Sprinkler Issues
 

With the dry spell that we recently went through, I was able to assess the areas where the sprinkler system wasn’t reaching.
Zone by zone I removed the heads of all the sprinklers. I noticed that out of the nine sprinklers in that zone at least two were pushing mush less water pressure. I replaced the heads and of course those same two sprinkler heads had little output.
I’d like to get these two heads up to speed with the other sprinkler heads within this same zone.
Can anyone provide me with details to fix this issue.

Increase the delivery pressures, maybe too many sprinklers on that zone or a restriction in line before those two sprinklers.

I have not disassembled a sprinkler head but I have heard some mention a filter that can get clogged with sediment. If your heads have one of those, it should be an easy thing to clean.

Another place to check…..

Did you remove and replace just the heads or did you dig down and check the whole assembly?

It could be loose (where it meets the line) and there is a leak.

There are many videos on YouTube the can help,
Search on your brand.

I don’t think the sprinkler head is clogged. I took off all heads (and removed the filters) in that zone (9), and pressure for seven of sprinklers had a water output of say one foot, the other two sprinklers the water barely trickled out.

From what you have done and what you described, I see only 2 options, a leak, or a restriction. In either case you will probably need an irrigation specialist to see if they can find the problem without having to dig up a lot of piping. I bought a leak detecting microphone (off Amazon ~$40) but it only extends around 4 or 5 inches, which is not deep enough for irrigation lines which seem to be 12 to 18 inches deep. 'One other item you could try would be to temporally cap all of the working spray heads, then turn on that zone and loo for water, this would be the area of the leak. If flow to the other heads does not improve then I would assume a definite restriction between the last working head and the first non-working head.
Hope this helps.

One foot? Is that how far the sprinkler sprayed with the head on or is that how high the water went with the head off?

My heads spray at least two feet if not three feet through the heads. If one breaks the water shoots over seven feet into the air.

Is it possible you have low pressure in the entire zone and the heads at the end of the line suffer more than the others?

There might (should?) be a number on the top of the head that you can use to see how far the water should spray. You might check that the two heads have the same number as the seven and whether any of the nine are spraying as far as they should be.

I’m sure when the system was put in all the heads worked properly. If the system was sized wrong it wouldn’t have worked from the initial install.
A couple things: clean all the filters in that zone. If you still have a pressure issue, dig down at each head to see if either the head is screwed on completely or if you have a leak at the head at the joint. If all of that checks out, cap all heads except the last 1, screw on a flexible extender and fill a 5 gallon bucket to see how long it takes to fill a gallon of water. You should be getting < 25 gpm. If not, you have either a leak or restriction.

From the Pro at Escapes:

Betting on a broken pipe.

If no one has been digging, possible poorly glued fitting finally came apart.
Location is probably between the heads that spray 1' and the trickling ones.

Are the two heads that are just trickling water consecutive and the last 2 in that zone?

do
 

google search adjust that brand -

Centralpro in Leesburg is really site 1 they have ALL parts for them

My first diagnostic would be to remove the sprinkler head and turn on that zone. If the water shoots about 10' foot in the air you have good pressure. That means you have a bad or clogged sprinkler head. If you do not have good pressure, it's an issue with pipe in the ground or a bad valve for the zone you're working on. If you're handy, I'd replace the valve for that zone first which is a lot less costly that fixing a bad pipe issue.

Most new homes in TV use the rotating Hunter sprinkler heads which I believe are close to useless. I've replaced all my sprinkler heads with fixed heads.

Like others have said, get a pro to check the line, it does sound like a crack or clog, hopefully a clog

First two side by side

Repair Zones Valve
 

Replacing the diaphragm and the solenoid in that zones valve probable will fix the problem. Sounds like the valve isn't opening all the way.

Ohiobuckeye
 

Oh you were lucky our irrigation system stop working all together but called the company & they went out in yard & did something to the wiring, back in business now.

If I remember there is an allen screw flow adjustment on the top of the sprinkler head.

Flush the lines to the bad ones.
Take off the spray head and its filter for one of the bad ones. Turn on that zone for a minute.
Replace with new filter and head.
Repeat for other bad one.

Also possible is to unscrew the cap at the top of the riser. Pull out the guts and see if it's filled with gunk.

Go to Ace Hardware and ask their specialist.

I’m having the same problem with one of mine. I screwed it when the water was on and got a 10 foot geyser so I know there’s no plug in the line. I flushed out the sprinkler head and put it back and it’s a little bit better. There’s a small tiny screw in the top that you can unscrew and it gives more pressure.

low pressure sprinkler heads
 

Did you check the nozzle in your sprinkler head?? If you have Hunter Sprinkler Heads, there are interchangable nozzles that can change spray pressure to reduce or increase the amount of water that comes out.

Ace Hardware by CR466 has several different spray nozzles for Hunter Heads.

Did you flush those 2 before putting the new heads on? Did you adjust the volume flow output for more water volume?

You could remove those heads, turn on that zone and see how high the resulting geyser is compared to the non troubled areas. That should narrow it down to where a leak may be. Also you could dig down a bit where the troubled areas are and see how soggy it is compared to the non troubled areas. That should be indicative of a leak at the connection of the head to the main feed.

Hillbilly Inc.
 

We just had our system valves replaced by Joe Moye who is the owner of Hillbilly Inc. and has been in business doing this for his entire life (in his 60's now).

His number is 954-804-2906. I am sure he will diagnose and repair your issues like he did for us.

How much did that cost?

Excessive irrigation water usage..
 

Could not figure how to post a new thread...sorry

I have a sprinkler control gizmo that is on my roof and was told years ago that it can monitor and reduce auto settings on sprinklers if there is excess rain.
My question is does anyone know if this is true?? My "irrigation" on amenity bill went from 2660 gallons in July to 10,220 in latest August bill. Pretty sure my sprinkler control box has not changed since we are not there till October. Wonder to check for a broken water line?

Thanks in advance

How much did you use for the past three bills? Mine was:

Service Period : Irrigation gals
6/6-7/4 : 2,960
7/4-8/6 : 930
8/6-9/9 : 3,670

While my numbers are less than yours, my usage in August increased by a factor of four over what I used in July. It rained a lot in July, not so much in June or August. Your numbers show a similar increase.

It could be that the rain gauge on your roof is working just fine and limited your usage in July when it rained so much.

10,000 gals for a month seems high. I water twice a week with five zones and about 20 mins/zone. However, I have a very small lawn. If your lawn is fairly large then it may be three times the size of mine and uses three times the water.

In my opinion, the plastic filters under the nozzle do not serve a useful purpose. I just remove them.

Broken line = where the grass is greener or a soaking spot in the yard?