I can't tell you how helpful this was. I just moved to FL and the whole sprinkler system world is new to me. You saved me so much time and frustration. Not to mention money. You rock.
A great video. Helped me repair my system after numerous pipe breaks due to landscaper digging. Broken pipe pieces and rocks found right under the gaskets! Thank you!
Thank you.took the mystery out of what to expect. Followed your direction, cleaned not replaced, all top parts. Works perfect now. Just make sure the white plastic ring is replaced correctly. I put mine in upside down and prevented top to bottom sealing correctly
I really find your sprinkler videos useful. Could you maybe set up a video on how to figure out a sprinkler system by using a ditch witch using 1" poly pipe like how to layout where to put the heads and irrigation boxes. Also installing the Hunter Pro-C timer including mounting it into mason in the basement. Thanks!
Normally in pump type systems there are wires running from the master valve terminals on the timer to a relay that will start a pump, in your case the well pump. If that's your case you should be able to bypass the master valve in the basement because the timer would turn on the well pump and the station valves without needing the master valve in the basement. I'm trying to reason out why you would need the master valve. Is there a code requirement in you area concerning master valves?
You said the system is run off a well. Does the well pump kick on when you are watering the yard? Do you have pressure tanks storing water? Not quite sure I understand how your system works yet. Sounds like the valve in the basement is a master valve. It shouldn't leak. Have you tried a different type of valve? I need a little more info before I can be much help. When the timer kicks on does it open the master valve in the basement & turn on the well pump from the timer?
Somewhere on the top of the valve it should say what make it is. You might need to take a flashlight to look. Some valves have the model also. I would guess you have a Toro valve given that everything else is Toro, but you want to be sure especially if you're buying valve parts.
Thank you. Something that makes sense. Question how do you tell what type of in line valve you have. My controller says Toro.my heads say Toro. so can I assume my in line valve is Toro? It does have 4 bolts as shown in your video.
@@shirleydavenport5265 Can you start the valve from the timer? If not, first step in troubleshooting is test power at the valve from the timer. You should have 24-29 volts. Black probe from tester on the common wire and red probe on the station wire. If you have power at the valve I would try changing the solenoid. Be sure to turn off water before removing the solenoid.
I have a Hunter PGV Jar top valve that is located in my basement the sprinkler system feeds off of our main well from the house supply. From what i can gather it works as the main valve that turns the water on and off to the rest of the zone valves located out side the house in the green lawn box's like in your video. The problem is that this main valve is constantly dripping water from the weeping holes when the system is running. I have replaced valves twice but no change. Any ideas? thanks
Good video. When I turn the larger screw in the middle of the top of the valve, water comes out of some of my drips, however when I stop turning the water stops coming out. Any ideas or maybe just replace the top half? It’s got a brand new working solenoid and diaphragm and worked fine for a few months after replacing the old solenoid and diaphragm. Thanks!
Thanks for the video. If my valve box is flooded with water, what is the best way to go about. Also should I shutoff power, water, etc. before I start working inside the box. Thanks for your time.
Turn the timer and water off, then get a hand pump and suck all of the water out of the valve box. Turn the water back on and see if you can isolate where the leak is.
I reinstalled our sprinkler pump (we pump out of the river), primed it and turned it on. We opened The spigot we have on top of the pump and it had good pressure. When i manually turned on the zones hardly any water would come out. I have a feeling we got some debris in the main line from it sitting open all winter. Can u give me a good place to start looking for the clog ? By the manifold box? The controller seemed to be operating fine. We have a hunter system also. Thanks for the feed back
Debris in sprinkler piping is a nightmare to troubleshoot. You often have to dig up sections of the piping, flush the line to that point, then move on to the next section and repeat the process. In my experience debris tends to get pushed to an elbow or manifold by the water pressure, then stops at the elbow or sprinkler valve. I would recommend starting at a manifold, remove the top half of the sprinkler valves, see if there is any debris, then flush the valves while the top half of the valves are removed. Be sure to shut off the water before removing the top half of the valves. If there is an elbow before or after the manifold, that could be a trouble spot also.
iScaper1 , thank you! I removed the top half of one valve to see if anything was in there and then reinstalled. I didn’t know I can back flow it from there, I’ll take another look
John, what is the object that is inline just before the valve you repaired? It's at about a 45 degree angle. It's about even to the union on the other valve. My system has one of these, but larger. No idea what it is.
I have a RB system. My power wire was bad, I guess it got cut during digging, but I ran a new wire to check system at valves. I have 26.6 volts at valves, but no water is coming out of sprinklers. I have 5 zones and none are responding to system. I don't think I could have 5 bad valves. What could the issue be?
Sounds like you may have the sprinkler valves wired incorrectly. Make sure the common wire (usually the white wire) from the timer is connected to one wire from each of the solenoids on the sprinkler valves. So you will have 5 wires from the solenoids (one from each sprinkler valve) connected to the single common wire going to the timer. The other wire on each solenoid connects to a single station wire coming from the timer.
Good morning Kerry I love your video do u like those hunter valves I am estate a job and I know the customer wants a good price I normally use rainbird pga100 valves what is your appion on hunter I like the slim line valve but I have never used them I would realy. App your info on them have a blessed day Kerry
The Rain Bird 100-DVF is my favorite valve. They seem competitive in cost with sprinkler valves of other manufacturers. I like to stick with valves I don't have trouble with. Hunter valves are a good second choice.
Friend I have a problem you can connect a float sensor to the valve Hunter PGV-101G for cutting float sensor valve when the maximum fill a swimming pool and also with how much voltage does the solenoid of the pd solenoid: thanks for your video and your time
gracias por tu respuesta se agradece yo solo trabajo en electricidad varias y mantencion de válvulas manuales y me interesa trabajar en esto de las válvulas eléctricas para tener el máximo de experiencia
rodrigo parra I'm not sure if lawn sprinkler valves in other countries operate with the same power demands as valves here in the US. You should check if there is a difference.
bueno aqui el solenoide tiene 24 volt para la electrovalvula y el flotador igual opera en 24 volt para eso necesito un rele y un control . gracias por su comentario
Hi Greg, it's Kerry not John. Check that the station you're trying to manually water has time on it on that program. If that doesn't work send me the make and model of your controller. Also, do you have a pump or master valve on your system? That would be the only reason to have wiring to the master valve terminals.
I didn't mean you did wrong, I meant that Hunter is wrong for not selling the needed parts separately, making people buy the whole unit. Often in cases like this a smaller company will make the needed parts and sell them. Probably they would sell the 2 parts you used together (2 parts in a little cellophane bag), for much less than Hunter sells the whole unit. What are the names of the 2 parts, so we can search for them on the internet?
The only parts I know of you can buy for a sprinkler valve are the diaphragm and solenoid. These parts often cost almost as much as a new valve which is why I normally buy a new valve instead. When searching online enter the Make+Model+Part. For example: "Hunter PGV-100G Solenoid"
Hi kerry john agin witch valves do u like 4 rb or hunter and witch sprinklers do u use i use rb and hunter pgb sprinklers i just want 2 know if there is beter in rb or hunter witch do u pefere
@@Iscaper Are Hunter and Rain Bird spray heads and rotors interchangeable (assuming you get like-for-like sized parts)? Or do you have to stay homogenous to the entire system? My controller/timer is a Hunter Pro-C (will eventually swap it for a smart-home Rachio3 timer), my valves and solenoid are Hunter as well. The spray heads and rotors in the ground I haven't taken one apart yet to check. Thanks for your reply in advance.
I noticed that my water meter (triangle) has started to slowly spin when I turn on the main water valve to my sprinkler system. The sprinkler system is off so the sprinklers valves should be closed. Is this a sign that one or more of my sprinkler valves are going bad?
I would double check that the dial only spins when you turn the sprinkler system on. If so, then somewhere in the sprinkler system you have a leak. It could be a seeping valve, a leak in the manifold, a leaking automatic drain if you have them, or a leak in the piping somewhere in the sprinkler supply line. The valves are the first place I'd check. If the dial is spinning slowly, it may take some time for the leak to be visible. If it's a seeping valve you should be able to hear the water going through the valve when the valve is off.
iScaper1 Over the weekend, I checked my valves and found 1 had a bad diaphragm. This is a hunter valve and the plastic sleeve that fits around the rubber diaphragm broke. I noticed the other valves plastic sleeve were not broken but started to come apart. My system is 10 years old. I will probably have to fix the other valves in the future. Thanks for your reply.
How in all of hell do you find valves? We are in what was the model home of the neighborhood and so far as I can tell the install is a cluster fvck. It is a 7 segment Hunter setup with an older Pro-C. The only valves I know of (by accident when tilling for a garden) is a pair in the back yard diagonally opposite the garage where the control unit is mounted and I've run into red power feed in the middle of the backyard. The #1 segment is not coming on. It is the main section for the flower beds and front yard but I have zero clue what to do... I have considered a metal detector though....
+niqhtt Were the valves you found in a valve box? Valves are usually located in a valve boxes, often rectangular with the top of the valve boxes flush with the surface of the ground . If your valves aren't it can be a nightmare finding them. You may have cut the timer wire to the valve that won't come on when you were tilling. To find the other valves you may have to rent a line locator to find them. Keep me posted.
found 2 valves in a box by tilling.. pulled the round cover off a cone shaped boxed. It was another place in the yard that I cut a wire with a shovel in December. So far as the non-working valve in the front yard I've no clue. We are on a corner lot and the front is pretty big. There is no indication of anything under ground as the grass is really aggressive and wherever they are is completely grown over.
@@Iscaper after the bonnet is off, even just turning on for a couple of seconds fills box with water, its pretty hard to gauge that and keep water out of box. Lots of dead bugs, twigs, leave etc have accumulated over the past 15 or so years they end up sucking back in - then that process has to be repeated and there is now a muddy wet yucky everything. How do you do this and keep valve box dry? that's a lot of time and as I've said its just plain messy -
@@johnnygarcia3761 If you're flushing the valve you either need a low spot inside the valve box or just outside the valve for the water to drain into so it doesn't go into the valve. Sometimes that requires a bit of digging to create the low spot.
@@Iscaper I had never thought of sucking things out of a valve body. Actually I'm a contractor in Utah and got tired as have many techs that I've spoken with are of the hassle trying to properly flush a valve prior to replacing the diaphragm. I've watched Hunter's video which is not a real world scenario and they clean not replace the diaphragm. I have discussed properly flushing a valve with at least 35 contractors/tech's from various parts of the country. Every single one has said a valve can't be flushed properly while keeping the valve box completely dry. Most valve boxes after 15 yrs are full of small dead bugs, leaves, twigs etc that generally float around and manage to get in the valve body creating another task. I would like to send you a tool that I made that flushes a Hunter PGV series or the Rainbird DVS series 1" valve. In Utah these are the most popular valves. I sure hope you'll take me up on my offer. Also I'm wondering if there is a forum online that various issues are discussed pertaining to the service industry. I do believe you're in Florida - let me know it won't cost you anything. To those I've sent the comments ranged from - How did you think of this? to I was going to make this but never followed thru - to where can I get these for our service trucks. Hope to hear from you
iScaper1 Did that this morning and it did the trick.....Was a pain finding a valve that old but found one a PGV vavle at Hydroscape in San Diego......Thank You so Much Scaper :)
iScaper1 I had the same problem with my Hunter ASV 101 and I am glad I found your video. Thank you! You saved me hundreds of dollars, because I was about to call the repairman!
Solenoid has two wires, one goes to the common wire to the timer and the other goes to the station wire to the timer. It doesn't matter which solenoid wire you use for these connections.
PROBLEM: My Sprinkler System would run in one of the sections despite no power to the System. I swapped the diaphragm with the sector B valve. No change. That told me its not a diaphragm issue. Its either the valve or the solenoid. I was ignorant so I replaced sector A and B valves since they were out of date anyway. After 3 days I was done. Now Sectors B and C were running despite the system being off. SOLUTION: Turns out...after replacing the valves, sectors B and C were running because I didn't tighten the solenoids tight enough. Then I thought to myself......could that have been the original issue! Did I spend 3 days digging around the tightest dumbest spot these valves could have been placed, and replaced 2 of them, when all I probably needed to do was tighten the solenoid?!?!. Jesus. Fortunately I do not know 100% if that would have resolved the issue, but either way I upgraded and learned a few thing on my journey....so there are a few positives. But Yeah, turn the solenoid on tight, but be careful not to strip it. If your sprinklers are running and the system is off its either the Diaphragm, debris in the valve, or the solenoid needs to be tightened. If all else fails, research some more before replacing the valve, but don't be afraid to replace the valve. If your going to replace the valve, you may need some wire nuts, stainless steel clamp rings if attaching pvc to pex or similar, pvc, male/female union, pvc cutters and so-on. I even used a hair dryer to bend the pvc. Hell I may even offer my services in the neighborhood. You can get parts at an irrigation store, or a home depot/lowes type place. Folks at the irrigation store I would assume would have a bit more knowledge though.
He bought a whole new valve and removed 2 small simple parts from it, and installed these parts in his old valve. So he discarded the main part of the new valve? These 2 small parts should be sold separately, and much more cheaply. What a waste!
Yes I installed the top half of the new valve onto the bottom half of the old valve. Otherwise I would of had to dig up the valve box and cut the zone piping to get the old valve out and replace it with the complete new valve. That would have taken another couple of hours to accomplish. What's the bigger waste, using the top half of the new valve to make the repair in just a few minutes or spending a couple of hours to replace the old valve?
I wholeheartedly second iScaper1's approach. I had a leaky PGV-101G valve (leaking as in not completely turning the 'downstream' flow off, causing muddy spots on my lawn adjacent to some low-lying sprinkler heads), and applying iScaper1's fixing approach saved me a lot of time.
I think this is a great way to essentially replace the old valve with a new one but without having to go through all of the digging, cutting, and gluing. My valve was much older than the one shown in the video but the upper half of a new one that I bought at Home Depot fit perfectly and fixed the problem (the old one was stuck open and I wasn't able to manually rotate the solenoid).
@James Hannum: I needed to replace the diaphragms in four of my PGV-101 valves. The cost of the entire valve was less than the cost of the diaphragm. The two distributors in my area don't stock the repair parts, only the complete valve, so I bought the valves and disposed of the parts I didn't need. Since the body of the valve doesn't have any moving parts and is difficult to remove because of the pipe fittings, I disposed of the new body with the old components.
I can't tell you how helpful this was. I just moved to FL and the whole sprinkler system world is new to me. You saved me so much time and frustration. Not to mention money. You rock.
A great video. Helped me repair my system after numerous pipe breaks due to landscaper digging. Broken pipe pieces and rocks found right under the gaskets! Thank you!
I just wanted you to know that your video allowed me to easily repair my Hunter valve for my irrigation system. Thank you!
Thanks Ralph for the feedback.
Thank you.took the mystery out of what to expect. Followed your direction, cleaned not replaced, all top parts. Works perfect now. Just make sure the white plastic ring is replaced correctly. I put mine in upside down and prevented top to bottom sealing correctly
Lifesaver! Here in AZ fixing these yourself is a high commodity!!!
I really find your sprinkler videos useful. Could you maybe set up a video on how to figure out a sprinkler system by using a ditch witch using 1" poly pipe like how to layout where to put the heads and irrigation boxes. Also installing the Hunter Pro-C timer including mounting it into mason in the basement. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback.
Thank you for your time. Much help,appreciate it.
@colejennette
Thanks for the feedback. It's nice to hear my videos are helpful.
Great vid I'm going to do this fix tomorrow!
Normally in pump type systems there are wires running from the master valve terminals on the timer to a relay that will start a pump, in your case the well pump. If that's your case you should be able to bypass the master valve in the basement because the timer would turn on the well pump and the station valves without needing the master valve in the basement. I'm trying to reason out why you would need the master valve. Is there a code requirement in you area concerning master valves?
Awsome video man keep the educational video up
you can test the sillinoid by using one from another valve!
Excellent video. I was looking for a repair kit, however, the buying a new one like you suggested works too.
Thanks Joe for the feedback.
Thanks, great tutorial!
You said the system is run off a well. Does the well pump kick on when you are watering the yard? Do you have pressure tanks storing water? Not quite sure I understand how your system works yet. Sounds like the valve in the basement is a master valve. It shouldn't leak. Have you tried a different type of valve? I need a little more info before I can be much help. When the timer kicks on does it open the master valve in the basement & turn on the well pump from the timer?
thanks for the help/video!
this video is very helpful!!
your gonna put me out of a job with all this helpful info! lol
Thanks for the comment.
See my video on How to Design a Sprinkler System. Are you thinking of plowing the poly pipe in with a Ditch Witch?
Somewhere on the top of the valve it should say what make it is. You might need to take a flashlight to look. Some valves have the model also. I would guess you have a Toro valve given that everything else is Toro, but you want to be sure especially if you're buying valve parts.
thx for simplifying this task.
thanks iScaper
Thanks, living in S/W Florida I don't know why they still bury the valves but mine are really buried.
Hello,
Thank you for the details.
Very informative thanks 🙏
Great videos. Are we supposed to have water sitting inside that green sprinkler valve box? If not, is there an easy way to drain it?
Thank you. Something that makes sense. Question how do you tell what type of in line valve you have. My controller says Toro.my heads say Toro. so can I assume my in line valve is Toro?
It does have 4 bolts as shown in your video.
Nice PVC unions! I suppose I could add one to mine. Around here we use black poly tube, not PVC
I watched the video on your repair. Nice job.
Liked you info my problem my sprinkler will not work unless we leave the bleeder open some do anyone know why hunter pvp
@@shirleydavenport5265 Can you start the valve from the timer? If not, first step in troubleshooting is test power at the valve from the timer. You should have 24-29 volts. Black probe from tester on the common wire and red probe on the station wire. If you have power at the valve I would try changing the solenoid. Be sure to turn off water before removing the solenoid.
I have a Hunter PGV Jar top valve that is located in my basement the sprinkler system feeds off of our main well from the house supply. From what i can gather it works as the main valve that turns the water on and off to the rest of the zone valves located out side the house in the green lawn box's like in your video. The problem is that this main valve is constantly dripping water from the weeping holes when the system is running. I have replaced valves twice but no change. Any ideas? thanks
I did what you showed in your clip but I did it the hard way. By trial and era and got the same result. Good job with the veido.
Thanks Dickie for the feedback.
Good video
Thanks!
The white plastic slotted rings with the holes has one area with no holes does that need to align in a particular position?
Thanks for watching.
Did that valve not have a seal ring at all???
Appreciate the excellent help! :-)
John Korstad
Thanks John for watching.
good video
Good video.
When I turn the larger screw in the middle of the top of the valve, water comes out of some of my drips, however when I stop turning the water stops coming out. Any ideas or maybe just replace the top half? It’s got a brand new working solenoid and diaphragm and worked fine for a few months after replacing the old solenoid and diaphragm.
Thanks!
That’s called a bleader valve all that is used for is releasing air out of the lines if there happens to be any while Turing the main feed back on!
Thanks for the video. If my valve box is flooded with water, what is the best way to go about. Also should I shutoff power, water, etc. before I start working inside the box. Thanks for your time.
Turn the timer and water off, then get a hand pump and suck all of the water out of the valve box. Turn the water back on and see if you can isolate where the leak is.
Awesome Video. Do you have to shut off the water before you do this process?
Yes.
excellent instruction, Thanks
Common sense approach. Good video.
Thanks for watching.
I reinstalled our sprinkler pump (we pump out of the river), primed it and turned it on. We opened The spigot we have on top of the pump and it had good pressure. When i manually turned on the zones hardly any water would come out. I have a feeling we got some debris in the main line from it sitting open all winter. Can u give me a good place to start looking for the clog ? By the manifold box? The controller seemed to be operating fine. We have a hunter system also. Thanks for the feed back
Debris in sprinkler piping is a nightmare to troubleshoot. You often have to dig up sections of the piping, flush the line to that point, then move on to the next section and repeat the process. In my experience debris tends to get pushed to an elbow or manifold by the water pressure, then stops at the elbow or sprinkler valve. I would recommend starting at a manifold, remove the top half of the sprinkler valves, see if there is any debris, then flush the valves while the top half of the valves are removed. Be sure to shut off the water before removing the top half of the valves. If there is an elbow before or after the manifold, that could be a trouble spot also.
iScaper1 , thank you! I removed the top half of one valve to see if anything was in there and then reinstalled. I didn’t know I can back flow it from there, I’ll take another look
John, what is the object that is inline just before the valve you repaired? It's at about a 45 degree angle. It's about even to the union on the other valve. My system has one of these, but larger. No idea what it is.
Hi Dave, it's Kerry not John. It's an inline filter. You remove the threaded cap to access the filter.
I have a RB system. My power wire was bad, I guess it got cut during digging, but I ran a new wire to check system at valves. I have 26.6 volts at valves, but no water is coming out of sprinklers. I have 5 zones and none are responding to system. I don't think I could have 5 bad valves. What could the issue be?
Sounds like you may have the sprinkler valves wired incorrectly. Make sure the common wire (usually the white wire) from the timer is connected to one wire from each of the solenoids on the sprinkler valves. So you will have 5 wires from the solenoids (one from each sprinkler valve) connected to the single common wire going to the timer. The other wire on each solenoid connects to a single station wire coming from the timer.
Do you have to turn off the electric to work on the valves and wiring?
mayrap39 no, from the valves to the controller it's low voltage.
I noticed that you didn't check the bleed line under the solenoid into the line. In your experience is a clogged bleed line rarely if ever an issue?
I've only run into one port under the solenoid that was plugged. I do check them anyway.
Good morning Kerry I love your video do u like those hunter valves I am estate a job and I know the customer wants a good price I normally use rainbird pga100 valves what is your appion on hunter I like the slim line valve but I have never used them I would realy. App your info on them have a blessed day Kerry
The Rain Bird 100-DVF is my favorite valve. They seem competitive in cost with sprinkler valves of other manufacturers. I like to stick with valves I don't have trouble with. Hunter valves are a good second choice.
Friend I have a problem you can connect a float sensor to the valve Hunter PGV-101G for cutting float sensor valve when the maximum fill a swimming pool and also with how much voltage does the solenoid of the pd solenoid: thanks for your video and your time
Most solenoids on sprinkler valves accept 24VAC from the timer, although most timers I work with output around 29 volts.
gracias por tu respuesta se agradece yo solo trabajo en electricidad varias y mantencion de válvulas manuales y me interesa trabajar en esto de las válvulas eléctricas para tener el máximo de experiencia
rodrigo parra
I'm not sure if lawn sprinkler valves in other countries operate with the same power demands as valves here in the US. You should check if there is a difference.
bueno aqui el solenoide tiene 24 volt para la electrovalvula y el flotador igual opera en 24 volt para eso necesito un rele y un control . gracias por su comentario
Hi John, My controller immediately goes back to the time of day when I try to manually water a zone. Is this indicative of the master valve gone bad?
Hi Greg, it's Kerry not John. Check that the station you're trying to manually water has time on it on that program. If that doesn't work send me the make and model of your controller. Also, do you have a pump or master valve on your system? That would be the only reason to have wiring to the master valve terminals.
I didn't mean you did wrong, I meant that Hunter is wrong for not selling the needed parts separately, making people buy the whole unit. Often in cases like this a smaller company will make the needed parts and sell them. Probably they would sell the 2 parts you used together (2 parts in a little cellophane bag), for much less than Hunter sells the whole unit.
What are the names of the 2 parts, so we can search for them on the internet?
The only parts I know of you can buy for a sprinkler valve are the diaphragm and solenoid. These parts often cost almost as much as a new valve which is why I normally buy a new valve instead. When searching online enter the Make+Model+Part. For example: "Hunter PGV-100G Solenoid"
Hi kerry john agin witch valves do u like 4 rb or hunter and witch sprinklers do u use i use rb and hunter pgb sprinklers i just want 2 know if there is beter in rb or hunter witch do u pefere
Hi John. I like the Rain Bird 100DVF valves, the 1804 spray heads, the 3504 rotors for smaller turf areas, and the 5004 rotors for bigger turf areas.
@@Iscaper Are Hunter and Rain Bird spray heads and rotors interchangeable (assuming you get like-for-like sized parts)? Or do you have to stay homogenous to the entire system? My controller/timer is a Hunter Pro-C (will eventually swap it for a smart-home Rachio3 timer), my valves and solenoid are Hunter as well. The spray heads and rotors in the ground I haven't taken one apart yet to check. Thanks for your reply in advance.
Is there a way to increase the pressure/ flow from that valve?
The knob in the center of the valve is the flow control. You twist it clockwise to reduce flow and counter clockwise to increase flow.
I have a question rather than a comment. In order to have the valves work the valve has to be completely closed?
Yes, valves are in the closed/off position. Power from the timer activates the solenoid to turn the valve on.
gzz dude what setting do you use on the multimeter?????????????????????????
Vac
If not a dc latching solenoid....
I noticed that my water meter (triangle) has started to slowly spin when I turn on the main water valve to my sprinkler system. The sprinkler system is off so the sprinklers valves should be closed. Is this a sign that one or more of my sprinkler valves are going bad?
I would double check that the dial only spins when you turn the sprinkler system on. If so, then somewhere in the sprinkler system you have a leak. It could be a seeping valve, a leak in the manifold, a leaking automatic drain if you have them, or a leak in the piping somewhere in the sprinkler supply line. The valves are the first place I'd check. If the dial is spinning slowly, it may take some time for the leak to be visible. If it's a seeping valve you should be able to hear the water going through the valve when the valve is off.
iScaper1 Over the weekend, I checked my valves and found 1 had a bad diaphragm. This is a hunter valve and the plastic sleeve that fits around the rubber diaphragm broke. I noticed the other valves plastic sleeve were not broken but started to come apart. My system is 10 years old. I will probably have to fix the other valves in the future. Thanks for your reply.
gfrnndz
Good luck.
How in all of hell do you find valves?
We are in what was the model home of the neighborhood and so far as I can tell the install is a cluster fvck. It is a 7 segment Hunter setup with an older Pro-C. The only valves I know of (by accident when tilling for a garden) is a pair in the back yard diagonally opposite the garage where the control unit is mounted and I've run into red power feed in the middle of the backyard. The #1 segment is not coming on. It is the main section for the flower beds and front yard but I have zero clue what to do...
I have considered a metal detector though....
+niqhtt
Were the valves you found in a valve box? Valves are usually located in a valve boxes, often rectangular with the top of the valve boxes flush with the surface of the ground . If your valves aren't it can be a nightmare finding them. You may have cut the timer wire to the valve that won't come on when you were tilling. To find the other valves you may have to rent a line locator to find them. Keep me posted.
found 2 valves in a box by tilling.. pulled the round cover off a cone shaped boxed. It was another place in the yard that I cut a wire with a shovel in December. So far as the non-working valve in the front yard I've no clue. We are on a corner lot and the front is pretty big. There is no indication of anything under ground as the grass is really aggressive and wherever they are is completely grown over.
+niqhtt
It a good sign that you found valves in a box. Odds are the other valves are in boxes also, they may just be covered over.
Search the internet for a "chatterbox" , this will help find your valves.
how do you get the grit - sediment out of valve body once the bonnet removed?
You can turn on the water supply for a couple of seconds to flush the valve, or you could use something to suck the debris out.
@@Iscaper after the bonnet is off, even just turning on for a couple of seconds fills box with water, its pretty hard to gauge that and keep water out of box. Lots of dead bugs, twigs, leave etc have accumulated over the past 15 or so years they end up sucking back in - then that process has to be repeated and there is now a muddy wet yucky everything. How do you do this and keep valve box dry? that's a lot of time and as I've said its just plain messy -
@@johnnygarcia3761 If you're flushing the valve you either need a low spot inside the valve box or just outside the valve for the water to drain into so it doesn't go into the valve. Sometimes that requires a bit of digging to create the low spot.
@@Iscaper I had never thought of sucking things out of a valve body. Actually I'm a contractor in Utah and got tired as have many techs that I've spoken with are of the hassle trying to properly flush a valve prior to replacing the diaphragm. I've watched Hunter's video which is not a real world scenario and they clean not replace the diaphragm.
I have discussed properly flushing a valve with at least 35 contractors/tech's from various parts of the country. Every single one has said a valve can't be flushed properly while keeping the valve box completely dry. Most valve boxes after 15 yrs are full of small dead bugs, leaves, twigs etc that generally float around and manage to get in the valve body creating another task. I would like to send you a tool that I made that flushes a Hunter PGV series or the Rainbird DVS series 1" valve. In Utah these are the most popular valves. I sure hope you'll take me up on my offer. Also I'm wondering if there is a forum online that various issues are discussed pertaining to the service industry. I do believe you're in Florida - let me know it won't cost you anything. To those I've sent the comments ranged from - How did you think of this? to I was going to make this but never followed thru - to where can I get these for our service trucks. Hope to hear from you
I have the Hunter ASV-101 valve and changed the diaphragm....But it still leaking out of the center of the valve....what should change or check next?
I would buy a new valve and replace the top half of the old valve with the parts from the top half of the new valve.
iScaper1 Did that this morning and it did the trick.....Was a pain finding a valve that old but found one a PGV vavle at Hydroscape in San Diego......Thank You so Much Scaper :)
hitman6191
Great, thanks for the information and the feedback.
iScaper1 I had the same problem with my Hunter ASV 101 and I am glad I found your video. Thank you! You saved me hundreds of dollars, because I was about to call the repairman!
Kouglizia
Thanks for the feedback.
does it matter if the wires are reversed?
No, either wire from the solenoid can be used as the station wire. Make sure the other wire is used for the common.
@@Iscaper thanks.
Doesn't matter which wire goes where on that solenoid....???????.....
Solenoid has two wires, one goes to the common wire to the timer and the other goes to the station wire to the timer. It doesn't matter which solenoid wire you use for these connections.
dude! you forgot to flush the system before you screw the new piece on o:
PROBLEM: My Sprinkler System would run in one of the sections despite no power to the System. I swapped the diaphragm with the sector B valve. No change. That told me its not a diaphragm issue. Its either the valve or the solenoid. I was ignorant so I replaced sector A and B valves since they were out of date anyway. After 3 days I was done. Now Sectors B and C were running despite the system being off.
SOLUTION: Turns out...after replacing the valves, sectors B and C were running because I didn't tighten the solenoids tight enough. Then I thought to myself......could that have been the original issue! Did I spend 3 days digging around the tightest dumbest spot these valves could have been placed, and replaced 2 of them, when all I probably needed to do was tighten the solenoid?!?!. Jesus. Fortunately I do not know 100% if that would have resolved the issue, but either way I upgraded and learned a few thing on my journey....so there are a few positives. But Yeah, turn the solenoid on tight, but be careful not to strip it. If your sprinklers are running and the system is off its either the Diaphragm, debris in the valve, or the solenoid needs to be tightened. If all else fails, research some more before replacing the valve, but don't be afraid to replace the valve. If your going to replace the valve, you may need some wire nuts, stainless steel clamp rings if attaching pvc to pex or similar, pvc, male/female union, pvc cutters and so-on. I even used a hair dryer to bend the pvc. Hell I may even offer my services in the neighborhood. You can get parts at an irrigation store, or a home depot/lowes type place. Folks at the irrigation store I would assume would have a bit more knowledge though.
Yeah, a solenoid cracked open would do what you describe.
He bought a whole new valve and removed 2 small simple parts from it, and installed these parts in his old valve. So he discarded the main part of the new valve? These 2 small parts should be sold separately, and much more cheaply. What a waste!
Yes I installed the top half of the new valve onto the bottom half of the old valve. Otherwise I would of had to dig up the valve box and cut the zone piping to get the old valve out and replace it with the complete new valve. That would have taken another couple of hours to accomplish. What's the bigger waste, using the top half of the new valve to make the repair in just a few minutes or spending a couple of hours to replace the old valve?
I wholeheartedly second iScaper1's approach. I had a leaky PGV-101G valve (leaking as in not completely turning the 'downstream' flow off, causing muddy spots on my lawn adjacent to some low-lying sprinkler heads), and applying iScaper1's fixing approach saved me a lot of time.
I think this is a great way to essentially replace the old valve with a new one but without having to go through all of the digging, cutting, and gluing. My valve was much older than the one shown in the video but the upper half of a new one that I bought at Home Depot fit perfectly and fixed the problem (the old one was stuck open and I wasn't able to manually rotate the solenoid).
You can buy the parts alone, but if you need the solenoid, and dia. it's cheaper to buy the whole valve.
@James Hannum: I needed to replace the diaphragms in four of my PGV-101 valves. The cost of the entire valve was less than the cost of the diaphragm. The two distributors in my area don't stock the repair parts, only the complete valve, so I bought the valves and disposed of the parts I didn't need. Since the body of the valve doesn't have any moving parts and is difficult to remove because of the pipe fittings, I disposed of the new body with the old components.