Leaky Sprinkler Heads, Replace?

18 years ago

Hi All, I don't know how old this system was, before I moved in. It has the pop up heads.

Every year we have to work on up to 5 - 10 of the heads, (there's a lot here). They always do the same thing, they send water out the holes like they should, but then additional water comes up vertically around the head. When you replace the whole head, they are fine. I don't have any problems with water leaking when the sprinkler is off either.

Every time they do this we've been digging the whole darn head/valve? out & replacing it.

It occured to me after doing so much work on this..that there may be an easier way, but I don't know what it is. Is there a gasket or something to replace instead of the whole head? If so, are they universal, there are 3 different brands of heads here?

I must say that the ones we do replace work fine, but the next year, different ones will start leaking. Could the gaskets be drying out & cracking? If not, what else could it be?

Sorry for so many questions, just the first time I've had an inground sprinkler.

Thanks for any advice

phoebe

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Comments (7)

ronalawn82
18 years ago
phoebe 100, there is a seal between the pop up stem and the sprinkler body to prevent water from escaping. Water escaping through this 'breach' reduces the amount of water going through the nozzle and if it occurs a lot then the coverage on the zone is reduced. Filters help because they remove sand from the system; this sand makes grooves in the pop up stem and causes water to escape. The quality of the seal plays an important part in the quality and price of a head. Seals may be available separately for some brands.
phoebe100
Original Author
18 years ago
Ok, thanks I'll check which ones have them. I wonder if because the sprinkler wasn't used for a few years, the seals started drying out or cracking.

BTW: What is the best brand to buy for replacements? There are Toro, Orbitz & Rainbird heads here.
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lawnboy_10525
18 years ago
Hi,

If you happen to have the Rainbird 1800 series pop-up heads, then the item you need is called ''RainBird Replacement Cover/Seal Assembly for 1800 Models'' and the Rainbird part number is 116901.

You can buy these on-line from Rainbird for $2.30 each, or you can find them at many other on-line retailers. I have not had any luck finding them from Lowes or Home Depot either in their stores or on-line.

Regards,

Andy in Friendswood (Houston, Texas)
Lawnboy_10525

Reference: http://store.rainbird.com/shopexd.asp?id=933

Here is a link that might be useful: Sample on-line store Evergreen Sprinklers
chisto
18 years ago
I have a similar problem with a Nelson 6000 head. It looks like it might be a seal/o-ring because the water comes up the sides. Any suggestions or information would be appreciated. I called around the area (Springfield, MA) and the Nelson dealers are in the Boston area.
kal2002
17 years ago
chisto, I have the same problems with my Nelson 6000 heads. Did you ever figure out how to stop the water from coming up the sides? Thanks.
sherrirogers17
15 years ago
even though i don't have the sprinklers programmed to run in one of the zones, the sprinkler heads constantly leak making small floods around the heads constantly
mike1059
15 years ago
sherri, you can check the valve for that zone to make sure the manual bleed valve is completley closed. If it is the valve is leaking and may need replacing. You can sometimes replace the guts of the valve but I have not had much luck doing it that way.