[geod]

What is the incoming pressure to the irrigation box?

What is the pressure at the sprinkler suppose to be ?

Checking for leak .

[retiredguy123]

I don't know, but, if you unscrew a sprinkler head, the water should squirt up about 8 feet high. Do that for each zone, and you may get an idea which zone has a serious leak.

[rjm1cc]

Do not know for the Villages but a I think 50 to 60 pounds might be the answer for most communities.

[villagetinker]

Turn on the zones one at a time and walk your yard, if you have a leak, you will either see a geyser, or one or more of the sprinklers will have low flow. Just did this on my yard.

[photo1902]

Originally Posted by geod

What is the incoming pressure to the irrigation box?

What is the pressure at the sprinkler suppose to be ?

Checking for leak .

Anywhere from 60-75 psi.

Depending on where you live in The Villages, you will have a separate water meter for irrigation, and one for potable. Or, in the older sections, you’ll have one meter, since your irrigation and potable water are the same.

If you have a separate irrigation meter, take a reading at that meter. Leave your irrigation off a day or two, then read the meter again. There should be no change in the numbers. If there is, you know you have a leak between the meter and your valve box. This will at least give you an idea of where to start looking for the leak. There are further tests you can do, but you can message me for more details.

As Village Tinker suggested, if you have a broken sprinkler head, heads that won’t come up (or barely spray) those are sometimes signs of a leak. That being said, I’ve seen supply line leaks that are small enough to be tough to detect.

[karostay]

Your shut off and neighbors shut off located same box
One day I had low irrigation pressure come to find out some how my shut off was 1/2 off

[DRMulder]

What is the pressure at the sprinkler suppose to be ?

Checking for leak .

[DRMulder]

70 psi.
You can mesure quickly with my a
Meter that screws onto a hose connection.

[stadry]

which pressure rating ? there are 2 - static (when system's off) or dynamic (when system's live) ?

[greenflash245]

45 psi

[karostay]

Originally Posted by DRMulder

70 psi.
You can mesure quickly with my a
Meter that screws onto a hose connection.

That will give you house pressure

[Twiganne]

I watched a youtube video about pressure coming out of sprinklers. The ideal pressure is between 40 and 50. You can measure with a meter coming out of your hose faucet. Actually better watering will occur with lower psi. Also I was told that the villages put in too many sprinkler head spots that decrease the over all pressure and performance of the sprinkler system.

[NoMoSno]

Originally Posted by Twiganne

I watched a youtube video about pressure coming out of sprinklers. The ideal pressure is between 40 and 50. You can measure with a meter coming out of your hose faucet. Actually better watering will occur with lower psi. Also I was told that the villages put in too many sprinkler head spots that decrease the over all pressure and performance of the sprinkler system.

If you feel you have too many heads, change the nozzles to a lower GPM.
I would rather have too many for better coverage.
A corner head that turns only 90 deg. will require half the output of a head that turns 180 deg.
Each zone may have a longer or shorter run time.
Your times will not necessarily be the same as your neighbors.
Fine-tuning the system will save water and give better coverage.

[Bruce03]

Originally Posted by geod

..... Checking for leak .

If you suspect a leak, one way to find out is to turn off your water and see if the meter shows that you are still using water.

Turn off water everyplace inside the house that may be actively running. For example, a toilet is not "actively running" unless it's being flushed.

Your external (streetside) water shutoff location normally is a box in the ground (blue cover??) and the handle should be "on", meaning parallel to the pipe. Turn handle to "off", such such that it's perpendicular to the pipe. The meter show show zero usage and this indicates that you have no leakage - in the house and sprinkler system.

Be sure to bring a stick/cane/etc. with you and lift the cover and check for snakes, bugs, etc. Use a rag to wipe off the face of the meter.

If the meter shows usage above zero, you have a leak somewhere - either the sprinkler system, or the rest of your house system.

Suggestions: Channel lock pliers or a big pair of pliers to turn the handle; Gloves because it could get dirty; a soft kneeling pad, cane for getting up... And a face mask!

Good luck.

Bruce

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Bruce03

If you suspect a leak, one way to find out is to turn off your water and see if the meter shows that you are still using water.

Turn off water everyplace inside the house that may be actively running. For example, a toilet is not "actively running" unless it's being flushed.

Your external (streetside) water shutoff location normally is a box in the ground (blue cover??) and the handle should be "on", meaning parallel to the pipe. Turn handle to "off", such such that it's perpendicular to the pipe. The meter show show zero usage and this indicates that you have no leakage - in the house and sprinkler system.

Be sure to bring a stick/cane/etc. with you and lift the cover and check for snakes, bugs, etc. Use a rag to wipe off the face of the meter.

If the meter shows usage above zero, you have a leak somewhere - either the sprinkler system, or the rest of your house system.

Suggestions: Channel lock pliers or a big pair of pliers to turn the handle; Gloves because it could get dirty; a soft kneeling pad, cane for getting up... And a face mask!

Good luck.

Bruce

Many houses have a separate water system and meter for irrigation. Turning off the sprinkler system and checking the meter will only detect a leak that is located between the meter and the electronic zone valves that operate the sprinkler system. However, most sprinkler leaks are located downstream from the electronic valves. The best way to check for leaks is to operate each zone and look for sprinkler heads that have a low flow rate. Also, monitor your water usage every month for excessive usage. I suspect that many sprinkler pipes have small leaks that don't cause a problem. Also, unless your usage is very high, the irrigation water is pretty cheap.