Flushing Out Your Lawn Sprinkler System

Are the spray heads or rotor heads on your lawn sprinkler system constantly sticking up when they should be retracting back down?

Don't worry, this is a common problem and is most likely caused by one of a couple factors. First of all, what is the age of your sprinkler heads? Over time (anywhere from 3 years and beyond) the wear and tear on the risers will cause rough edges which will cause the head to stick up.

The more sandy the soil is, the quicker the risers will wear. The only way to fix this after the head is this damaged is to replace the head. However, there is another option available to prevent this from happening again. That would be to get sprinkler heads with stainless steel risers. They are a little more expensive, but will last much longer.

If you have a system that is pretty new and you are constantly having problems with the heads sticking, you could have dirt in your pipe. The dirt could have entered your system when you were repairing a break, or it could just be sediment from your well.

Sometimes, the heads can be easily cleaned by stepping down on the riser while the head is running. Let it pop back up, then step on it again. Do this a few times, then turn off the system and see if the head is still sticking.

If you have several heads with this problem, you may want to flush out your system. This can be done by removing the nozzles and screens on the spray heads and installing flush caps, then running water through the system. Flush caps come with the spray heads when you first buy them. If you don't have any, this can also be done by removing the head completely and pulling up the swing joint and then flushing.

The rotors will have to be flushed in that manner anyway. If your system is older and your heads are not installed on swing joints, then just make sure to dig around the hard PVC riser that the head was attached to, making sure that no dirt can flow back in the pipe while you are flushing.

You may also want to take the sprinkler heads to a water faucet and clean them out. Unscrew the inside of the head from the casing and rinse out both pieces. After you are done flushing the system and cleaning the heads, re-install the heads and run your system for about 10 minutes.

Then turn off the system and make sure all the heads went down. If some are still stuck, they may be beyond fixing and you'll just need to replace them. If you are in sandy soil, I would recommend rotors with stainless steel risers. Rotors cost anywhere from 3 to 5 times the cost of rotor heads. Spray heads are a lot less expensive and it is more economical to just replace them, rather than purchasing expensive steel risers.

Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com

Water Hammer

Have you ever felt vibrations and heard noise underneath your feet when shutting down your lawn sprinkler system? This is what is known as "water hammer". Water hammer is what happens when moving water is suddenly stopped.

When the valve shuts down, the water hits up against the inside of the valve and it sends shock waves through the pipe. These shock waves go back and forth to opposite ends of the pipe. If water hammer is too violent, it can cause fittings and joints to become loose.

So, how is water hammer controlled? Well, as an irrigation system designer we want to keep the flow of the water in the pipe under 5 feet per second. We do this by using our pipe friction loss charts and noting our gallon per minuet limits through a certain size pipe that we are using.

For example, in 1" thin wall PVC we don't want to push over 16 gallons per minuet thorough the pipe. Staying at or below this will ensure that the water doesn't exceed 5 feet per second. Trying to push more than this amount will result in excess water hammer and excess pressure loss due to friction.

If you are designing an irrigation system, make sure that you know what you know the limits for the particular pipe you are using. If in doubt, use the pipe friction loss chart to determine how much water you can safely push through the pipe. These charts can be found in irrigation books or inside irrigation part catalogs.

Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com

We Were Spared, Time to Fix Pipes

Well, we were spared the wrath of Tropical Storm Bonnie, but there is still the threat of Charlie out there. We'll see how it goes. Bonnie moved of us last night and brought its' fury to the eastern part of the panhandle.

So, it's back to irrigation business today! Today I wanted to share with you how to fix a PVC pipe break. If you have a lawn sprinkler system then the chances are that you may have experienced a broken pipe.

A PVC pipe can break for a number of reasons: A hairline fracture from being thrown to hard during shipping or installation, a root wraps around a pipe and breaks it, you are digging in your garden and hit the top of a pipe with your shovel, and the list could do on and on.

So, you now that pipes can break, so how do you fix them? Most PVC pipe breaks are fairly easy to fix, they just require a little bit of work. You'll need a can of PVC glue, PVC cleaner, a PVC saw, or pipe cutters, and slip fix fitting, and a coupling.

Now, dig up about a 2 foot section of pipe. Clear out all the dirt on top and around the pipe.
Your slip fix and coupling will need to be the size of the pipe you are repairing. If you are repairing a 3/4" pipe, then you'll obviously need 3/4" fittings.

Glue the coupling to the end of the slip fix and fully extend. Now place the slip fix with the coupling attached next to the pipe. Make two marks on the pipe you need to cut, one at each end of the slip fix. Cut out that section of pipe. Push your slip fix in and then use your cleaner and glue to attach one end of the slip fix to one end of the cut pipe.

Now, apply cleaner and then glue to the other end. Then you'll slowly extend the slip fix and gently slip it over the other end of the cut pipe and turn 1/4 turn. That's it! Let the glue dry for about 30 minutes before running water through the pipe.

Slip fixes really do make life easier! If you ever have to repair a 2" pipe or bigger (which you probably won't for a residential system), then you'll really appreciate the convenience of a slip fix. The make it so you don't have to unearth 20 feet of dirt to be able to bow a coupling and repair the pipe.

Scott Young

http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com

The Beast is Coming

This doesn't have much to do with irrigation or lawn sprinklers, but it is a very important issue facing many people in the Southeastern part of the United States this week so I thought I'd add it to my blog.

A few years from now I can look back and see what I wrote right before the "Big One" hit. Or maybe this one will dissipate or just pass over...Although the weather specialists don't seem to think so at this time.

As you know, I live in Northwest Florida which is a great place to live, only you have to deal with a major storm or hurricane every so often and it looks like we are bracing for another one.

I first moved here in 1995 about a month before Hurricane Opal hit and it hit this area hard. The high school I was going to at the time was damaged and closed for two weeks. Other's lost their homes, but we were spared as at the time we lived about 25 miles north of the coast and at a higher elevation than most areas.

Today, Tropical Storm Bonnie is heading directly at us and should make landfill by tomorrow morning. It is not expected to become a hurricane, but there is another storm down near Jamaica that is supposed to be coming our way as well. I'm referring to Tropical Storm Charlie, which is 4 miles under category 1 Hurricane status.

Charlie should hit us Saturday and at this point only God knows how strong it will be and how bad it may affect us. Well, we'll all pray for the best.

I hope that damage is minimal, but one thing is for certain, there will be plenty of tree work and cleanup jobs!

Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com

My Lawn Pump Keeps Loosing Its' Prime!

Those of you that have a lawn sprinkler system connected to a pump and well setup may have experienced a problem with your pump loosing its' prime. What this means is that the pump has lost the suction of water and now the pump is running dry.

If this problem is not caught quickly, your pump may continue to run dry and burn out the motor or spin off one of the impellers.

Re-priming most pumps is fairly easy. With the pump off, you take a water hose connected to an outside bib and fill up the volute (part of pump that holds water). Then turn the pump back on while continuing to run water into the pump until you hear the sound of the motor starting to smooth out, which usually means the pump is primed back up and lifting water again.

If you take the water off and then the pump does not spit out water within a minute, continue to force water back into the pump until it is lifting water from the well. After your sprinklers have run for a few minutes, turn the pump off and wait a few minutes before turning on again.

What we're doing is checking to see if the pump will hold its' prime. If you can turn the pump back on and it continues to deliver water, then you should be fine. You should check it the next day to see if it is holding the prime for a long period of time.

If after it has sat for several hours, or even just a few minutes and it has lost the prime again, then most likely you have a bad check valve or bad foot valve, depending on what kind of pump and well setup you have.

If you have a shallow well and horizontal pump, then you will need to replace the check valve, which is either a brass or PVC fitting that is usually installed directly before the inlet or suction side of the pump. To remove and replace, you need to cut the PVC pipe free and use a big pipe wrench to loosen the check valve. To replace, simply install back in and glue the pipe back together. Make sure you have the flow the correct way; there are arrows on the check valve which point the direction for the flow of water.

If you have a jet pump, then your foot valve may need to be replaced. This is not as easy as replacing a check valve because it is located on a drop pipe near the bottom of the well. This requires you to lift up the pipe, which can be 30 Ft to over 100 feet deep! Not an easy task if you are inexperienced. The actually removal and replacement of the foot valve is similar to the check valve, the hardest part is usually getting to it!

For homeowners with horizontal pumps and check valves, I encourage you to do it yourself! For those with irrigation system pump and well setups that have foot valves, I would highly recommend hiring an experienced well driller or pump technician.

Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com

Lawn Sprinkler Service Call Secrets

I just got cleaned up after another rainy day here in Florida and I got to thinking about something.

Do you have an irrigation system and ever tried to call a lawn sprinkler service company during the summer to get repair work done? If have you may have experienced some frustrations due to a company not calling you back, or calling you only to tell you that they are booked solid for the next month.

This happens very frequently with many companies here in the Southeastern part of the United States. Construction and growth are exploding and the demand for new sprinkler systems is higher than ever. But, while most lawn sprinkler contractor's love doing new systems, there is plenty of repair work being left behind.

New homes will continue to be built, but the existing homes with irrigation systems will age and need routine maintenance. Also, breaks and problems will occur that will need the attention of an irrigation professional.

Many companies are small independent one or two man crews who can only handle a certain amount of work. Even the larger companies will experience the same flood of work during peak months. If your system ends up breaking down during a small drought in the middle of summer, you could have problems.

As a lawn sprinkler business owner I will let you in on a few secrets. You need to call at different times than the rest of the public who is calling for service. This will help you to get a response and service faster. So, when does everybody call? On hot and sunny days and also after it has rained for a week or more.

Not all of these companies have, nor can afford secretaries, so you must keep in mind whom will be answering the phone. Customers tend to call on their days off, often in the middle of the day when the contractor is hard at work with his hands dirty. My recommendation is to call early in the morning (7:00 - 9:00 AM), around lunch time, and then again around the end of the work day.

Also, you will increase your chances of getting faster service if you call on a rainy day. Yes, I said rainy day! Why? Because, no one else is thinking about watering their lawns and the phones are not ringing nearly as much, or not at all for many lawn sprinkler service companies!

Another good time to call would be when school is starting for the youngsters again. Anywhere from one week before, to one week after school starts is usually an excellent time to call. Many industries experience a slump in business during this time period as everyone is focused on getting the kids back to their regular routine.

Business usually picks back up again about a week or two after school has resumed and stays busy again until around November in this part of the country. Then there is almost nothing again until after the new year.

So, if you are having trouble trying to find an irrigation contractor to perform work for you, keep in mind and actually use the tips that I have written hear. Be different from the masses and you should experience quick and professional service.

Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com

Don't Drink That Water!

This headline may be a little vague, so let me fill you in on what I'm talking about.

I don't plan on posting every Sunday, but today I just briefly wanted to talk about an issue that is of growing concern to me. This issue has to do with backflow prevention.

As you may know, many irrigation systems today are connected in with "city" or your local drinking water supply. Some people have their own private wells separate from their potable water supply, while other's use one well for drinking and irrigation.

Now their is nothing wrong with tapping off the city water or sharing a well, just as long as the proper precautions are taken to ensure the safety of our water supply.

So, what are the proper precautions and why do we need them?

Installing a backflow prevention device after the tap and before any valves is what needs to be done to protect your drinking and bathing water from becoming contaminated.

You see, after your sprinkler system runs and the heads are going back down into the ground, the heads tend to suck in water that is nearby them. Now this water is not the same clean water that came out of the heads.

This water now contains dirt from the ground, and possibly many other things. If you have recently fertilized your lawn this may now enter your sprinkler system. If you or your neighbors have any animals, and they go to the bathroom in your yard, their urine may enter the system and eventually mix back in with your drinking water...Pretty gross huh?

If you have a backflow preventer installed the irrigation water will never mix in with your potable water supply. During my time in the field, I haven't seen many, but I've seen a few systems that are supposed to have backflow preventers, but do not.

The majority of those systems were installed by homeowners who did not know they were supposed to have one (only one was from due to an unprofessional contractor)!

If you are going to be installing a lawn sprinkler system that is tied in with your drinking water, make sure that you take the time to find out what type of backflow preventer your city or county requires first. Then, make sure you properly install one on your sprinkler system...Please!

Scott Young
http://www.autolawnsprinklers.com