low sprinkler head spay

20 years ago

i'm going to make this simple and to the point but may get lengthy. keep in mind that i am new to the whole lawn irrigation thing, so excuse my terminology.

last summer we had a hunter sprinkler system installed containing 7 zones, pgp rotary heads, spray heads, pgv valves and a pro-c controller.

during last summer the sprinkler installers had to return twice in order to adjust the sprinkler heads correctly so that each sprinkle head sprayed the way it should.

in fall of last year we had the sprinkler system turned off by the sprinkler company and flushed.

this summer they returned back and turn the system back on for a nice fee of $70.

the issue that i am having is that i was not home when they turned the sprinkler system on this season nor was i home last summer when the installers adjusted the sprinkler heads to spray correctly.

i notice that in one of my zones which contains 5 rotary heads that for one of the heads the stream of water is very low, it's like as though the sprinkler head is pissing, it does not have the same spray force as the rest of the heads in that zone.

how do i go about correcting this issue? do i adjust the sprinkler head itself with the radius distance or does it involves using the valves at the control box? does it have to deal with pressure issues in the main water supply? i know we do not have any broken pipes or solenoid issues because the system was installed less than a year ago. really don't want to call the installers because i know it will take them another two to three weeks before they get here plus another $70 maybe.

i know that correct the issue is real simple, i just want to make sure i do it correctly and not damage the sprinkler system.

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Comments (2)

saxophone
20 years ago
Has the problem sprinkler head worked properly before?

I'm no expert, but here's what I could think of as being the problem (in order from easist to hardest to investigate and fix).

1. The head needs adjusting. Go to the manufacturer's website and find the instructions on how to adjust your model of sprinkler head. They usually have an e-mail address where you can ask questions if you don't find the answer.

2. The head is clogged or broken. Flushing the system usually prevents clogging, but it can still happen. Where I live, the city replaced the water meters. In so doing, they introduce all kinds of muck into the water supply. I also had an earwig crawl inside one of my fixtures and clog it up. They seem to like water. You could try swapping the head with one of your other ones or with a new one. This means digging. If you swap, and the other one works fine but the problem one is still "pissing" in its new position, then you probably have a bad head.

3. There's a clog in your pipe, or the pipe is broken. I'd look along the ground where the pipe runs to see if you notice any wet spots. You could dig up the head, remove the head, flush the pipe. Let's hope it isn't #3.
b_fowler
20 years ago
More likely than not, it is a clogged head. Dirt happens. Depending on what actual rotary head you have and how your system was installed, it should be pretty easy to replace the head.......you may want to unscrew it, clean the filter 'basket' (looks like a swimming pool skimmer)beneath the head by blowing it out with compressed air or just rinsing it out with a clean source of water (use a toothbrush to clear clogs). Just common sense stuff like that usually works.
Before replacing, you might want to briefly turn on the system and check that one outlet and see if it is blowing like Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park. What this does is clear any dirt clod or whatever that may have been in the pipe that connects to the head. Then put it back together and see if you've resolved the problem.

....it kinda runs along the same idea as your car seeming to run better when it's washed and waxed!
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