So I discovered this head spraying directly into the fence. I grabbed some pliers and turned it clockwise to spray away from the fence, then it rotated right back to this same position spraying into the fence again. Is there a trick to these type of sprinkler heads? I need to turn it and have it spray away from the fence. If Reddit allows I’ll post a close up pic of the head type in the comments.

Hello all, I have a 4 zone system, 2 are sprinklers for a small back yard, the other 2 are drip systems for other landscaping.

When I actuate the sprinkler solenoids, I get horrible water hammer. It's like a jackhammer for about 2-3 seconds. One zone worse than the other. None of the drip systems have the same issue.

The issue occurs whether I open the valves via the solenoid or if I open them by hand

Where do I start with this? Can I add a water hammer arrestor on the loop with the backflow preventer that feeds the valve box? Are the sprinkler heads sized wrong? Do the valves open too quickly? I do not see any sort of water hammer arrestor on the piping going to the valve box, I believe my last home had one so that's why I asked about it first.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I just updated my Hydrawise app yesterday and found out that they finally put in a section for notes on controllers and zones. As a technician that manages 130 of these controllers on our campus this makes me really happy. Just thought I might share. Cheers!

I recently bought a house with existing irrigation, I somewhat understand whats going now after investigating - From what what I can see, there is one central control box for initiating the sprinklers, but each solenoid valve is scattered everywhere across the property which I assume means those wires are also stretching to each solenoid underground.

My question is, should I aim to dig up the solenoids and centralise them all into one place? It seems thats what most do from what I can see.

edit: was using solenoid instead of valve

Has anyone had any luck finding the decoder test results? I’ve got a customer with a 4G cellular cartridge in an LXD controller, and I see the option to run a decoder test, but I can’t find the results. Any help would be appreciated.

I have a 1/2 horsepower pump on a well. Running 1/2 inch line. Spray heads need to reach 25 feet in spray pattern. How many spray heads can I efficiently run on one line in this system?. Or, how do I go about figuring out what I need. Thank you for your expertise.

Need help diagnosing low flow/pressure to sprinkler zone
I recently moved into a rental home about two years ago, and I’m trying to get the irrigation system working properly.

When I first moved in, I noticed there was some flooding underneath the backyard spigot. I had maintenance come out to fix it. Apparently, their solution was to shut off the main water supply to the irrigation system. They never told me they had done that, so I had no idea the irrigation system had been shut off this entire time. That issue was fixed and it was related to the drip system leaking.
Most of the backyard is desert landscaping, so everything did fine without irrigation, but my grass eventually died.

Recently, a friend noticed that the irrigation main was shut off and turned it back on for me. Now I’m trying to get the sprinkler system working, but I’m getting extremely low flow/pressure from the sprinkler heads.
Here’s what I’ve figured out so far:

-I have a drip zone and a spray/sprinkler zone.

-The drip zone appears to work normally.

-The spray zone has 7 spray heads total that I originally didn’t even know were there, I only knew of 3.

-All of the spray heads have very weak flow when the zone is activated from the timer.

-I removed one of the sprinkler heads completely, and the water coming from the riser is still just a very weak trickle (I’d estimate well under 1 GPM).

-I removed the actual spray/nozzle from the sprinkler head as well, and it made no difference.

-I opened the manual bleed on the Hunter valve while the zone was running. It sprays water under pressure, but opening it didn’t increase the flow at the sprinklers.

-I manually opened the valve, and that also didn’t increase the flow.

-I swapped the solenoid with the solenoid from my working drip valve, and it made no difference.

-I removed the bonnet from the Hunter valve and inspected the diaphragm. It looks clean and intact, and I didn’t see any obvious debris or obstruction underneath it.

-There are no other irrigation valves/shutoffs that I’m aware of between this valve and the sprinklers.

-The valve is threaded directly into the PVC, so I haven’t tried removing it because I don’t want to damage the buried plumbing.

-The interesting part: I removed the closest sprinkler head and put my garden hose into the riser. When I did that, I was able to get all seven sprinkler heads to spray normally. This is when I discovered the 4 additional sprays.

So I know the underground lines are connected and water can reach all of the heads.
At this point I’m wondering if the problem is:

1. The Hunter valve isn’t opening/passing enough water and needs to be replaced.

2. There’s some kind of restriction between the valve and the first sprinkler.

3. The irrigation supply itself doesn’t have enough pressure/flow to run seven spray heads.

Does anyone with irrigation experience have any thoughts on what this points to?

Would replacing the Hunter valve be a reasonable next step, or is there another test I should do first to determine whether the problem is the valve or the supply line?
I’m trying to avoid digging up the yard unnecessarily, especially since this is a rental. Thanks!

Also, I've had my shitty rental company send out maintenance techs on 5 different occasions and they all just hmm and haww and pretend to fix something. Now they're saying that if it becomes too much of a problem they will just cap it and then no more grass. Cuz you know. Fuck me. That's why I'm taking this issue into my own hands.

TL;DR: Moved into a rental 2 years ago and maintenance unknowingly shut off the irrigation main after fixing a backyard leak. Just discovered it was off and turned it back on. Drip zone works fine, but the sprinkler zone has very low flow to all 7 heads.

I’ve tested the valve, manually opened it, opened the bleed, swapped solenoids, and inspected the diaphragm and all seem fine. Removing a sprinkler head/nozzle doesn’t improve flow.

However, if I put a garden hose into the closest sprinkler riser, all 7 heads spray normally.
So I’m trying to figure out whether I have a bad/restricted Hunter valve, a restriction between the valve and first sprinkler, or insufficient supply pressure/flow.

Would replacing the valve be the logical next step?

I’ve been looking into smart irrigation systems and wondering how practical they really are for everyday farming.

The idea is simple: use soil moisture data, automated valves, pump control, and mobile monitoring to manage irrigation instead of relying entirely on fixed schedules or manual operation.

For farmers managing multiple irrigation zones, it seems like automation could save a lot of time and make irrigation more consistent. But I’m curious about the real-world side of it.

For those already using irrigation automation:

• Has it actually reduced your workload?
• How reliable are soil moisture sensors?
• Is mobile-based irrigation control useful in practice?
• What was the biggest challenge during installation?

Would love to hear experiences from farmers or anyone working with farm irrigation technology.

So I've seen a few videos of what looks to be a Hunter PGP except the top of it is green. And I'm curious what the model of those are. Example: https://youtube.com/shorts/RO7UbmfKasU?si=n6DwJEc8-s_kXs5N (Disclaimer: I am not replacing any sprinklers nor do I own one of these. I am just curious.)

After a good two years with this setup, I came back home to find the main solenoid leaking and the plug burnt, broken but still working. The 6-zone system is controlled by a Rachio, which isn’t always very popular in this subreddit, but it has generally been great for my use. The plug that got burnt was feeding the Rachio (24VCA-1A) as an alternative to the official plug that is not adequate for the European voltage.

I’d like to understand why this could have happened so I can avoid the problem happening again. The electrician and two different plumbers I’ve asked have no answer, so I keep wondering whether the leaking solenoid caused the plug to overheat, or whether it was the other way around.

Just moved into a house with 1-1.3m tall photonia hedges that were planted a few years ago, not sure how many. They seem healthy but I would like them to reach around the 2 meters tall mark.

Previous owner left a drip system, should I use it/how often? Or should I just hose them?

Climate is southern Europe, hot summers, very very rare that it snows, and maxes out at around freezing temperature in winter, maybe a few weeks slightly below it. Quite humid all year long

Just getting introduced to some curve balls where the existing system on site's reality isn't what the central office responsible for ordering work requested. We were asked to replace a couple existing timers as part of a new addition project on a campus, and when asking the staff on site about the location of their existing timers, we found that they are using legacy computer software to control almost 100 zones off of 3 wells with a single two wire run.

Obviously, we can't have two controllers on the same wire. We would have to locate the current wire path and run a new wire to separate their current system for the two timers, and one of their supplies already maxes out the IVM at 60 zones.

This is a different scale than I'm used to dealing with, but all considered after review, it looks like the most practical solution is to ditch the multiple controller concept, tie in to their existing 2 wire, and have a single IVM Pro controller managing everything? This would have the single controller running 5 separate MVs/pump starts and probably about 150 zones. I did see the controllers are capable of multiple master valves so I expect the zones would be programmed to match the MV feeding that zone so it could still run the 5 systems concurrently.

Anything else to consider for reconfiguring in this manner? This should still give them some additional room to grow--which would be physically towards a future planned maintenance building on the property that could support a completely separate timer for the acreage they have left to run irrigation to, and at a much closer distance.

I finally hunted down one of my malfunctioning zone valves (with the aid of a clacker device) open it up and faced with this nest of wires. I'm guessing this is minimum 20 years old. Should I give up and call a pro?

THE BALL VALVE LABELS SHOULD SAY "FIP X FIP".

Go by the labels to identify what each piece is. The images are only intended to show you layout more than anything. GO BY THE LABELS PLEASE.

I've got a stub line coming off of a 1-in irrigation meter and then I'm branching to two sides. The left side is going to be a trunk line for four no freeze yard hydrants. The right side is going to go to a backflow and then to my irrigation setup which is drips.

I am doing it this way so I can leave those hydrants charged all year even after I blow out the irrigation side.

Attached to this post is an image of what I'm calling my starting manifold. The ball valves each have a union FACING the outside. The right ball valve actually has a drain built in intended to drain the riser leading to the backflow. (I put a piece of 6-in PVC pipe 16 in long in the ground under my manifold box with gravel in it. That way, when I open that drain it drains into that dry well.)

I decided to put a union after the stub and before the T. I'm doing this so that if I ever need to do work on this manifold I can literally just undo three unions (outer side of each ball valve and the union before the T.) which I can unscrew from the top very easily and just take the entire thing out if I ever need to do maintenance or repairs.

Am I just adding unnecessary complexity with that Union before the T?

Thanks.

Anyone have any good resources (Youtube preferred as visual learner) for learning how to build or add drip valves to above ground irrigation systems the right way and with good quality parts? Most of the youtube videos I see are in ground systems inside an irrigation valve box or attached to a battery operated hose timer.

Ideally I also want to learn how to install and test backflow, install irrigation system to code, and use the better quality parts such as schedule 80 above ground. I also want to learn how to tie in and support a copper hose bib.

I appreciate and admire the work that the pros do. I just want to learn how to do it myself for small projects.

saw on sprinkler warehouse the 3/4 inch k-rain rotors are dirt cheap right now, like less than 8 bucks. anyone have experience with these? whats the longevity like compared to rainbird rotors? I pull from lake water.

I have a rainbird irrigation system. I had a irrigation company come out and offer me a quote for a drip line installation and new foundation zone for the Rainbird. I love in North Texas and a foundation drip line or soaker hose is a must due to our clay soil.

They quoted $850 for the entire job. The controller does have space for an extra wire. I just want to know if this is something I can DIY for significantly cheaper or is this one of those things one really ought to hire a professional for?

For three years, we’ve been using the same company to perform regular maintenance on our irrigation system (it’s also the same company that the previous owner had used, so we knew they were familiar with the house and the system).

This year, for first time, they outsourced the backflow test to another company. And this new-to-us company said they were unable to open our test cocks and said they needed to be replaced, for about $650.

We did follow up with our original company (we’ve had no direct contact with the third party) and they said the current test cocks are a very expensive model, and there are less expensive options.

I know this is a thing that happens, but the fact that it was a new-to-us company for the first time made us wonder if “unable to open or remove test cocks” is a legit situation?

Thanks for any advice anyone can give.

ETA: I wasn't home for most of the day--and it was rainy--and by the time I got back, it was dark. But I'm going to try to take a photo tomorrow. Thanks to all for the information!

I saw today that Hunter added a controller replacement plan benefit to their Enthusiast program.

From the site:

Enthusiast plan subscribers are eligible for a controller replacement benefit of up to one replacement controller per plan per year, as long as their subscription remains active. To approve a replacement, the Hydrawise controller must be working when enrolled in the plan.

https://www.hunterirrigation.com/support/hydrawise-enthusiast-plan

I realized that my irrigation hasn't been running over the last several days. I investigated, and found we have a short in zone 7.

However, when I run through all the zones, none of them actually come on. Despite the controller showing progress, once zone 7 is reached, the program terminates entirely. It doesn't just skip the station.

Any ideas here? Thanks!

Does anyone know if we can get the swivels you routinely see on the premade setups? I have 100 feet of extra swing pipe and looking to make them instead of purchase

i’ve been complaining about the forecast accuracy ever since I bought two of these bhyve things. It’s ridiculous. I have no idea where they’re pulling the forecast from. the bhyve calendar forecasts match nothing... either in my specified weather station or in my home address.

Currently, my local forecast shows rain in two days out of the following eight or nine, however, B-hyve shows rain in the forecast for seven out of eight days. So it’s pushing out all of my scheduled waterings by eight or nine days, which will essentially kill all of my plants in 80-90° heat.

I wish they showed in the calendar what weather station they’re using to pull the data from. At least that way we could get an idea of what the heck is going on. Overall, the system works pretty well, but the lack of knowing where the weather data is coming and being able to select the correct source has me having to triple check it virtually every single day.

And yes I have specified a weather station for each of my stations but the calendar forecasts do not match them either in temperature or in rainfall forecast. Sometimes it’s a small difference sometimes it’s a huge difference and with the heat we get that means a yard full of dead plants or living ones.

Get your act together Orbit!!!

There’s no levers or knobs and don’t want to break something.

I bought a new build and splash block was blocking the sprinkler head causing all water to go down creating a hole. I had no idea even a sprinkler head was there. What can I use to fill this hole? Its pretty deep, can I use topsoil? Or sand first then topsoil?