DIY: Easy and Cheap Leaky Irrigation Valve Repair 

Jeanne Gleason You are welcome.

Hopefully this gets you fixed up!

Thank you for adding to the knowledge base. I’m glad you figured it out.

Belle You are welcome.

I appreciate the info. Mine is still going strong!

Every system is wired differently. You usually have a hot wire coming in and going out.

same here. i have 5 zone and the valve levers are kinda close together and i'm having the same issue with them trying to get them turned.

Definitely!

Keyser Soze' if the valve is filling up with water then yes. It can short out the wiring so that it does not turn on.

BSR Python My system is on a separate line than the rest of the house. Most systems also have a main shut off valve for the irrigation lines.

Mystery solved!

It could be the main cutoff for a system incase you ever want to add one.

mostcallmerob Sorry, I don’t recall. This was several years ago. Can you take one from another valve and take it with you to match?

It says #3 o ring o. The plastic bag in the video.

Cut off the main water supply to the irrigation system and wait for the water to soak into the ground.

I use a wet/dry vac.

Everything home repair Yes. I have had several zones leak at the cut off and this is always the issue. The o-ring fixed it.

Sorry. I don’t have that kind of my house

Optics It could but all depends on how bad the leak is. I would suspect yours is something else. Is the puddling around the valve?

it is puddling inside the valve box and around. ground is wet from there to 20 feet away.

Unfortunately, it sounds like your have a busted valve and not just a broken o-ring.

do you have a video on how to replace a valve?

Sorry. I haven’t encountered that issue yet.

There are multiple zone valves like the one I’m working on here. There should also be a main valve for the whole irrigation system. It’s usually right next to your main water valve for your home.

@@TightWadDIY Thank you for the quick reply. I discovered my main water valve is located in my garage. I turned it off and all the faucets in the house were off but not the sprinkler. When I turned both the test cocks(?) with the screwdriver to release the pressure, the water continued to flow and did not slow down even though both inlet and outlet valves were turned off in addition to the main water valve. I did find the irrigation shut off valve in my back yard (and it had water in it just like in your video). I'm not sure if there is a leak or if it's from rain water. I will turn it off to see if that will work. I'll keep you posted. Thank you so much! :)

I turned my valves a quarter to the right and turned on the sprinkler system and it still ran water. What am I doing wrong?

You won’t get shocked but yes you should make sure your main irrigation valve is turned off. It should be separate from your main valve for your home. Mine is in a 2nd box next to the water meter.

Thomas Sankara The water lines are full. If you cut off the main valve, it will take a while for all of the water to drain from the lines, especially if it’s downhill or near the end of the line.

@@TightWadDIY ok. Thanks so much for your response.

You may have to replace the whole valve.

Michael Dillon I’m pretty sure it’s low voltage so not as dangerous and it only receives power when the controller attempts to turn it on or off. It should be safe to work on while the controller is plugged in but you can unplug it to be safe.

Rainbird DV100

It will soak into the ground.

I used an old gravy baster :)

James Ebola If they were installed correctly you can. There should be enough wire to allow you to unscrew it.

Daud A That step should be common sense. Nobody wants to watch me screw it in. That’s a waste of time.

I don’t know the brand but it’s for my irrigation lines.

That is really odd. Are you sure there isn’t an animal living in it

I’ve found a couple of tiny turtles, but nothing big enough to move the lid

@@AlbertMartinez-vb9qo You would be surprised!

You’re welcome!

WV591 Haha! I’ve replaced several of these in my system. It’s pretty easy.

Oops! You have to make sure the main valve is off first!

@@TightWadDIY the irrigation valves are rusted open, and couldn't get them to close.