Maybe someone here knows the answer to this. I have a lot of experience with underground irrigation (was a laborer 1 summer when I was 18 for a company).
Anyway, fired up the system 2 weeks ago and a few days later the valve box was full to the top. Drained the water, let it dry out and turned the water back on. One of the solenoids was leaking from an O-Ring. Always have spares so swapped it out and tested it. Leak fixed.
Opened the box the next day - wet again. Rinse and repeat. Same problem, different zone - Solenoid #2. Swapped, no more leak.
Opened the box the next day - wet again!
This time it was a bad diaphragm on a 3rd zone. Luckily I just happened to have a spare main valve which I disassembled to take the fresh diaphragm to swap out into the old main valve body.
Now Iām finally dry and also out of all the spare parts I had. These valves and solenoids are long since discontinued.
Anything else happens and Iām spending 2 days ripping it all apart and putting in a fresh 5-zone manifold, valves, and controller.
Feeling like I might be too old for that ā ā ā ā . LOL
Am I crazy or did the blow-out company we have used for 17 years put too much pressure in last fall?
It sounds like all 3 of those could have been leaking from the start, but you only found them in sequence? If so, then I would say probably not. That said, if anything you fixed springs a leak in the next few days, that could be a very real possibility.
It could have been a āpressure surgeā from the street (utility). We had one that blew out a 90Ā° angle joint between the meter and the pressure regulator, spraying water all into the (basement level) garage.
O-rings will dry out over the years or even crack from freezing. We doubt the blow out did it as usually one opens the end farthest from the main (or blow out input spot) before sending through the air which isnāt trapped but rushing towards the open end point.
We have very hard water and manual anti-siphon valves. Between the hard water, freezing in the winter and the hot dry summer, we have to replace the rubber washer piece in the anti-siphon valves every 2 to 3 years.
If you got 10 years of service out of the old one, then it is time for the new one. Hopefully, there is no damage to the wire between the valves and the controller when you do replace.
On the bright side, a new controller might come with internet capabilities and you wonāt have to leave the recliner to make adjustments.
I would guess just freeze thaw cycle this winter angered your valves. Would also assume they were not new valves.
I can say I successfully turned on my system and no issues other then the bilge pump in the one valve box was dead. I live on pure clay and rain can flood one valve box. Hence I have a bilge pump in it.
They started leaking from the moment I turned the water back on. They were likely all leaking from the start but there was no way to tell that it was 3 problems instead of 1.
The valves themselves are from 2006. All the solenoids have been replaced at least thrice over that time, maybe more.
YES! Same thing. Not enough room in this box for a pump but believe me, Iāve been pondering how to deal with that since we moved in. Sometimes so much pressure builds up on that box from water literally pushing up from the ground that it pops the lid off the box.
I know for sure that all of that water that sits in that box for days at a time isnāt doing me or my system any favors.
Thereās a pressure regulator and backflow preventer (separate) between the utility and the box so it wasnāt that.
Yea, buying a bag of those so I can recondition these solenoids that arenāt really broken. 25 cent fix each.
Presently the controller is in my garage. When it comes time, I am moving it into a closet in my basement. Thereās already a conduit for my camera wires coming in so I can use that. The box is literally 2 feet from that closet. Will rewire very easily. AND YES, I would like to be able to control the system like a normal human being, with my phone, in 2024. LOL
OK, so we are going with bad luck / ageā¦ I agree.
The thoughts of digging this whole things up, redoing the manifold, valves, wiring, ETC isnāt something I want to think about this year. Itās a VERY tight area and I will have to get creative to add another zone for drip irrigation for flower beds / flower pots. Presently those 2 systems (1 front / 1 back) are controlled by battery operated separate timers. Want to get rid of that. They can be tied together on a single zone. The water pressure we have here is intense so 1 zone will cover the 60 or so drip heads I have going easily.
Do drip! And do two zones for drip. One that is weather controlled and one that is not. Why? Cause I have pots that donāt always get rained on, and they are tied to bypass the rain sensor. Trust me, little work here means so much happier pots
Yea, I go overboard. Even the flower pots going up my steps have drip irrigation in them. Once everything is set up for the season, I never touch them again, other than to fertilize. Itās nice.
I also have a hose bib dedicated zone at my two valve boxes. Why? Gives me the option to temp water things that arenāt on the system. Right now one has a 100ā hose on it to water a bit of lawn that was mowed down and wildflower seeds planted.
Ha! Thatās what I am going to do with my drip irrigation - WHY you ask? Haha.
I am using the end leg of the current manifold to move water to my back yard where I set up a hose bib. Thatās what the drip for back there is connected to. Iām going to tee off of that for the front drip so 2 timers go away and everything is nice and clean looking.
The problem I have with those battery operated timers is MAJOR pipe banging when they turn off. You can hear it 2 floors up. Worried thatās going to cause an issue in the future.
Wonder if they make a hammer arrester for outside hose bibs???
We had the city put in a second āmainā meter this spring so we could separate the house water from the yard water (didnāt cost us anything for them to put the meter in and basically means the bill will just be split). We got one more move and the line will be totally isolated from the house. That means we will be able to know just how much water we are using on the yard / garden verse house use. In addition, we can turn the outside water off during the winter or at anytime when we want to work on the outside lines without effecting the house.
Wish we could do a controller but the west Texas wind would mean trying to guess weekly when to program or we would just be tossing water into the wind to evaporate.
Here in NYC we get charged for sewer based on usage and guess what, whatever we put on the lawn is being charged the sewer charge and there isnāt a damn thing we can do about it.
I donāt get the joke, but I try to be as frugal as I can with water.
In Manhattan, we have long narrow planters along the east-facing window sills (my 60-foot by 6-inch farm!) that we irrigate with a measured subset of the water that the dishwasher puts out. Thereās a set of leads in the pipe I added, and the dishwasher has a strong pump, so, for so many seconds, the water drained from the dishwasher is fed to the planters, and then the valve shuts off, so the rest of the water goes down the drain. When we are away, tap water is used, also timed output of a known water flow.
At the NJ cottage, we store and reuse the laundry waste water, 2 55-gallon drums worth. A pump is needed to water the gardens, as the laundry is in the basement.
At the Ocho Rios place, we have a cistern and a very fancy filtering scheme. Thereās plenty of rain, and we have yet to need to drill a well, as we have yet to use up all the water when we visit.
In Los Cristianos, we have a roof-rainwater collection scheme for the gardens, and city water for human consumption. The native plants are very drought-tolerant, so watering is done by a very nice neighbor when he sees fit.
Just got the opportunity to hook them up to my drip irrigation timers and WOW, what a difference. Iād say 95% better. Highly recommend as of now. Who knows how long they will last.
Too bad it took me 17 years to figure this out. Haha
I have 1 house. Itās a 2 family house. 60% of it was put down by my inlaws when they sold their other 4 family house we used to live in that my MILās grandfather had built.
In queens, not Manhattan but you knew this.
The house in the catskills was built by my wifeās grandfather with his bare hands in the 40ās.
Itās really not all that impressive. 3 beds, 2 baths in 1200SF in queens (our part) - same upstairs, and I have my finished basement which is my office / man / cat cave.
