Category Archives: Troubleshooting

Aug 14 2012

The heart of your irrigation system: the irrigation valve.


If the controller is the brains of your system the valves are the heart. They control the flow of water through the lines. They are very simple in both principle and design.

This is an example of a typical valve. Details may vary but execution is the same.

Valves have water both above and below the diaphragm. The upper chamber pressure is greater than the lower due to the combination of spring pressure and trapped water. They also have an air space under the solenoid with a bleed hole that is opened when the solenoid plunger is retracted (zone turned on).

Opening this hole lowers the pressure above the diaphragm, the water below forces the diaphragm up and water flows through. Most valves will not open with less than 15 to 20 pounds per square inch of pressure. This is only a concern with extremely low pressure; usually on gravity feed water tanks.

Picking a good valve is simple: stay with a name brand. After that you have few decisions to make. Most people use 1” valves. Simple reasons are they are the most economical, readily available, both new and parts, and provide the flow most residential and small commercial designs need. Even if your design calls for a ¾’ valve use 1”. It doesn’t cost more and if you make changes or expansions in the future you won’t be restricted by the smaller size. A 1” valve will allow up to 25% more flow than a ¾” valve.

The next choice is flow control. Flow control is separate knob or screw on top of the valve and allows you to regulate the water going through the valve. In most cases flow control is not necessary but it does have advantages. If a valve sticks open, one of the more common valve failures, the flow control allows you force the valve closed. If your water pressure is low, either because of supply problems or overlapping valve operations, partially closing the flow control will help the valve close faster and more reliably. It’s cheap insurance to have.

Valves fail in consistent ways. It may not close completely. This could be due to debris, the most common reason, or worn diaphragms. Check out FILTRATION for how to prevent debris. Diaphragms do wear and age, generally resulting in a tear in the diaphragm. Just replace. For a very short video on how to do a repair look at VALVE REPAIR. Valve bodies rarely fail unless suffering freeze damage or shovel hit.

Solenoids will fail over time or the connections to the control box could have become corroded. Check the connections; make sure they are clean. For a simple way to test the solenoid:

 Steps in Creating a Portable Valve Activator.

  1. Take three 9-Volt Batteries
  2. Connect in a series
  3. Connnect one valve wire to the negative pole
  4. Then connect the other wire to the positive pole to activate the valve
  5. If the solenoid is functioning properly, you should hear a “click”

For a more involved but very easy and thorough way to test the solenoid and all wiring look at USING A MULTIMETER.

Aug 7 2012

You filter your coffee, you filter air. Really should filter your irrigation water.


The water going to your irrigation system is probably not as clean as you think. Even if you have municipal water from the best city supply in the country (Austin, TX, Des Moines, IA, Sioux Falls, S.D.) that water has to get to you through old pipes. Many cities still have cast iron pipes as their main lines, some dating back over 100 years. Most homes built before the 1960s have galvanized piping.  Pipes tend to fail from the inside, losing minute rust and other particles into the water. Add in the occasional sand particles that get in the water when pipes or pumps break and are fixed, plus the minor debris caused by cutting and repairing pipes, and there is a whole flotilla of little particles floating in your water.

At this point you are probably thinking “Wait a minute! I drink that stuff! All that garbage goes into me!” Yes, it does. However, your body is better adapted to handling it than your sprinkler system. Besides, didn’t your doctor always tell you iron was good for you? Back to the pipes…

All of these particles go into your irrigation system and accumulate in valves, sprays and emitters. This causes decreased performance and a steady increase in maintenance. It also costs you money in ways you might not expect.  The thing to do is stop it before it happens.

A common problem with irrigation valves is failing to close completely. This leads to water seepage through the spray heads, wasting a great deal of water. Many times the problem is just grit or debris keeping the diaphragm from seating.

What you didn’t know it cost you: paying to fix something that is not broken. When you call a service tech (me) out for a leaking valve chances are good the first thing I will do is replace the valve. Generally I won’t even bother to see if it just needs cleaning. This is not done to save time. It is far quicker and easier to open and clean a valve than it is to cut the pipes and replace the valve.

I do it because people tend to be unhappy paying for service. People get really unhappy when charged for a service call and I look at them and say,  “Nah, I didn’t have to replace anything. I just wiped it off with a rag. It’s fine. Please pay me for one hour labor.” People like seeing things replaced. New is always better, right?

The debris also accumulates in your spray nozzles, causing pattern changes, reduced coverage distance and eventually complete blockage. These are easy to clean: tooth pick, tooth brush and running water. A tech will never clean them. It does take longer to clean these than to replace them.

The best thing to do is avoid these problems all together. Install a T-style filter.

The Vu-Flow screen filters keep out sand and debris. The body is clear so you can instantly see when the filter needs purging or cleaning. To purge, just open the valve on the bottom. The trapped dirty water flows out. If the filter needs washing unscrew the body, remove the screen and clean. You don’t need to dry it off, it’ll get wet anyway.

Various screen sizes are available for different debris sizes.

Sediment
In Water

Use
To Protect

Type To Use:
(Mesh; Micron; Inches)

Coarse Sand; Shell

Sprinkler heads

30 mesh; 533 micron; .021″

Medium
Sand/Grit
Pipe scale;
Well Cuttings

Solenoid Valves
Gear Drive Sprinkler
Domestic Water

60 mesh; 254 micron; .010″
60 mesh; 254 micron; .010″
100 mesh; 152 micron; .006″

Fine Sand/Silt

Poultry drinkers
Household well water
Drip Irrigation
Fogger Sprayer

140 mesh; 104 micron; .004″
140 mesh; 104 micron; .004″
250 mesh; 61 micron; .0024″
250 mesh; 61 micron; .0024″

T-filters are easy to install and maintain. Filtering your water extends the life of your valves and nozzles. Maintenance becomes less frequent, saving time and money.  All in all, a relatively minor investment with pretty good return.

Feb 21 2012

PVC Pipe Leak Repair


Irrigation systems are designed to put water where it is needed in an effective manner. When water appears in new, unexpected places there is a good chance you have a leak. Fortunately, with most systems being made out of PVC, repairing the leak is relatively simple. We’ll go over a number of products and explain how each works, including one that handles galvanized. The first step is to make sure the system is turned off. Having a system come on while you are kneeling over it repairing a leak is an experience to avoid.

There are two important things to remember when you dig up the broken pipe. The first is BE CAREFUL. Don’t try to get all the dirt in one scoop. First, it’s bad for your back. Second, if you push too hard and end up hitting the pipe you could cause a brand new leak. When digging up a pipe it is best to take smaller, careful cuts to ensure that no other damage occurs.

Second, when you find the damaged area make sure to dig a few inches deeper and to each side. The system will have water in the pipe, waiting to get out. This water will want to flow out the handy opening you have just revealed. Digging extra deep allows for the water to drain below the pipe. Also, regardless of the type of patch you put in, you will need clear access to the bottom of the pipe. If you cannot dig deep enough to bring the water level down you will have to bail or pump it out. You will also need to dig to each side a little to give yourself working room for the repair.

Once you have found the leak you need to decide on what type of repair kit you need. All except one needs PVC primer and cement. We’ll discuss the exception first.

Compression FittingsPVC Compression Fitting

This can be used on either PVC or galvanized pipe. A compression fitting relies on pressure on a rubber seal to stop the leak. The compression collar and “O” ring slip on the pipe, the pipe slips in both ends, the collar is tightened and the leak is repaired. They have a number of advantages. Not needing cement means the pipe does not have to be completely dry to repair. If you need to you can do the repair while the water is running. Don’t laugh. It happens. They are quick to install and dependable. The primary disadvantage is they do not work for leaks at or near a fitting.

Leak Stopper Rings

Leak Stopper Rings

If you have a small leak at the junction of a pipe into a fitting, but the pipe and fitting are not cracked, it’s possible you have an area that was not completely glued. Rather than cutting out the entire fitting for a minor leak you can use a Leak Stopper Ring. These go around the pipe, both the ring and pipe are primed and glued, then the ring is pushed hard against the fitting. The glue creates a permanent bond with the ring, the pipe and the fitting, stopping the leak.

Snapper Repair CouplingsPVC SnapLock Repair Fitting

Snapper Repair Couplings are the Duct Tape of PVC: just wrap it up and it will hold. Snapper Repair Couplings are like two halves of pipe split lengthwise. A great advantage of these is you do not need to cut the pipe. The inside of both halves of the coupling and the outside of damaged area of the pipe are primed and cemented. The halves are snapped in place around the break and you have a permanent repair.

Pipe Dream FittingsPIPE Dream PVC Repair Fitting

Like many brilliant ideas this one is deceptively simple. Fittings and couplings tend to be a standard size. If you have a broken line you need to cut the break out. Now you need to reconnect the ends. To do this with standard fittings and pipe you must cut out a larger section of pipe, install fittings and install the new pipe. More work, more gluing. This is particularly hard if a corner or T fitting is involved. The simple idea of Pipe Dream is make the fitting extra long. Because they are longer than the standard coupler, elbow or tee Pipe Dream is able to completely cover the damaged area without the need for additional parts or supplies. Simple.

Kwik-Repair TeesPVC Kwik-Repair Tee

This is another “why didn’t I think of that” product. KwikRepair Tees are simply a replacement section of pipe with the slip fit couplings already installed. The couplings are pushed in to the shortest length. The broken pipe section is cut out to a matching length. The KwikRepair Tee is then put in place, the Tee and pipe are primed and cemented, and the couplings are pulled out to full length. Job done.

Quik-Fix Telescopic Repair CouplingPVC Quick-Fix Telescopic Repair Coupling

A Quik-Fix coupling is simple and quick. Simply cut out section of broken pipe slightly longer than compressed Quik-Fix, apply primer and glue to fittings and expand Quik-Fix to fill the gap. Leak repaired. A great advantage is, because the fitting expands, there is some small room for error in how big a section of pipe you remove. For example, if you cut 1” less than the suggested length the Quik-Fix will still work. You just don’t expand it all the way. However, don’t cut too long, they don’t stretch.

Pipe FixPVC Pipe Fix Repair Tee

Pipe fix give you more options in your repair. It is a section of replacement pipe with the fittings already in place. This provides a one piece, no hunting for parts, repair. It also offers the option of a straight repair or adding a Tee joint, allowing replacement of a failed Tee or the option of installing a new line.

Primer and CementFast Setting PVC Cement

Regardless of which method you choose all of these require a quality primer and cement, excluding the compression coupling.

For More Information

For more information about anything involving irrigation, please visit us at www.SprinklerWarehouse.com.

Jul 2 2010

Repair or Replace an Irrigation Valve?


Hunter HPV Series 1" Valve

Hunter HPV Series 1" Valve

How To Repair Sprinkler System if something goes wrong? Here I am going to tell you a trick on irrigation system repair.

When you have a faulty solenoid, It is better to buy the valve and take the top off the new valve and replace the old valve top. Plus a new valve is cheaper than if you buy the parts separately. This way you will end up with a new diaphragm, solenoid, and internal filters. You will have a new valve since the bottom body piece is only a PVC base and does not go bad. The trick is you must use the exact model valve as the old valve. If you can not find the same valve (if yours is so old that we do not have it online) then we suggest you replace the entire valve. I hope this little irrigation help helps! Please visit SprinklerWarehouse.com for your parts and replacements!