SPRINKLER TALK FORUM - You Got Questions, We've Got Answers

Your location? Some photos would help. Nearly all sprinkler systems can be run without a controller, by manually opening the zone valves.

All zone valves will have some means of manual operation, to allow for servicing a system when there is no access to a controller. If, however, the entire system is turned off at the backflow preventer, the zone valves can't do anything.

Again, some photos of what you're working with would help.

Quoted from "Jeanie"

We are in Memphis. How do you manually turn on a valve?

Most irrigation sprinklers turn on/off remotely via a selinoid that is frequently located on the top of the valve (the part where the wires run into the valve). For manual operation, you usually just have to turn the selinoid about 1/4 turn.

Usually, there is a master shutoff valve for an irrigation system, but if the system suddenly STOPPED working, I would think it unlikely that someone deliberately shut off an irrigation valve without your knowledge... but it's possible. In addition to some sort of shutoff valve that should be located somewhere between the main water source and the irrigation system, the backflow preventer likely also has some shutoff valves that obviously must be openned as well.

But if you have a situation where the system was working yesterday, isn't working today, it's not that someone shut off a valve, and the controller is working, the next possible culprite could be a non-functioning master valve if your system has one. Obviously a valve can suddenly go bad, and if the entire system suddenly quit working, the only things common to all circuits are going to be the main line pipe (make sure all those manual valves are OPEN), the controller, the wire from the controller to the valves, and a master valve (if present). The other source for an entire system sudden shutdown would be if the system is operating off of a pump and the pump stopped working.

To determine if you have a pump or a master valve, you can look at the controller. It should have a terminal that could be labled MV, Master, relay, Pump, PSR, or anything else that could indicate the terminal should be connected to a Master Value or a Pump Start Relay.

It sounds like you had a genius working on your sprinkler system.

I could not understand if you had a control valve replaced or a controller/timer/clock replaced. If the Controller was replaced the irrigation tech did not connect the wire to the master valve and the system will be dead with no master.

I know I came in late, but this was too good to sit out.

Dan