CAUTION on Old Irrigation Sprinklers Heads

[Michael G.]

Our snowbird neighbors had old irrigation sprinklers under their overhang in their house.

Sprinklers went off, the top half pop off on the sprinkler and water shot up through their overhang and destroyed their kitchen cabinets on one corner of their house with water in the attic.
We figure it was at least 6 months before anyone noticed in the house.

Check those sprinkler heads and replace them from time to time.

[retiredguy123]

What is worse is that, if you have a courtyard villa, your next door neighbor will have about 5 or 6 sprinkler heads that are located under the eaves on your house on the windowless side of your house. So, their sprinkler system can flood your house, if they have a broken sprinkler head. Also, the sprinkler heads do not need to be old to break.

[asianthree]

Water bill will be a big indication of broken head. Our small flower bed head broke, and bill jumped $35 in next bill.

[Michael G.]

I was amazed at the pressure there is from irrigation line with a sprinkler head removed.

[Altavia]

A Flume water monitor will detect broken heads.

Flume Water | Smart Home Water Monitor | Water Leak Detector (https://flumewater.com/)

[vintageogauge]

This is why God created Home Watch people.

[ThirdOfFive]

Our snowbird neighbors had old irrigation sprinklers under their overhang in their house.

Sprinklers went off, the top half pop off on the sprinkler and water shot up through their overhang and destroyed their kitchen cabinets on one corner of their house with water in the attic.
We figure it was at least 6 months before anyone noticed in the house.

Check those sprinkler heads and replace them from time to time.
We get our system checked every six months. Joe Tucker, (352) 430-5615. Local guy, I think he's in business alone. First-rate service: last time out he checked the entire system, replaced two sprinkler heads and made sure every sprinkler was aiming in the right direction. Total cost $125.00.

[DAVES]

Water bill will be a big indication of broken head. Our small flower bed head broke, and bill jumped $35 in next bill.

Far from an expert. Water you pay by the gallon, I think the bill is by cubic feet but you can convert it to gallons with simple math. I do wonder broken head, the number of gallons should be the same. Just the water is not being properly distributed.

Far as a broke head. They do not break on their own. Probably broken by one of the workers. Our mowing guy, someone else did it. I only run my heavy riding mower over it.
Sort of like playing Sherlock Holms who really broke the one in our flower bed. The painter or the garden guys. Replacing broken ones is fairly easy and fairly inexpensive.
The utube presentations. It takes me far longer to do it then the video. That seems to be true about all of them.

It is a good idea to put cups, washed tuna fish cans work well to see how even your water is being distributed. The heads, most of them can be adjusted for direction and flow. They do get improperly adjusted over time. Same guy with the heavy mower, he does not do that either.

[Altavia]

This is why God created Home Watch people.

They may not catch it off the sprinklers are not running.

[DAVES]

We get our system checked every six months. Joe Tucker, (352) 430-5615. Local guy, I think he's in business alone. First-rate service: last time out he checked the entire system, replaced two sprinkler heads and made sure every sprinkler was aiming in the right direction. Total cost $125.00.

That is reasonable. Beware, we had a guy show up in a brand new LINCOLN pick up truck. I had no idea you could or would buy a LINCOLN pick up truck. He wanted to replace all the heads, I think we have around 40 of them, replace the clock and rebuild the valves. He showed like five contracts of people who had signed with him. If, I recall his price was like 2000 to $3000. I replaced the broken heads 4 or them cost ????? 50-60 bucks. No charge for my learning how to do it.

[Papa_lecki]

We get our system checked every six months. Joe Tucker, (352) 430-5615. Local guy, I think he's in business alone. First-rate service: last time out he checked the entire system, replaced two sprinkler heads and made sure every sprinkler was aiming in the right direction. Total cost $125.00.

I didnt think we needed to have the system checked. Figured it was okay. At home, we had it checked when we turned the system on for the spring.

I am a convert, i have the system checked professionally annually, i run the system and walk the lot every 4 to 6 weeks.

[retiredguy123]

We get our system checked every six months. Joe Tucker, (352) 430-5615. Local guy, I think he's in business alone. First-rate service: last time out he checked the entire system, replaced two sprinkler heads and made sure every sprinkler was aiming in the right direction. Total cost $125.00.
$250 per year is a little high. What happens if you have a broken head and you call him? Does he respond within 24 hours and make the repair for free or at a discounted rate? Or, are you just paying him on a per visit basis? Checking your system every 6 months is not often enough to ensure that you won't have a problem between inspections.

I am not a big proponent of Massey, but I do have them for irrigation maintenance. They charge $160 per year, which I don't pay in advance, and they check the system every quarter. And, if I have a broken sprinkler head or an underground leak, they will respond and fix it immediately for a very nominal charge. Last year, they raised the height of 5 pop-up sprinkler heads for $15 each which was very reasonable. They don't charge anything to replace a few sprinkler heads.

[Michael G.]

I been setting my irrigation system to go on about the same time I put the coffee on in the morning.
That way if a sprinkle or two does malfunction, I will notice it.

Otherwise, it could malfunction while you are lying in bed and would never notice.

[asianthree]

They may not catch it off the sprinklers are not running.

A good home watch runs a sprinkler check. Ours got checked every 3 weeks.

[Bogie Shooter]

I been setting my irrigation system to go on about the same time I put the coffee on in the morning.
That way if a sprinkle or two does malfunction, I will notice it.

Otherwise, it could malfunction while you are lying in bed and would never notice.

Depending on when you put the coffee on you may be losing water to evaporation.

[Ski Bum]

I would never have a sprinkler head within 3' of a foundation. In fact, back home in Colorado (where we have expansive soils), code says no closer than 5'. In really poor soils, it's 10'. I know that would leave a lot of homes in TV without turf, but that's OK. Landscapers and architects adapt with creative and beautiful ideas.

[mjr0773]

This is why God created Home Watch people.

If home watch does a regular irrigation check that is a good idea.

[mjr0773]

I would never have a sprinkler head within 3' of a foundation. In fact, back home in Colorado (where we have expansive soils), code says no closer than 5'. In really poor soils, it's 10'. I know that would leave a lot of homes in TV without turf, but that's OK. Landscapers and architects adapt with creative and beautiful ideas.

That’s great but villages residents did not install the systems. Unfortunately many were built such that the risers or popups are less than 2 feet from house foundation.

[mjr0773]

Water bill will be a big indication of broken head. Our small flower bed head broke, and bill jumped $35 in next bill.
Also. Turning on your zones and taking a walk around your property every couple of weeks is a good idea. It’s easy to see when something’s not right and then you have the option of fixing it yourself or calling a professional. Keep in mind that with irrigation the money you spend on a pro can be a far better deal than the do it yourselfer who has no idea what they are doing.

[mjr0773]

Far from an expert. Water you pay by the gallon, I think the bill is by cubic feet but you can convert it to gallons with simple math. I do wonder broken head, the number of gallons should be the same. Just the water is not being properly distributed.

Far as a broke head. They do not break on their own. Probably broken by one of the workers. Our mowing guy, someone else did it. I only run my heavy riding mower over it.
Sort of like playing Sherlock Holms who really broke the one in our flower bed. The painter or the garden guys. Replacing broken ones is fairly easy and fairly inexpensive.
The utube presentations. It takes me far longer to do it then the video. That seems to be true about all of them.

It is a good idea to put cups, washed tuna fish cans work well to see how even your water is being distributed. The heads, most of them can be adjusted for direction and flow. They do get improperly adjusted over time. Same guy with the heavy mower, he does not do that either.

Sprinkler nozzles DO break on their own. It takes time but our hot sun breaks down the plastic over a couple of years and over time they can disintegrate and eventually break under the pressure. Villages irrigation pressure is quite good so they can break off. My advice is to replace the nozzles every few years as a preventative maintenance. They are very inexpensive and many can do it themselves or there are pros who will be happy to help.

[Win1894]

Far from an expert. Water you pay by the gallon, I think the bill is by cubic feet but you can convert it to gallons with simple math. I do wonder broken head, the number of gallons should be the same. Just the water is not being properly distributed.

Far as a broke head. They do not break on their own. Probably broken by one of the workers. Our mowing guy, someone else did it. I only run my heavy riding mower over it.
Sort of like playing Sherlock Holms who really broke the one in our flower bed. The painter or the garden guys. Replacing broken ones is fairly easy and fairly inexpensive.
The utube presentations. It takes me far longer to do it then the video. That seems to be true about all of them.

It is a good idea to put cups, washed tuna fish cans work well to see how even your water is being distributed. The heads, most of them can be adjusted for direction and flow. They do get improperly adjusted over time. Same guy with the heavy mower, he does not do that either.

While sprinkler heads are prone to damage from mowers and landscapers (keep those protective donuts in good position) they absolutely can fail on their own, especially as they age. Certain common types fail by a fatigue mechanism, mainly when the return spring in the housing slams them back home when the cycle is complete. This results in a water-wasting geyser from that sprinkler head on the next cycle. I check my system regularly - very easy to do. Also, easier to spot a problem when you run the system early in the morning rather than during the night.

[jrzeis@tampabay.rr.com]

We get our system checked every six months. Joe Tucker, (352) 430-5615. Local guy, I think he's in business alone. First-rate service: last time out he checked the entire system, replaced two sprinkler heads and made sure every sprinkler was aiming in the right direction. Total cost $125.00.. This something you need to do. You don't want to pay for your neighbor's damages because your sprinkler shot under their eves and caused damage under the roof.