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Sprinkler Leak, end of zone

butert

Starting Member

Posts: 1

1

Monday, August 18th 2014, 12:03pm

Sprinkler Leak, end of zone

I'm new to the world of underground sprinkling.

I have a spot in my lawn that was always really green. When I inspected closer I found standing water around a sprinkler head. I dug the head up and found the water sitting on top of the sod. I had to shut the water off to the entire system in order to see what was going on. I dug down to the sprinkler line and could not find any slices or imperfections in the sprinkler line. I cut off the end and put a new fitting on the end of the line. Put the sprinkler head back on and put 3 cu ft. of pea gravel in the hole up to the bottom of the sprinkler head to help the water drain. I figured there will be some extra water seeping out of the sprinkler head because it is the end of the line and a low spot in the yard. However, there is still water peeing out of the head.

I do not know what else to do now. Any suggestions?

Wet_Boots

Supreme Member

Posts: 4,102

Location: Metro NYC

2

Tuesday, August 19th 2014, 5:41am

Water seeping from a low head 24/7 indicates a slow leak in the zone valve feeding the head, what is called a "weeping valve"

irrigirl

Unregistered

3

Thursday, August 21st 2014, 12:02pm

Sprinklers

There is either debris in the diaphragm or you could have a bad diaphragm. You could also have a bad solenoid.
First, unscrew and rescrew solenoid, making sure it is not dirty underneath. If this fails to solve the issue, take the solenoid and put it on another valve. If this new valve's sprinklers start to leak, you will be able to tell that the solenoid is bad. You can also test the solenoid with an ohms test using a multimeter on your circuit board.

Checking solenoids and field wires
1) Set meter to OHMs
2) Set range to 200
3) Remove common wire!
4) Hold tip of black probe to common wire
5) Touch red probe to each station screw
**Short circuit/Bad solenoid/Wire=0-12 ohms
**12-60 ohms Good solenoid
**High numbers=corroded wire
**200+=Broken wire
If you find that the solenoid is good, then the problem is mechanical. Make sure your bleed screw and bleed lever (this will be a lever under the solenoid) are tightly closed. If they are closed, then the problem lies with the diaphragm or the valve itself. Take the valve apart and clean out the diaphragm and underneath inside the valve body. Reseat the diaphragm.
If this last step does not work, you either have a bad diaphragm or you could also have a crack in the valve. If it is an old valve, the plunger may have rust. In this case, you can try replacing the diaphragm first. If replacing the diaphragm does not solve the issue, it may be time to replace the valve.

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