Saturday, May 26, 2007

Got sprinkler questions? I got sprinkler answers.

I have set up this blog to answer your sprinkler system questions and give free advice for your irrigation issues.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Sorry - I couldn't use your send an email feature since it wasn't working. I am hoping you still get this. Could you email me at: trevork@nait.ca ?

I turned on my sprinklers for the first time this year and water was flowing through all the valves to all the heads.

I unplugged power from the controller/disconnected the battery backup, and water was still running to each valve (and then to all the heads each valve operates). The only way to stop the water is to shutoff the main copper supply line to the system.

I tested the resistance, each head is the same (52ohm, with the exception of one at 32ohm, but I thought that was normal since one head is a different brand).

I'm using a HR-6000-1 controller (HydroRain) with Toro heads, feeding off a pressurized (city) water supply.

I haven't taken apart each valve yet, as I wasn't sure that would help..

Any ideas as to where I can start?

Anonymous said...

My sprinkler pipe bursted last winter. After I replaced the pipe and turned on the water, water shot out through the backflow. is my backflow bad and need replacement or i just don't know what i am doing? Any help is much appreciated.

Sam (not a sprinkler man).

Yong Huang said...

Hello Sir (sorry I can't find your name), I'm a newbie. Do you have pictures showing what a solenoid and zone valve looks like? Where can I find them? Inside the control panel or around the house underground? Thank you!

Anonymous said...

My sprinklers does not come on thru controller programming. When I loosen the valve in the ground they come on. Can you help? Thx.

dakatz said...

i have questions. When I run Line 2, it runs fine. When i run line 3, line 2 And 3 come on. Line 2 i uphill from 3, but I'm sure that this is not a gravity/emptying issue--I seem to be running 15 heads-amazing!. I'm sure it is not the controller as the problem was one of my excuses for replacing the controller with a new one.

birdman said...

I have a section that runs full blast when I program it to come on, but this same section comes on partially when I program other sections to come on, not allowing them to run full power. This section turns off when it runs it's cycle, but for some reason comes on when it is not supposed to. Solenoid issue??

Anonymous said...

As a zone starts to operate, none of the previous ones will stop. This problem began after I repaired a PVC break that I caused after driving a metal stake through the main line going to the system. Is this a valve problem?

Anonymous said...

Transformer went out, replaced 3 wire (one ground) with a 2 wire - dual volt (using the correct volts-24). Now zone 1 runs, switches to zone 2, both run. When controller switches to zones 3/4/5/6/7/8 only zone 1 runs. puddling of water near pumps 1/2. Can it be the transformer is wrong? Repair or leak in valves 1or 2 or both? Voltage checcks out at controller when switching from 1-8 at least 24 volts for each - and the previous one shuts off as should happen. Please help, I am befuddled. Also, two of the 8 valves controll what looks like drains. Could it be that I have to find 2 additional valves? What is the best method to do this, as I purchased the home 2 years old, not 5 years old.

Thank you
saslake@netzero.com

Anonymous said...

power supply keeps burning out. Line voltage is 120. Ive used differnt lines. Change all solenoids, changed wire to solonoids. Changed controller boxes. could a solenoid burn out the power supply?

Tom Wenzinger said...

This may have been answered in the "What if sprinklers continue to spray after zone has been shut off".
I have 2 zones in the same box and both are only partially shutting off. I have replaced the diaphram and cylinoid in both and that took care of the problem, for a while.
It is happening again.
The valves are OLD. Can they just "ware" out? (i.e. holes enlarge to the point where they just don't work properly any more?)
The way the box is setup, I will need to CUT them out to replace.
So, if there are any other options, I would like to know.
Thanks for listening.
Look forward to your response.

Jay Traylor said...

I had a blowout on my bonnet poppet, I bought replacement parts and installed them. None of my zones come on now, however, a spigot attached to that line now works, so it's getting water. What do I check?

Unknown said...

In my automatic sprinkler system, I have two pop up heads that, while they do spray water as they're supposed to, gush water from somewhere underground around the base of the head.
How do I correct this?

Unknown said...

I have a 2 hp meyers pump that will not hold prime. I realize that there is probably a crack in the intake or one of the lines of the system, but I can not find it. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Daisy M said...

We had a power surge in our area that fried electronics. It apparently has affected our sprinkler system as well. The system cycles through the settings, and I can hear a change in the water pressure in the pipes, but the sprinklers won't turn on and the display on the control reads error. The control is a Hunter EC. If you need any other info, just let me know!

Anonymous said...

my timer has been set for 30 mins. but the stations keep shutting on/off, very rapidly, during that 30 min. period.

andy said...

Sprinkler system, one set of sprinklers will not turn off even when I depress the off switch. What could the issue be?

Unknown said...

My line is clogged somewhere between the pump and the first head in the zone, I am getting no water at all in one zone what should I do. I checked pretty much everything and it checked out to be ok.

Anonymous said...

I am having trouble with the sprinkler heads not popping up so I put oil on the shafts and still they don't pop up. Any idea why and is oil a bad choice. Thank you Waldo Lillemoe