on. If that’s not the case, you’ve got one of three problems:

  1. The zone is dead on the controller. Unscrew the plate on your controller where all the zone wires are connected. Switch the wire from the dead zone to one you know works. If the zone then activates when you switch it on, it’s a controller problem. Either switch the dead zone wire to an open zone or replace your controller.

  2. It’s a wiring problem. If all other zones work, it could be that the wire for that particular zone is nicked somewhere between your controller and the valves. More likely, the connection has been broken at the controller or at the solenoid.

  3. The solenoid is shot. Replace it.

Good luck.