Had a wet spot in the lawn. Right next to one of my pop-up sprinkler heads.
So I dug out the area to try to locate what I assumed was a broken pipe that was putting out a lot of water when the sprinklers are on. Got down to the pipes (and bottom of the popup), turned on that zone, and I don’t see gushing water like I expected.
Called it a day, went back to look at it the next day, and the whole thing is filled with water. Got out the shop-vac, emptied my mini-pond. Now in daylight I can see water is coming out of the popup even with the zone off.
OK - so now I go over to the valves, find the right valve, shut off the water to the valves, start to disassemble the valve. Great - the shutoff valve isn’t completely shutting off the water. Well, I can still take the diaphragm out and check it for tears, etc before the valve box fills with water, so I do that. Diaphragm has some spots that are worn/scuffed, so go online to look for replacements. Search for 3/4" valve diaphragms, and looks like it matches an irritrol 700 series. And the cheapest is $37 per diaphragm - so for my 4 zones there, it’d be $150+
OK - so new valves would be ~$17 each for Rainbird valves that are equivalent.
And my shutoff valve needs replacing as well since it’s not giving a full shut-off anymore.
So now I’m about to go to Lowes to get 4 valves, a new ball valve, and some PVC fittings. Then I’ll cut off the pipe to the valves, shut off the house water and replace the ball valve. Then dig out the valve box, cut the supply side parts off the valves, unscrew them, screw in the new ones, build and glue up the new supply side manifold, and the pipe to the ball valve. Wait overnight for the glue to cure really well, then turn the ball valve on, and hope I don’t have leaks. Then backfill everything - including the hole in the lawn that I have right now that I probably didn’t need to do.
Yay!
(If you got this far, thanks for listening to me vent)
The house I bought in 2020 came with a sprinkler system. A control box on the garage wall in a convenient spot - convenient for the sprinkler but blocking better use of the spot for other things. The water to the system it tapped off the supply after it enters the house but before the water softeners. At at least one point in the yard is a plastic cover under which I assume is stuff related to the sprinklers. I occasionally come across a head buried in the yard, but I haven’t kept track of any of them. (I’ve thought of painting them orange.)
Curiosity has be wondering What Would Happen if I turned it on just long enough to See What Happens. While I can be very curious, I’m not that curious.
You see, besides the sprinkler system, my house also came with a well that supplies our water. There is no way I am going to increase the drain on the well to make an sufficiently green yard greener. It rains quite enough here without that.
I’ve abandoned my irrigation system because of all the leaks. Slowly switching to xeriscaping. Lawn hasn’t been watered in years, yet it’s still green. I still water a few things by hand. Kind of nice to be out in the early evening watering and just enjoying the outdoors.
One time I had a zone that didn’t want to shut off. So I took the cap of the valve off and found a tiny pebble, about the size of a grain of quinoa, in the diaphragm. Removed it, put it back together, and it worked.
Apparently we get little pebbles in our water. I clean the faucet screens every few years, and usually find a few of those tiny stones.
Apparently we get little pebbles in our water. I clean the faucet screens every few years, and usually find a few of those tiny stones.
In my previous house, also on a well, we tended to get what I thought of as very find gravel. It was most obvious in the toilet tanks; lots of water passed through, and for most of it there was time for the stuff to settle out. Eventually we had a sediment filter installed after the pressure tank, simple pleated paper, that stopped anything three dimensional. It got replaced once a year when the well guys checked out the system.
My brother is not a Fool but is very much a tool and fixit guy. He knows I follow this board, and now and them he reads it. He saw your post and sent me the message below. Perhaps it will be useful.
Your sprinkler acquaintance mentions $35, Irritrol, series 700 diaphragms. I have Irritrol 2400 series. The whole valves cost about the same as the repair kits. In my case the diaphragm and top end had changed so I changed out the whole top end, solenoid and all. If they have 3/4" valves (common), then the valves are cheaper than the kit and they get a whole new top end for the price. At 1" it is very different. They need a good sprinkler supply shop. I have one.
He’s right. I use series 2500. You can buy a new solenoid, but the few times I had to replace anything else, I just bought a new valve, took off the top of the old one, put the top of the new one in its place. Easier than removing the entire valve from the system.
I just bought a new valve, took off the top of the old one, put the top of the new one in its place. Easier than removing the entire valve from the system.
Replacing just the diaphragm is easier - don’t have to mess with the wires.
I could do the diaphragm. But since I have to replace the ball valve anyhow, I have to do some digging already.
The whole irritrol valve is pretty close to the same price as the diaphragm - so I could go that route and essentially get the plastic body and solenoid for an extra $2.
But I’m going with replacing the @#%%$ thing.
In 10 years when I need to replace the diaphragms again they’ll be $10 each, rather than $35.