I had a similar problem in one zone using Rainbird rotors heads. The flow rate is marginal and all of the water spilling out around the stem does not allow sufficient pressure to build to cause the heads to pop-up and seal. My problem was fixed by putting a check valve under one of the heads. This causes the pressure to build up a little more at that head before the flow begins. This allowed enough pressure / flow to reach the other heads and cause them to pop-up and seal before the head with th...
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Didn't mean to confuse... I have 13 zones of Rainbird 5000 series rotors - each (and every) zone has 5 sprinklers in it. Only two of the zones don't operate properly. In these two zones, water gushes out of the sprinklers (particluarly in the first sprinkler downstream from the control valve) in the gap between the outer casing and the partially deployed inner casing. If I hold one of ...
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote> Steve - thanks for the info - I'll spare you the pain and suffering already inflicted by the highly recommended (and licensed) contractor who installed it. I have enough info now to flog them again and see if they can fix it. BTW - all other zones are 5 heads (identical 5000 Series Rainbirds), so the nozzle angle sounds more likely... Boy, I hate to tell you this but it sounds like th...
I have a newly installed irrigation system that includes 13 zones of Rainbird 5000 series rotors. Two zones either do not fully deploy (pop-up)at all or take 7 - 10 minutes to fully deploy. The problem seems to be water flowing out of the outer casing at the top when the inner casing partially deploys. This seems to allow too much water flow and prevents the "pop-up" from fully deploying. If I push one of the head down and hold it, that produces enough flow in the zone for all to properly deploy...
