Pro Irrigation Training is your source for irrigation training. Classes are online video courses for the beginner in lawn sprinklers and irrigation. We have a free course - Introduction to Irrigation and Sprinkler Systems. There are also low cost courses on Electrical Basics and Irrigation Timers, Piping Systems, Drip Irrigation for Lawn and Farm, All About Sprinkler Heads, and All About Irrigation Valves.
Is there any marking on the body to indicate what the connectors are? I'd like to order the correct replacement without doing a full uninstallation of the old one first if possible, thanks!
Great job explaining this process. Have noticed after retiring from the military, this and many things having to do with this process is not easy to find formal training. So thank you very much
Any tips on how to change this exact model when it’s doing a full 360 arc, to the partial arc? It seems like it might need to be taken apart, per some ancient instructions I found online.
Take the ring off the shaft, and while it's rotating counter-clockwise, push down on the top of the shaft and twist it counter-clockwise. You should feel the gears engage when you push down and twist. That should reduce the arc to less than 360. If it doesn't pull the right arc limit in less than 360, then you will probably have to replace the head. They're pretty old at this point.
I had a friend that ran 3/4" pipe 600 feet to his house and had low amount of water to his facets. we did a little searching (before the internet ) and figured out it wasn't a pressure problem, it was a volume problem. the fix that we came up with was to replace 8 feet of 3/4" pipe at the house with 8 feet of 6" pipe. after that he could run multiple faucets at the same time without loosing so called water pressure.
Wait what? 6" Pipe??? You could've supplied a whole subdivision with that! But you were right about your friend's house, it was an issue of volume in that 3/4" pipe, which at 8 gpm would lose over 30 psi through 600' of pipe. At 10 gpm demand which is basically a shower and a hose bibb running at once, would lose 47 psi through 600' of pipe.
I tried to repair my sprinkler pipe with the much heralded 'Flex Tape' and while it was super sticky it didn't work. So now I'm here watching this video.
Hi there! I'm shocked that Flex Tape didn't work! Lol not really. It would probably work if the line wasn't under pressure. That tape is actually pretty awesome. Except for pressure. Water pressure can't be held back by anything except for proper fittings. Hope you get some value from the video, thanks for watching!
Great Video, but I still have a pressure problem i can't figure out. I have 5 zones in my sprinkler system. Zones 1-4 work fine. Zone 5 is doing a rapid pressure cycle. It goes on, hits 60psi then shuts off, goes down to 40 psi, and clicks back on. This happens every 20 seconds when zone 4 is on. When zone 4 is off, the pressure is fine. Any ideas?
To be honest, I can't really understand what you're describing. You said that 1-4 is fine, that zone 5 is the problem, then say that it's happening on zone 4? And because you know the pressures, it makes me think you have a pump with tank and pressure switch. If so, there's probably a big difference in the flow demand between those zones. But there's a lot of variables at play here. I would suggest getting a professional that can come out and do a proper troubleshoot on the system. Sorry that I can't help, but thank you so much for watching!
To me it sounds like you have a volume problem. come across that years ago on a buddies house. he had run 3/4 inch pvc pipe 600 feet from the road to his house and couldn't run more than one faucet at a time with out water slowing down. the fix we came up with was replacing 8 feet of 3/4 inch pipe going in to the house with 6 inch pipe. after that he had no problem.
@@PatrickDoucet-q5v It really is a volume problem here. I'm betting that the zone he's having problems with, be it number 4 or 5, has more heads on it, causing more demand for flow. It definitely sounds like a pump, tank and pressure switch setup. When the previous zones run, they have less demand for flow, so the pressure doesn't drop enough to cause the pump to cycle. Then zone 5 comes on with more heads (or a leak) and the pressure drops below the switch threshold causing the pump to kick back on until it hits the upper limit on the switch which turns the pump back off, then a few minutes later the pressure drops and hits the bottom limit of the switch.
3:42 Inner diameter controlled = pipe, not tubing; correct? 8:50 Not 30 to 60 foot pounds; but rather 30 to 60 inch pounds, which is 2.5 to 5 foot pounds. 30 to 60 foot pounds is an order of magnitude too high! 60 foot pounds is getting to small lug nut torque, guaranteed to strip a worm drive clamp. The way you are holding your 1/4 socket wrench, with your leverage maybe 3 or 4 " from the screw axis, you would have to put 90 pounds of force at 4" to generate just 30 foot pounds of torque. So you hold the wrench like you have it, then put about 8 to 10 pounds of force and you'll have about 3 to 3.5 foot pounds of torque, a reasonable amount. You are correct when you say to put "just enough". And BTW, thank you for the video. I did learn a lot, and specifically I was interested in using the pinch clamps and how much force they would put on the plastic fittings. Also how secure they were versus the worm drive, and how they hold up over time. I have some old poly piping water delivery systems that are starting to leak after decades using dual or single worm-drive clamps.
I have a perfect square backyard that has 16 sprinklers. How do I know if I need a 90 180 or 360 sprinkler??? I just had them installed n the people did a terrible job. Also do you recommend the mp rotators with the pro series pressure regulated heads at 40 psi? Also it’s the same setup as this but there’s 4 rows with 4 sprinklers down each row. so going off this I would need 4 90’s 8 180’s and 4 360’s is that correct? Mines perfectly square just this example
Yes you're correct. It sounds like you would need 4 x 90's - one in each corner. All along the sides you would use 180 degree patterns, and in the interior of the space you would use 360 degree patterns. I definitely like the MP rotators on Pro Series 40PSI spray bodies, but rotors such as the Hunter PGP Ultra and the Rain Bird 5000+ Series would work as well.
I charge $35 per head, which is $12 or so for the head and $23 for the time to dig it up and replace it. This is if you're already there. If you have to go out just for this, charge a "service call" fee which could be $50-75 or even more depending on how far you've got to go. Thank you so much for watching and your question!
@@Proirrigationtraining Ty. I ended up charging 100 flat, but it was on some weird line that wasn’t pvc. It was a black 1/2” tubing. Dog bit off 1 head so that messed up the rest of the zone. Thankfully he broke it off right at the base above the fitting that went into the head so I could still use that flexible line. What is that line?
@@CanyonHillsHandyman Check out this video, should explain the situation. The black tubing is 1/2" Polyethylene, also known as Flex Pipe or Funny Pipe, etc. and commonly used to attach the heads to the supplying pipe. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-r4Ou0mhE8h0.html
1. I have worked on alot of these and have NEVER been able to spin the guts out with that tool without first removing the head from the ground and cleaning out the debris from inside the head and even then its near impossible to hold the head tight enough to spin it out without a BIG pair of pump plyers. 2. What causes the trip lever to jump the arc stop. It happens once in a while. Sometimes, I will reset it and it will not happen again on that head, and other times, I will get a call back after a few days and I will replace the head. I have tried bending the wire trip lever and the arms of the arc stops and nothing has helped.
Yes, those are some of the problems. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever been able to get the guts out without holding the outer body with plyers. I'm not sure what causes the lever to pop up, but I know what you're talking about. I'm not a fan of these, and it seems like the newer ones aren't nearly as good as the ones made 15+ years ago. I suppose they have their place, for dirty water mostly. But I always recommend replacing them with 5000's if they'll let me.
I am a home owner with an irrigation system that draws 10 GPM per zone. I only have 20 GPM coming into the house and this has created a low pressure situation at my shower heads and sinks when I run the system. Any suggestions?
The research is a bit sketchy as to whether PEX is any worse than any other piping system for bacteria or biofilms. I'm not a fan of PEX, and certainly am not recommending it in this video. This lesson is only for dealing with existing water lines that an irrigation tech has to tap into to supply a new sprinkler system. Unfortunately it has overtaken copper as the preferred tubing choice for plumbing houses. But make no mistake, biofilms are found in copper and PVC. You should have good water filters on your drinking water supply.
@@Proirrigationtraining Copper and its alloys, such as brass, bronze and copper-nickel, are inherently antimicrobial. This can not be said for Pex or any other oil based poly tubing.
I understand what you’re saying in regards to downsizing but answer this, why are all the sprinkler pipes at least here in Florida downsized all over the yard? Most here at least in south Florida don’t used county water but use a sprinkler pump through a well or canal?
Probably what you're seeing is called "pipe sizing" if the pipe size is descending as the zone pipes go away from the valve. It's a method of only using the minimum size of pipe necessary to carry the flow needed. For a residential property, it may start out as 1.25", then go down to 1" then .75" as there's less heads to supply further out in the zone. I'll be posting a video shortly that outlines how to calculate Pipe Sizing for system installation planning.
Love your videos but it's illegal to put any flyers in mail or newspaper boxes. The post office will actually remove it and report you here. This is in the US.
Hi there! Please watch the entire video. I say explicitly at 15:07 "Definitely don't put it into the mailbox, the Postal Service isn't kosher with that, you could possibly get a fine for it, there's laws against it." Not so with newspaper boxes, which the USPS has nothing to do with. Their laws only cover a prohibition against putting anything into the mailbox. I also speak at length starting at 13:42 about checking with your city and county Code Enforcement to see if they have any prohibitions against putting anything into the paper boxes. Also, if the newspaper box is a separate box that's been attached to the post and has the newspaper's name on it, they may not like that or may not care. But check with your city and county for sure. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thanks for the video I am using the newer rainbird anti-siphon valves on a drip line 2 other valves are working just fine however the front anti-siphon portion of the valve leaks water when it runs assesntionally the plunger of the anti-siphon is not being pushed up all the way instead of running full pressure down the outlet line and there the regulator filter is clean. So I am assuming the the anti-siphon plunger is not being pushed up all the way allowing the leak. I do have two other valves of the same type working just fine and the drip lines are at the same level as the problematic valve. Was just curious if I needed a check valve to stop this issue or if I needed to do something else?
Thanks for watching. There could be 2 things going on. The flow amount may be too low, which is sometimes the case for drip zones. If the flow is below the minimum threshold for that valve, it causes problems. Also, you said that the drip lines were at the same level as the valve. Those valves need to be at least 12" higher than the highest outlet. Hope this helps!
@@Proirrigationtraining Thanks when I said same level I should have said same ground level . The valves are above ground level at around 12". The last 2 drip lines that don't have issues have outlets at ground level and leading behind a retaining wall that is around 3 feet above ground level. The the 1st drip line valve which only has outlets at the moment behind the retaining wall which is around 3 ft above ground level is the only one having the issue with the anti siphon plunger not closing all the way when running and leaking. So I was curious since the other two drip lines that are working fine and are fed after the problem drip line would the same solutions you mentioned still hold or if there could be leak somewhere in the third drip line after the valve outlet?.
@@user-pe3nr2er6f Have you taken the Vacuum Breaker off and checked it out? Flush it out with water and see if anything is stuck in it. And it may be possible that it's just a defective valve. Also check how much flow is going through the valve. You can count up the drippers and figure that out, then go online and look at the valve's specs to make sure your flow exceeds the minimum required. There are low-flow valves made for this purpose.
@@user-pe3nr2er6f If I understand your question correctly, it's the part that's leaking. It looks like a mushroom top with a vent under the cap. you should be able to unscrew it from the valve body.
A spray body with a Rain Bird 4" VAN nozzle, and you can use the screw in the middle top to dial down the flow and radius. Or, you can use a couple micro-sprays to cover that area. Thanks for watching!
@Proirrigationtraining - Hi! Couls you please share where is the ideal location to crimp on a barbed fitting, on the barb, or right behind the last barb nearest the center, or both? I see so many styles here on RU-vid. Jist Like to know whats the correct way from a pro or manufacturers recommendation.
That's a good question. I usually crimp on the barbs, but I wonder if right behind the barbs would be better? I always thought that the tubing would possibly fold a little behind the barbs and possibly leak a little, but to be honest I don't know if that's the case.
@Proirrigationtraining Seen so many videos on clamping, but no one really says anything about where the manufacturers suggest as the "correct" location to clamp, ie...on the barb or above the barb/at very end of the barb, or both? I noticed that in your video you crimped at the very end of the barbs on the smooth section, and only used one ring per pipe. Is this the manufacturers suggested location or just your personal preferred method and why this and not the other two ways mentioned? I just want it to be rock solid leakproof, set it and forget it in the most secured and practical way possible. Would love to hear your feedback on this. Thanks for the video and any suggestions you may offer on the subject. 😊
use that damn channellock to twist the whole thing and not only it WILL break at base but you screwing up the shaft and it will leak. this is very bad costly advice. Pro irrigation?
I believe that I do mention that you have to be careful about it the first few times you do it. But I do this many times a day, every day, and have been doing so for over 20 years. I did crack one or two at first, that's why I say to be careful at first. There's only so far you can twist it clockwise on it's connector. If you're cracking the stem consistently, then loosen that grip brudda!
Hello. I recently purchased an older home that uses the RainBird Maxi Paw throughout the lawn... Im a novice, but it seems like these impacts wastes/uses alot of water??? What is the benefit of these vs the ones my neighbors use... The Rainbird 5000 or 32SA?
The impacts are an older style, and the newer models are a bit more efficient as you can dial in the pattern more precisely. But as the commenter below said, they are good to use if you have more sediment such as using lake water or a dirty well. I would use the 5000, as it's a professional grade model and the 32SA and similar nomenclatures are made for the consumer market to be sold in big box hardware stores.
Take a clean yoghurt container and put a sewing needle through the bottom. Fill it with water and see how long it takes to empty. That will give you the time it will take to empty and you can work from there to decide how big a container you actually will need--a pint, a quart, a gallon, multiple gallons, etc.
Take a clean yoghurt container and put a sewing needle through the bottom. Fill it with water and see how long it takes to empty. That will give you the time it will take to empty and you can work from there to decide how big a container you actually will need--a pint, a quart, a gallon, multiple gallons, etc.
THERE IS A 4th WAY: purging air in the line can also increase pressure. I've been working with a gravity fed system and the terrain is somewhat undulating between the tank and the highest elevation controller. I added a valve to purge air from the system at a local high spot in the feeder. Once the line is bled there is enough pressure to get the MP rotators to pop up. If I don't do this at the end of rainy season there just isn't enough pressure.
You've made a good point about piping that changes elevation like that. If it undulates too much, it can trap air in the upper curves. Thank you so much for commenting, it may help someone in a similar situation. Things like this can be pretty tough to figure out for a tech that's not intimately familiar with a system.
I am connecting a garden hose as a supply line to a remote spigot. The connection requires a transition from the hose to a short piece of 1/2" PEX. I don't know what my outside water pressure is but do you think a clamp would be required at the transition fitting?
Sorry Paul, thought I had already answered this for you. I would use a clamp on the PEX. I'm not 100% sure, but I think all PEX connections should have one. I certainly do no matter what the pressure is, but I don't deal with it much.
I notice you put the PSI reducer before the timer, is this ok to do with timers that have multiple spigots? I bought a timer with 3 so I can have my garden beds (2 zones) and Pots (1 zone) on different times. Each spigot has a PSI reducer. Also do I need the filter if my main wait is filter? Do I need to blow out each time i turn it on are is it only in the beginning of creating and or adding new supply tubing or emitters?
It's not necessary to have a pressure reducer before anything, it's just that I have 95 PSI at that faucet and pretty much none of this equipment is designed to handle that much. Usually the recommendation is 40 PSI max, some parts have 35 as the max. If each of your spigots have a pressure reducer and your inlet pressure isn't crazy, you probably don't need another one. If you water is already filtered, then you don't need one presumably. don't need to blow it out but once upon installation, and maybe again at the yearly start up. Thanks for watching and your questions!
I've seen a lot of comments about don't use it in the heat, or don't use it in the cold, but its pretty durable. Just bury it deep enough and winterize every year. Thanks for watching!
I'd think that it would be fine. It's just a preference. One way saves a little more pipe, the other way saves a little more wire. But definitely check in CA, lol. Thanks for watching and the question!
If the 4 heads are rotors, I'd say that it will probably be fine, they have similar pressure requirements. The only difference is that too high pressure will affect the Maxis but not a regular rotor. Thanks for watching!
Working on setting up a drip irrigation system for my collection of potted plants (well into the hundreds) and these videos have been insanely helpful after seeing so much conflicting information online. Thank you!
Yeah, sorry about that, I'm definitely going to redo this video. It may just be broken, but too low or high pressure can stop these from rotating. Thank you so much for the comment, and thanks for watching!
So I have 11 zones in my system. My system runs off of a shallow well with a 2 Hp pump. System comes on fine with timer and works great until it reaches zone # 8. At that point pressure drops dramatically in zone #8 and only a small stream comes from one or two of that zones heads. I then go to my well pump and crack the threaded bleeder on top of the impeller housing. air bubbles will then come out and within a minute or two zone #8 will pressurize and come to life. The system will then finish off the remaining watering cycle without a hitch. Next day this same problem will repeat. What might I check in my system? Thanks
To be honest, I really don't know about that one. There is a possibility that at zone 8, you're exceeding the refresh rate of the well, and that's possibly causing some air in the line. Try splitting your program in half, run 6 zones one day and then 5 the next.
@@Proirrigationtraining thanks for your response. In the past I’ve always run all 11 cycles without issues until recently. Last night I left the bleeder plug in the pump impeller housing cracked open for the entire watering cycle. The system ran fine even though the bleeder dribbled a small amount of water. However when it reached zone 8 it repeated the same issue. Only two heads sprayed water and only at about 30 % normal volume. I did nothing and watched as the bleeder self purged the air, after about three minutes the sprinklers came on full at 100% and the remaining cycles finished out their cycles as well. Leads me to believe that zone 8 might be taking in air from a sprinkler head when not in use.
@@arnoldrodriguez3803 That's interesting that it always happens on zone 8. If the valves are easy to get to, you might should rebuild that valve and see if it's causing the problem. I would think if it's a problem with refresh rate or something about the well, it would probably vary a bit when it happens.
