Hi r/Irrigation,

Our community of ~50 townhomes has struggled with irrigation and plant maintenance for many years, and recently onboarded a new landscaper that has recommended improvements to help with the irrigation. They have recommended to us:

1. Drip System Operation Pop-Up Visual Indicators, and
2. Smart Controllers

As potential upgrades for our existing drip system. However, with the community being filled with first time homeowners who have not had to maintain a lawn, we are unsure what upgrades are worth prioritizing, and what may be not the best long term investment.

Fairly unfamiliar with the topic area, so please let me know if anything is unclear or I am missing important information. Any help is appreciated!

I’m in Phoenix and on this sub to find out what I’m doing wrong because my Orbit valves leak out of the box. Now that you’ve taught me to stay out of Home Depot - thanks for that - I don’t know where to go. Anyone around Phoenix know a good local shop that sells to the public? Thanks in advance!

Modern DV's show the Day, month and year. This one just says "01GM" i imagine 01 is the year and GM is the manufacturer?

Hi all, I've recently added in some pop up sprinklers. I'm using K-Rain Pro S 360° pop ups (0-10L/h) 3.3m radius They're run along a 19mm pipe My tap has a 42.7L/h flow rate however I'm using a digital tap controller which restricts it to 27L/h.

My issue is: when the sprinklers are attached straight to the tap it's fine. When it's controlled through the digital timer it barely pops out of the ground. I've removed the wire mesh flow restricted which helped marginally. My question is: how many pop ups can I run on the 1 line before I need to add another? Any assistance would be appreciated :)

What principles do you take into account when placing the valve boxes? When do you put all the solenoid valves in one box? When do you use more than one? What is the basis for placing them in the yard? I like to use several valve boxes with separate shut-off valves, as this way I use less pipe and it is more clear to me. According to a colleague of mine, this is not ideal because 1) this requires longer and more complex electrical wiring, 2) the system is less clear 3) in the event of a pipe break, it is more difficult to find the fault 4) the system is under continuous pressure over a larger section. What do you think about this?

The unit stopped working, but with number 1 in the picture, the manual release valve still works. I tried to disassemble and clean or replace but where number 2 is in the picture, it’s stuck somehow and I’m too afraid to break the pcv pipes if I get too rough. Any advice on what to do next?

One of my zones suffers from low pressure. Its not the number of heads, I suspect there is dirt in the lines. I would just remove one of the heads and run it for 30 seconds to flush it out. Is this the best way?

I'm trying to fit some ribbed PVC tubing over some barbed fittings - looks similar to this stuff:

https://docs.rs-online.com/d873/0900766b8155379a.pdf

https://preview.redd.it/tvq8v5tw4pge1.png?width=1918&format=png&auto=webp&s=e72c70f363e5e61a6cc8ebbb29e8d78abe04c7b4

Anyway - I figured I could use some heat to soften it slightly, to fit it easier.

Assuming I have a temperature controlled heat gun (example) - what temperature should I be setting it the heat gun to, to soften the plastic, without causing any permanent deformation (or potentially off-gassing anything I shouldn't be breathing)?

The water bill in my new home increases every month. The meter does not move when no water is running, so leaks like running toilets are not the problem. I am suspecting the irrigation system. Maybe a problem with the backflow valve or a broken pipe. Would that explain why the bill increases every month even after I reduced the total time it runs? Any thoughts?

By water increase, I mean than with every month there are more gallons of water being used per month. If the run time is constant, and there is the same leak (one), why would the gallons increased?

I also expect that with a leak, there would be erosion or that area would be green compared to the rest, but all the grass looks the same.

Thanks all.

How much revenue do the top technicians do in a year for service / repair work? In lawn care it is roughly 200-300k

I do have boots and muck boots at work if I need them during the day. But I normally try to find something more sneaker like. We are a golf resort, lot of walking. I tend to just embrace that they are gonna get wet occasionally. I wear mudgear socks and usually sneakers made for like Spartan Races. So It all drys out fast. But I would love something waterproof in a similar style while still staying comfortable.

All the full waterproof low tops I see seem like a small muck boot and makes me think they are gonna be blister heaven.

First, money is no issue at my company at the moment. I don’t have to budget shop. And, we have a big trencher, this would be in addition to our big one.

The biggest electric is $3200 and goes 20 inches max depth. $3000 for the 16 inch.

Biggest gas is $2600 and goes 27 inches depth. $2500 for the 20 inch. $2000 16inch.

I was considering the 27 inch gas. Cheaper and more torque than the electric. I only need 12 inch depth most of the time, but the ability to go 20 or 27 seems nice. Part of me thinks I might be happier with the 20 inch so it’s a little smaller to work with.

Thoughts on the Georipper? Anyone own one?

https://youtube.com/shorts/I3Rp_bEZopA?si=1-LPc827mdvXD1sm

Is a slip fix the way to go to fix this?

I’m admittedly a newbie to this but really want to learn.

I have rainbird DVF valves and bought an orbit timer that came with its own solenoid. It stated it would work with most brand’s including rainbird. However the solenoid lets the sprinkler run non stop even with the timer off.

The valve fits tight and came with a little adapter that was a perfect fit. The bleeder is completely off.

What am I doing wrong here?? Any help is appreciated!

Photo for reference.

I've bought a house recently and marking out the sprinkler heads now.

The system is run by "Hunter Pro HC 12 zone" WiFi controller. The red dots are large "K-Rain K1" gear drive heads. The blue dots are "Pope MicroJet" either directly in the line or on little stakes.

I'm having problems with pipes continuously bursting off at the joins (could be last owner didn't tighten them properly, black poly ratchet clamp) and pin prick holes appearing in line. Today was a crack in the line about 4cm. None of it is buried. I'm thinking it may be sun damaged and cracking OR the pressure is too strong. It all looks fine (black, not going white/grey).

In the near future I'm wanting to put in fruit trees and water for them.

I'm wondering if I'm going to need to replace all the pipes/tubes if they're possibly sun damaged?

Hey all

I need to run a long length of 5 core cable.. few questions from me

1. Do you guys put these wires into some kind of conduit to protect them in the ground?
2. The amount of line comes to 50m per roll, thats not enough length. Can I wire two 5 core 50m rolls together? If so, at the join site, how do you protect the join?
3. I plan to zip tie the wire to one of the irrigation poly pipes so it doesn’t get lost

Cheers

Curious to hear what people make on the gross and EBITDA margin for both service and install? Is it possible to make any money on the install. I’m hearing that some people make north of 30% operating income on the service side.

I moved into a house with a Hunter irrigation system. Two stations. After reading the manual I am at a loss of how the Solar Sync is supposed to work or if it is even working. I'm in California and the water usage is very strict:

Winter: Sunday watering, no water usage other days, no water usage 48 hours after rain

Summer: Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday watering, no water usage other days, no water usage 48 hours after rain

There's no limitation on how long sprinklers can run.

How is the Solar Sync supposed to jive with this schedule? Does the Solar Sync act as a rain sensor? Will it cover the 48 hours requirement? How do I know if it's working correctly?

I have identified what I believe to be the sensor and it seems to be installed in the correct location. Does it use batteries?