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Another leak question
I am in the process of changing old Maxi-Paws with Hunter PGP-ATRs. The system is about 18 years old. I chose these because I have little experience with irrigation; I did not want did up old heads; I am not that handy; and to save some money.
The project has gone well, but one of the new heads leaks when the system is on. There is enough pressure to turn the rotor but water flows down the sidewalk. It is the lowest head on the system but it does not leak when the system is off. The new rotor is tight.
The installer used the side inlet which I have learned is not recommended for this climate. Does anyone know a possible cause of the leak.
I am wondering if the pipe going to the old head is loose. I would like to find a fix without digging it up.
Thank you.
Look at the leak closely. Is it leaking from inside the sprinkler housing or from around the outside of the sprinkler?
If it's inside i'd suspect it's either screwed on crooked. It's not tight or there's no O-ring. Maybe the O-ring's pinched.
If it's from the outside you'll have to dig to see where it's coming from....
Mrfixit...thank you for your timely reply. I went back to the irrigation supply store where I bought the new rotors. I was told the leak was likely due to the PGP-ATR not sealed properly into the old Maxi-Paw threads. He suggested I clean out the Maxi-Paw with a wire brush and use some Vaseline on the PGP-ATR threads. I will give that a try with a differnet PGP-ATR rotor and see how it goes.
You don't want to use Vaseline on O-Rings. It will cause them to crack.
Try using a silicone grease.
You probably wont need any lubricant at all once you clean out the maxi-paw.
I just installed 6 PGP-ATR's two days ago for the first time ever. My first impression is, I'm very happy with how everything went. They're super easy to install and adjust. No digging needed at all.. Time will tell how they last.. I can see the dust cover coming off but maybe they wont..
I fixed the leak. The body cap was a little loose; I could not get the O-ring out so I tightened it a bit more.
My
problems are not over since the rotor will not turn. I tried two new
ones and neither will turn. I put one of them on another zone and it
works fine. There seems to be adequate pressure. There are three heads
on the zone and the other two work.
Something doesn't make sense here. If you have adequate pressure and the head works on another zone then it should work on the zone in question.
--
Are you sure the sprinkler doesn't have debris somewhere blocking the flow? Perhaps in the fittings the sprinkler is screwed onto?
Try this, with the zone on, put your finger over the stream of water on one of the other two heads to shut the flow off. Does this increase the pressure enough to turn the head?
I learned something adjusting the rotors. They have a ratcheting mechanism. Maybe you've turned the sprinkler so it can't rotate. Try turning the neck of the sprinkler while it's running then adjust with the key.
I called the irrigation supply store about the non-turning rotor. I was told to change the nozzle so fewer gallons per minute were going to the head. I had the factory installed #7 red nozzles in; he suggested a try a #3 or #4. I will give it a try. The other 3 zones (two with 3 heads and one with 4) are working just fine with the #7 nozzle.
I e-mailed Hunter tech support; they told me to clean the filter.
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threaded connection wont stop leaking!
(Nov 18th 2003, 7:23pm)