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

Hi- I'm new to irrigation systems, so please excuse my ignorance. I recently purchased a home with a very lush looking lawn. I assumed that the irrigation system was responsible, but I am pretty sure that the lawn was being watered by the seller using a hose. One of the zones in the system has 12 spray heads in it. I have replaced all of the cheap brass sprinkler heads in this zone with Rainbird 600 series 180 and 90 deg sprayers. For some reason, the sprinkers don't operate properly towards the end of the circuit. I have tried to flush out all of the heads, but the last 5-6 sprayers don't pop up all of the way. They do have water coming out of them, but it is mostly a dribble. Any troubleshooting help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Quoted from "Wet_Boots"

Try shutting off the flow at the heads closest to the zone valve. You should either end up finding a leak, or finding out the number of heads you can effectively run at one time.

Thanks for the reply. Do you mean to close the adjustment screw on each sprinkler head in the circuit? I assume that you are suggesting to close the sprinklers closest to the valve that is operated by the solenoid, correct? Thanks.

Quoted from "Mitchgo"

My guess is you bought these heads from home depot / lowes

These heads that you bought are exactly top of the line quality..

I bet those heads came pre-nozzled with 15' radius nozzles.... Even worse there probably Vans.. Can you adjust the degree angles when the head is on? ( Ie 45 degrees all the way to 360?)

How far spaced are these spray heads?

If they are spaced at 10' .. Try buy 10' radius nozzles .. FIXED .. Not VANS... If they are 12' spacing.. Try buying 12'
Look at the flow charts.. You can see the amount of water usage that a 15Half vs a 10Half is over twice the amount of water usage at optimal 30 dynamic psi

Thanks for the reply. I did buy the heads from both Lowes and Home Depot. I also ordered a few from the Rain Bird website, but they were the 1800 series. Any thoughts on the differences between the 600 and the 1800?

I will have to verify the spacing on the heads, but I believe that it varies. It doesn't look like the people who put in the sprinkler system were concerned with doing a thorough job. For example, I had a leaking sprinkler at the end of one of the zones. I dug out a hole to see what was going on. The elbow fitting had broken at the base of the riser. To my surprise, the elbow was not glued to the feedline. It was simply pressed into place.

...another question....can I mix the Rainbird 600 heads with the 1800 heads on the same circuit if I use the same spray head? The bodies of the two are different, but I'm not sure if I can mix them or not. Thanks.