Just How Does That Work?

So, just how does an irrigation controller work? Is it Magic?

No, it is just the use of electricity! A standard irrigation controller connects to 110 volt outlet or circuit breaker depending on if you have an indoor or outdoor model. There is a transformer in the clock that takes the 110 volts and turns it into 24 volts.

The 24 volts is used to keep the time and program of the irrigation system. The voltage is also used to open the electric valves to allow the flow of water to a certain zone.

An irrigation controller circuit board has a separate station for each zone and one "common" wire, which acts as the negative. When a certain zone is activated, what is happening is that the controller is sending out 24 volts to that electric valve.

The electricity has then magnetized a plunger inside the valve, which then lifts up and allows the flow of water to that section. After the amount of time has passed that the zone was programmed for, the electricity then stops for that zone and moves on to the next.

When the electricity stops, the magnet causes the plunger to drop which causes the flow of the water to stop as well.

Electric valves have been used for about the past 25 years. Not exactly rocket science, but a very important innovation for the advancement of automatic lawn sprinkler systems.

Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com

This Damn Fuse Keeps Blowing!

Do you have a Rainbird ESP model lawn sprinkler controller that operates your sprinkler system? If so, and your controller is more than 3 years old, you may have experienced this problem before or may be experiencing it now.

Your lawn sprinkler system is working just fine and then when it advances to a certain zone, it automatically pops the 1.5 amp fuse inside the clock and power is lost. You replace the fuse and advance your clock to the zone it was on...And it does it again!

What the heck has happened here? Was it a sign from God that you don't need to water your lawn? No, of course not!

90% of the time this problem is due to a bad solenoid on the electric valve that control's that particular zone. Don't worry, this is an easy fix. Simply cut off your water supply, clip the two wires that the solenoid is attached to and unscrew the solenoid from the top of the valve counter-clockwise.

Now, screw in your replacement solenoid (about $15 for most valves) and reconnect the two low voltage wires that you clipped from the old solenoid and wire them to the wires on your new solenoid.

You are done...Piece of cake!

Many times the most difficult part of this procedure is actually locating your electric valves if you do not know where they are at. Many people let grass grow over the boxes, or plant shrubs nearby which cover or hide the valves. I always encourage homeowners to keep their valve boxes clear and in the open, so that they are easy to find years down the road.

The other 10% of the time this fuse blowing problem is caused from a bad ribbon (the wire bunch that connects the digital fact to the circuit board), a faulty circuit breaker, or even possibly a short in your multistrand wire. But, more times than not, it is just the solenoid.

Rainbird has since improved the design of the ESP model timers and built an internal fuse which does not blow. The clock senses the bad solenoid or short and automatically skips over this zone until you have fixed the problem and reset the clock. This has saved a lot of headaches for many homeowners and irrigation contractors!

Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com

The Joys and Pains of Installing a Lawn Sprinkler System

Installing a lawn sprinkler system can be a lot of work, but it is a very rewarding task. My favorite part of the whole project is when I the first button on the controller and watch the sprinklers come up! Many people view this as a complicated task, but it doesn't have to be.
If you have the proper instructions and right resources, installing a lawn sprinkler system can be a lot of fun! It is a task that can be accomplished by the average homeowner. Having step-by-step instructions, the right tools, and the willingness to get out and sweat a little is all you need when installing your lawn sprinkler system.

If you hare not into yard work, then hiring a professional irrigation contractor for the project instead of installing a lawn sprinkler system on your own is the way you should go. The most back-breaking part of the projects is the physical digging and/or cleaning out of the trenches. Kneeling down and bending over is the other part that can be hard on your body. Many old contractors have back problems related due to do this work day in and day out, but you're just installing a lawn sprinkler system on your own home so this should not be a problem. Everyone knows that manual labor can be hard work, but installing a lawn sprinkler system is not nearly as hard on the body as other outdoor jobs.

A big obstacle for many who are thinking about installing a lawn sprinkler system is learning how to design and assemble the system. There are a few tutorials online that explain the process of installing a lawn sprinkler system, but I have found them to be too complicated for the average homeowner. I have an easy to read and understand manual with detailed pictures of each task involved in installing a lawn sprinkler system. You can check it out at either of the links at the top right corner or bottom of my page.

Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com

No More T-Birds!

I had heard rumors about the dis-continuation of the Rainbird, T-Bird series rotors about 2 years ago, but it is official now and has been for the past few months.

This doesn't come as a total shock to me, considering the customer complaints that I received about the T-Bird rotors. The general issue with homeowners was that they were too difficult to adjust.

My favorite part about the T-Birds was the use of the "Rain Curtain" nozzle that are used in their popular R-50 rotor heads.

Although I do love the gear driven power of the T-Bird series rotor, it is time to move on and get with the program. There are a few other models of Rainbird rotors that will provide the same gear driven power, with Rain Curtain nozzles, and are a lot easier to adjust.

The 3500 and 5000 series are the suitable replacements for the old T-Birds. What is even better is that the "guts" or insides of these rotor models will fit inside the casing of the old T-Birds. So, there is no need to dig up that whole head when it has quit working, just replace the "guts"!

If you have no need for a gear-driven rotor, then I would still recommend the good old "R-50" model rotor sprinkler head. These closed case, water powered rotors are the most popular and widely used model of rotor lawn sprinkler heads around.

Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com

Lawn Sprinkler Water Conservation

Many people are concerned with the overuse and waste of water. This has been a hot topic for years. There are water restrictions in many parts of the U.S. during times of drought. Regardless of restrictions, the need to water your landscape and/or garden is still a must. You can’t have thousands of dollars in grass and plants dying on you! Let alone all the hard work and time that have put into beautifying your yard. An automatic lawn sprinkler system, if used correctly, can actually save water compared to dragging out the hose and traditional sprinkler.

An automatic lawn sprinkler system is designed to water your landscape more precisely and evenly than the old manual method. The technology we have available today, such as weather sensors and drip irrigation, allow us to use automatic lawn sprinkler systems more efficiently than in the past.

While doing service calls, I have seen the overuse and inefficiency of a lot of lawn sprinkler systems. About 70% of the automatic systems that I see do not have any type of weather sensor. Rain sensors are the type of weather sensor needed here in Northwest Florida.
The are three basic types of weather sensors; rain sensors, wind sensors, and freeze sensors.

These might be self explanatory, but I’ll briefly discuss each just to clarify.

Rain sensors will automatic shut off the sprinkler system when a certain amount of rainfall has occurred. You can adjust the settings on the rain sensor from 1/8” to 1” of rain, on most brands. The rain sensor has a disk that swells up when it gets wet, which puts a break in the common wire (negative wire) going to the valves and pump-start relay so that they will not operate. The disc in the rain sensor will dry out at approximately the same rate as the soil, so the system will become operational again once the rain has stopped and the soil has dried up.

Wind sensors shut off the sprinkler system when a certain speed of wind is reached. Wind causes a problem with sprinklers because it will carry the water away from what it is supposed to be watering! The wind effects spray heads more than rotor heads, because sprays have smaller water droplets than rotors. Normal gusts of winds will occur, but a consistent wind will waste the water from your sprinkler system. A wind sensor also puts a break in the common wire to prevent the system from running.

A freeze sensor will shut the irrigation system off when the weather reaches 32 degrees Fahrenheit. There is of course no need to run the sprinklers when all it will do is create an ice skating arena. A freeze sensor will not automatically drain your pump, so you will still need to do that if you have an above ground pump.

In my experience out in the field I’ve converted a lot of old spray zones to drip zones. A common problem that I see is spray heads behind bushes that have outgrown the system. The water from the spray heads get blocked and does not water the area it was intentionally meant to water. Every time I see this problem I recommend to the homeowner to get rid of the old heads and have new drip lines installed.

Drip irrigation can conserve up to 300X more water than spray heads! Conventional sprinkler heads are measured in gallons per minute (gpm) while drip is measured in gallons per hour (gph). If you are on a water system where you are paying for your water usage, then utilizing the power of drip irrigation is a must! There are several other advantages to drip irrigation even if you are not on paying for your water.

Drip irrigation is designed to water directly to the root base of your plants. This will cut down on unwanted weeds because you are not watering everywhere! If you are on a pump & well system and you have a problem with high iron content in your well water, this causes orange-brown rust stains on your house and driveway. Drip will help eliminate this problem because there is no spray back as there is with regular spray and rotor sprinkler heads.

If you have an existing lawn sprinkler system, then make sure you are using the proper weather sensors needed for the area where you live. Also get rid of the old spray heads that are watering shrubs and install drip irrigation lines. Old heads can be capped off and drip irrigation can be easily installed. If you do not have an automatic sprinkler system yet, and are planning on getting one, make sure that you do you part to conserve and use water efficiently.

If you are not the do-it-yourself type and will be hiring a company to install or modify your system, be sure to have them install the proper weather sensor and use drip irrigation where possible. The long-term benefits are worth the initial money and/or time invested.

Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com