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Help! Sprinkler Replacement Snafu

CharlyTexas

Starting Member

Posts: 1

1

Saturday, July 23rd 2011, 1:37pm

Help! Sprinkler Replacement Snafu

I bought a home with a Richdell irrigation system which needed sprinklers replaced, e.g sprinklers not popping up unless I pry them with a screw driver etc. I decided after getting a few quotes from irrigation companies to replace the sprinklers myself. A couple of youtube videos and eHow.com and I was good to go! Other the the manual labor to dig up the sprinklers , overall the process was relatively simple. Unscrew, blow out dirt and debri and screw in and adjust nozzle, as a female I was damn proud of project until I ran into a sprinkler that does NOT screw in the top of the pipe but screws in on the side. The hole I would need to dig in order for the sprinkler to have enough space to rotate to remove would be huge not to mention I would have to remove a few plants in the bed. My question is two fold, 1). why did they do that??!! 2). can I cut the 4" sprinkler down to give more clearance in the hole in order to unscrew it from the pipe?



I really hope this makes sense!

Wet_Boots

Supreme Member

Posts: 4,102

Location: Metro NYC

2

Saturday, July 23rd 2011, 2:39pm

Just dig some more, and you may find where to make pipe connections without having to dig up any shrubs.

Side entry heads were commonplace, and are easily repaired when you have the parts and the tools.

Mitchgo

Supreme Member

Posts: 502

Location: Seattle

3

Saturday, July 23rd 2011, 2:53pm

If you have the same sprinkler head to replace it you can just 'gut swap ' it. Unscrew the top collar and replace it.

You probably have a 6" or 12" pop up - a side port connection is pretty common because it's easier to install the connection

AutomaticSprinklers

Senior Member

Posts: 17

Location: Indiana

4

Sunday, July 24th 2011, 9:23am

We used to always hook in on the side on Maxi Paws along driveways and roads. They were more resistant to breaking swing els when driven over by cars. If you can replace the guts go that route. I am assuming that your connection is on a green or black riser pipe. I would recommend switching to a swing pipe connection. http://rainbird.com/documents/turf/SwingPipeInstallationTips.pdf It recommends not using a torch to make connections but it makes it a lot easier to put the barbs in the pipe and we never had trouble with it as long as you don't heat it too long.

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