Irrigation solenoid valves are the guardians of their sprinklers.
They are connected to the water source for irrigation and control the flow of water to each "zone" or sprinkler section. If you have a five-zone system, you have five valves.
High-quality solenoid valves are designed to operate under adverse conditions. They lay quietly on the ground and did their work year after year, covered in dirt and water. As with any equipment made up of moving parts, they will eventually wear out and fail.
Sprinkler valves generally fail in one of three ways:
* They will remain open and work 24 hours a day until the water source is off.
* They constantly lose a small amount of water, known as "crying".
* Or they don't turn on at all.
The problem is, how do you find them after 15-20 years of being out of place and in the mind when they fail?
The best and easiest way to find a valve is with a specialized tool called valve locator. However, these units are expensive to buy and are generally not rented. So before you go into hiring an irrigation contractor to find your valve that is functioning properly, here are some places to look for:
First, check near your water source. Many houses have their irrigation system connected to the water in their house (in front of a pump). Most of the city's water systems will have a device for preventing return flow over the ground. This is a metal device with handles for closing the sprinkler water without closing the house water. It should be located near where the water from the meter in your city enters your home.
Once you find the return flow breaker, take a 12 "screwdriver and SOFT test an area of 6 feet around the return flow. Be careful to test slowly so as not to drill any pipes. If you hit something solid, try that point six inches in diameter If you hit anything less than that, keep looking.
The next place to look is where the sprinkler installation near me timer is located. Confirm this area the same way you tried the reflux area.
Another indicator to determine the location of the valve is to turn on the defective zone and determine which sprinklers will first pressurize. The first heads that are pressed are closest to the valve. Of course, this does not work with valves that do not turn on.
Very often, not all valves are placed in a central location. They will spread across the yard. A very common location is in the corners of the house.
Because your system was probably installed with a charger, the valves will be approximately two feet from the walls.
Although buried sprinkler valves can be difficult to find without a valve location, with a little patience and a little luck, they can be found.