You are not logged in.

sprinkler heads and nozzles

Dear visitor, welcome to SPRINKLER TALK FORUM - You Got Questions, We've Got Answers. If this is your first visit here, please read the Help. It explains how this page works. You must be registered before you can use all the page's features. Please use the registration form, to register here or read more information about the registration process. If you are already registered, please login here.

sprinkled

New Member

Posts: 6

1

Thursday, July 10th 2008, 8:49am

sprinkler heads and nozzles

What is the life expectancy of nozzles and heads? In August of 2007 our association replaced 2109 sprinkler heads. We only have 171 homes. We have very small small front yards and little common area. However, our landscapers keep charging us for heads and nozzles. When you consider that each yard has 8 sprinklers most all of them were replaced in august. Is it typical to replace these parts so often?

How can we ensure we aren't taking a shower on this kind of thing? Landscaping is too expensive to be getting over billed for parts.

?(

Wet_Boots

Supreme Member

Posts: 4,102

Location: Metro NYC

2

Thursday, July 10th 2008, 10:07am

If you bought crappy work in the first place, it will need continual maintenance.

mrfixit

Moderator

Posts: 1,510

Location: USA

3

Thursday, July 10th 2008, 1:36pm

Depends.

If good sprinklers were installed and correctly you're looking at 10 plus years. If crap was installed you're looking at a few months or less to a couple of years. If the lawnmowers are the problem then 1 second. It's been less than a year since the install. I'd question them as to why they aren't still under warantee. What does it say on the contract? Ask for the old parts back from now on. Look for yourself as to what happened. Make them show you where the repair was done.
If I can't fix it, it's broken!

Lowvolumejeff

Advanced Member

Posts: 91

Location: Seattle Area

4

Thursday, July 10th 2008, 6:20pm

WATER SOURCE?

Sounds excessive, even if it is crappy equipement to start with. You do not mention the water source type, such as municipal, well or pond. Sandy water is of course abrasive, and open source fresh water has lower lifeforms whose offspring or they themselves clog the heads. In either, algea and sludge can be a problem. If using municipal water, are others having the problem? Have you asked your present company why the heads and nozzels need such frequent replacement?

You might find a cheaper solution depending on the cause. What does your existing contractor say about the problem? Depending on their explaination, may be time for a second opinion. Good Luck. Jeff

hi.todd

Supreme Member

Posts: 417

Location: Houston, Texas

5

Thursday, July 10th 2008, 8:16pm

If you take a 4" pop up that is too high, hit it with a lawn mower. You now have leak. How does a maintenance guy fix it? Does he replace it with a 4" pop up? If he does, you now have a 4" pop up that is too high, add a lawn mower, and you now have another leak. How does a maintenance guy fix it?

He should correct the original problem of poor installation, that may mean extra work to put in funny pipe to lower the heads so this won't keep happening. How are they repairing the problem? Are they just screwing in heads to fill a whole, or are they correcting the problem. Don't pay them to replace the heads with out repairing the problem so it won't happen again. This may take some inspection and talking to the contractor up front, not after he or she has already put the heads in.

Good Luck

:thumbsup:
:thumbup: :thumbsup:

sprinkled

New Member

Posts: 6

6

Sunday, July 13th 2008, 10:00pm

Sprinkler heads and nozzles

We use city water. It does have a high calcium content. Could that be part of the problem?

Thanks for the suggestions to ask for the parts back. Good one! As far as the way repairs are made. Well maybe this will give you an idea. If a mainline break occurrs and it happens alot then they repair it by adding a sprinkler. Yards and common areas both have sprinklers in places that are 6" apart. In a couple of yards they put spinklers in the middle of the yard.

How do you flush the system of any sludge if it exists?



?(

Wet_Boots

Supreme Member

Posts: 4,102

Location: Metro NYC

7

Monday, July 14th 2008, 6:03am

You can also look to make the repairs last longer by using best equipment and techniques. One installation technique that is probably missing in your case is swing joints for each head, which can eliminate the problem of heads breaking off their conneections to the underground pipe. On a retrofit basis, they're even more expensive than when normally installed.

sprinkled

New Member

Posts: 6

8

Friday, July 25th 2008, 5:54pm

Forgive me I'm a bit ignorant in this arena.

Am I correct in understanding that what your saying is the a swing joint connected between the head and the sprinkler pvc. Will extend the life of the heads and nozzles?



Our system was build back in 1979 and is getting more and more expensive to repair. We go from replacing 62 sprinklers within a few months. With 1 or 2 main line or lateral line breaks to replacing 26 heads and 26 nozzles which we should not be paying for after spending 4190.00 on them within the last 10 or 11 months to spending 800.00 because of line breaks. Is it normal to go from one or two to having 9 to 12 line breaks a month.



What would you estimate even, ballpark is better than what I would guess to install a new system. I only want it so I can budget better for next year. Could you give me ball park est the cost to install in a yard that is approx. 240 SQ FT with a large tree. Very small yards but a total of 171 of them. We are getting killed with the repairs. The funny part is the cost of these repairs with no contract is cheaper than when we had a contract. Almost every main or lateral line breaks cost $180.00 to repair. Now they are 60.00 and 80.00 to repair. I would think the hotter it is the more it would cost. (AZ)



Is 16951.00 to bermuda seed brown spots of 10,500.00 sf of brown spots excessive? Personally I think it is a slap in the face. Ha Ha we will over bill you and you won't do anything.



Thanks for your help. ?(

Similar threads

Rate this thread