How to get the solenoid out?

9 years ago

I bought a house with a Rain Bird irrigation system. One of the zones was running all the time. I can manually close the valve but I think the solenoid is bad. Here are photos of the valve - i think it is a 100-PEB series?

Everything I've read says to twist the solenoid (I believe the handle labeled "OFF/ON" and then it comes out. I twist it as far as it goes (there are stops to how far it can turn) but it doesn't come out. I've pulled pretty hard, but I don't want to break it (anymore than it's already broken!). Any suggestions?

Help!

Thanks!

Featured Answer

User

9 years ago

Clean all the dirt and debris from around the valve until you have exposed the whole body ... wash it down with a squirt bottle.

Remove the screws to take the whole bonnet (top of the valve) off and replace the whole top of the valve, including the diaphragm and solenoid.

it's far easier and by the time you have mucked around getting the solenoid out and replaced you have usually damaged the seals and diaphragm anyway.

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Comments (6)

eosinophil
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks, lazy_gardens. I've ordered the part and I'll replace the whole thing. I"ll let you know if I can get it back together!
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eosinophil
Original Author
9 years ago
A quick update- your advice was terrific. Turns out I couldn't get the solenoid off because the outer ring was really stuck on with (I guess) dirt. But taking the whole thing out was easy. It was amazing - the inside was full of rocks. I have no idea how the valve was closing at all. I cleaned it out, put the new one in and it's working great. I'm moving on to another valve that has very low flow- I'm betting it's full of rocks, too, and that's blocking the flow.. Thanks so much from me and my thirsty plants!
User
9 years ago
Rocks?
Maybe there was some work done on the pipes and the valve didn't get flushed afterward.
eosinophil
Original Author
9 years ago
It certainly seemed odd to me! We just moved to southern California a year ago and have never had any kind of irrigation (other than a hose!) before, so it's really been a challenge to figure this giant (31 zone) contraption out! I have another zone that doesn't seem to have adequate water flow even if the valve is opened up, as there's only a trickle from the heads. Now that I know about the inexplicable rocks, I'm going to open up that one and see if it's full of rocks, too. Then I'll be two zones down, 29 to go.

Thanks again for your help. I feel like I've got a pretty big job ahead of me getting this system sorted out, but I'm a bit less intimidated now that I've tackled one of the valves.
User
9 years ago
Now that I know about the inexplicable rocks, I'm going to open up that
one and see if it's full of rocks, too. Then I'll be two zones down, 29
to go.

Try removing - completely unscrewing - the head furthest from the valve and turn on the valve for that station. You will probably flush a lot of stuff out of the pipes. Do this for each station before you worry about the valves.

Also the filters in the heads get clogged, or there are no filters, so if the pipe flush doesn't work, and the valve body is clear, check the heads.