|
|
|
Keeping your sprinklers on target |
| A broken sprinkler will shoot a geyser of water high into the air
and the problem is usually spotted pretty quickly. Here are some more
subtle and often overlooked problems that can also occur with sprinkler
systems: |
- Adjustments - make sure your sprinklers are spraying onto
the grass and not on sidewalks, driveways, or the street. The
nozzles can get knocked out of adjustment over time and need to be
inspected regularly.
|
- Runoff - make sure you are not running your sprinklers
too long on sloped or compacted soils. Most sprinklers apply the
water faster than our soil can accept it and even a slight incline
can magnify this. If you need to run your sprinklers for 30 minutes
in order to apply the water the lawn requires but there is a run-off
problem, break the time into shorter multiple cycles. Three ten
minute cycles with an hour of soak time in between will add up to
the full 30 minutes
|
- Obstructions - make sure your sprinklers spray pattern is
not blocked. Sometimes the shorter pop-up heads are unable to pop up
high enough to spray over the grass height. This will cause all of
the water to puddle around the head and the lawn will show stress
where the water should be reaching. Using a taller pop-up head will
fix this problem. Sometimes shrubs growing at the edge of the lawn
can block the spray from a sprinkler as well. If this happens, prune
the shrub away from the head.
|
|
Keeping your drippers dripping |
The most common problem you can have with drip emitters is clogging.
When you slow the output down to rates like one gallon per hour, it
doesn't take much to clog up that little hole. If you have a single
emitter that isn't flowing, the answer is
simple. Replace the emitter. If you have a whole section of emitters
not flowing there could be a couple of things going on:
- The poly tubing was damaged and
allowed a lot of dirt into the system.
- There is something pinching or
kinking the tubing.
- Roots may have invaded the
tubing.
Sometimes emitters will put out too much water. If it is one or two
of them they have just worn out and need to be replaced. If all of your
emitters have high flow rates then the problem is most likely a failed
pressure regulator. There is no way to repair these, so it has to be
replaced.
|
|
Keeping your bubblers bubbling |
|
Ensure that the water doesn't overflow the
basin when allowed to run for the time programmed into the controller.
Adjustable bubblers can be knocked out of adjustment and dirt berms can
deteriorate. You also want to make sure the basin is the right size for
the plant or tree. The water absorbing roots are at the drip line or
beyond.
Bubblers don’t clog as easily as drip emitters but it can happen.
Simply remove the affected bubbler from the riser and flush out the line
before installing a new one.
|
|
Keeping your valves valving |
Valves are simply on and off switches so there are only two possible
malfunctions. They either don’t turn on or they don’t turn off. There
are very few parts to a valve and they can be easily repaired.
Irrigation valves work both electrically and hydraulically to open and
close. Some common electrical problems with valves are:
- The wiring connection at the
valve has been corroded from not using waterproof connectors.
- The solenoid has failed.
- The wiring between the valve
and the controller has been damaged.
The main hydraulic problems with valves are:
- There is dirt or debris inside
the valve.
- The diaphragm has a hole or
tear.
|
|
Keeping your controller from acting so crazy |
| When things start going wrong with an irrigation system, the
controller is usually the first thing people blame. In most cases it is
either a programming error or the problem lies elsewhere such as the
valves. Here are some common symptoms and their causes. 1.
The irrigation keeps starting over again after it’s finished.
This is almost always caused by extra start times being accidentally
entered. Check the programming to be sure that it contains only the
start time you want. Delete any unwanted start times. Duplicating
information in more than one program can also cause this. Remember that
a dual program controller is like two controllers in one box. If you
have the same information in two programs for the same stations, you
have told it to run them twice.
2.
The irrigation seems to run at strange times.
Again double check to make sure that only the start times you want have
been entered. Remember to check in all of the programs that your
controller has available. Also double check that the start times are
correct as to A.M. and P.M. If this seems to be OK then check to make
sure the controller is displaying the proper current time and day. If
this is incorrect re-set it and check on it the next day. One of the
most common reasons your irrigation will run at strange times is if
you’ve lost your programs and the controller has reverted to the factory
default.
3.
No matter where I turn the dial or what button I push the
controller won’t respond.
With electronic type controllers, a power surge can cause them to
freeze or lock-up. Don’t panic most of the time there isn’t permanent
damage. All you have to do is remove the power to the controller for a
short time to allow the microprocessor to “re-set” itself. If your
controller has a back up battery feature, make sure you unplug this as
well. You don’t want the processor to hold any information that may be
causing the problem. Usually one to two minutes is sufficient for this
process. After that, re-apply power to the controller and re-program as
usual. If the symptoms don’t go away after this procedure, contact the
manufacturer to locate a service center to repair the controller. |
