The Springtime Sprinkler Nightmare

[qslim]

I'm back to complain again. Fucking sprinklers. Every damn spring I turn this dumb system back on and just watch the geysers in my yard as sprinkler heads disintegrate and shoot their cores into orbit. Drive to Lowes, grab a few fittings & another head. Dig in the dirt, get shit all over my clothes - oh look at that, this sprinkler pipe is 1/2" for some reason despite every other fitting in my patch of earth being 3/4". Cool, back to Lowe's it is.

On my second trip today I just had enough and I spent $85 on triplicates of every possible barb, adapter, 90 degree fitting, 3-ways (not the fun kind), flex hoses, and several varieties of sprinkler heads that circle, bubble, spew, & drench. The cashier was not happy because he had to scan about 300 PVC fittings one at a time, but screw it, I'm not going back there again for a $.32 PVC fitting. I now have enough bench stock to start my own business.

This next winter I'm going to look into how much it would cost to asphalt a 1/3 acre lot with drains for the dogs to piss in.

 

[Tomcat]

I feel your pain bro, I too went to Lowe's this morning to get some things for a plumbing project . Thinking I would beat the crowd, I went early grabbed my items and headed to checkout.
Much to my dismay there were 20 people in line waiting for the only cashier working. No self check and one idiot reminding everyone to keep their spacing.
I've decided I'm done fixing shit around the house till this crazy crap is over.

 

[Chris]

I feel your pain.

I was having that issue, as well as every spring when I turn them back on, some stations work, while other stations never even turn on. If I go turn the stations on manually with the valve, then they will work, but the control unit won't turn them on.

Then after turning the non-working stations on with the valve, they'll work next time I turn the sprinklers on with the controller.

Pisses me the hell off!

At least I won't have a fucking lawn to take care on Arizona, thank goodness!

 

[Apparition]

My house I bought last fall has a sprinkler system, I haven’t had it on yet so I have no idea where anything is or how it works.

 

[qslim]

My house I bought last fall has a sprinkler system, I haven’t had it on yet so I have no idea where anything is or how it works.

Turn it on and let the fun begin! Has springtime even started up there?

 

[tworley]

Thankfully, mine has been somewhat easy to maintain. The first year we bought the house I did not winterize the system and the vacuum breaker cracked. I learned how to sweat pipe after that. The next year was trouble-free and last year I had a head crack (even though no water was in the system). I replaced it, fired the system up and the head blew off. My guess was a faulty new head. Replaced again and havent had an issue. I turned on the system a couple weeks ago for 2020, and no issues.

 

[cliffish]

Mine came on good this year. Last year 4 heads and a control valve needed replacing. Also one of the valves that was on a disonnected zone came on and I had bubbling water coming out under new brick work that had just been put down.

 

[Mr. Bills]

My sprinkler system burned up in the Carr Fire in 2018 along with 54 trees and all of my landscaping.

So this spring I replaced everything as my Covid-19 stay-at-home project. The sprinklers work perfectly, but that's because an irrigation expert set them up. Next year I rejoin the ranks of those with post-winter messed up sprinklers.

 

[TJ4Jim]

Have any of you guys blown out the system with compressed air in the fall ?

 

[Apparition]

Turn it on and let the fun begin! Has springtime even started up there?

It’s been pretty warm, grass is green but I’m not looking forward to mowing.

 

[Mr. Bills]

Have any of you guys blown out the system with compressed air in the fall ?

Never have. I had a drain valve at the low spot of the old system that removed enough of the water to eliminate the risk of burst pipes in a hard freeze. My current system has a sprinkler head in a low spot that serves essentially the same function.

 

[TJ4Jim]

Many moons ago when first starting out I did commercial sprinkler winterization in the NE and it was rare to have a problem in the spring.

 

[tworley]

Have any of you guys blown out the system with compressed air in the fall ?

I did it one year. I paid someone 40 bucks to come with an industrial compressor, blew them out for 5 min and left. Last year I only drained the valves, and made sure the vacuum breaker was empty and left the valves just barely cracked open.

 

[cliffish]

Yep for 50 bucks it ain't worth messing with, have them do it every year.

 

[Zorba]

I probably should put in a system here - but I've just been letting the grass^H^H^H^H^H^Hweeds die in the dry season, they come right back when the rains start in the spring. Our homes are all based on the English manor model - I think I'd rather have a middle eastern style house that is right at the sidewalk and looks inward to an atrium.

 

[jeepins]

I've been wondering if now would be an opportune time to put in a pool? Sorry if that's a Squatch Master Thread Derailer. For some reason lately every time I think about putting in a sprinkler I take it one level up and think about just putting in a pool.

 

[qslim]

I've been wondering if now would be an opportune time to put in a pool? Sorry if that's a Squatch Master Thread Derailer. For some reason lately every time I think about putting in a sprinkler I take it one level up and think about just putting in a pool.

I once had a sprinkler pipe in the middle of my front yard unbeknownst to me for an indeterminate period of time. It got to the point that the pipe excavated enough dirt to where a 3' section sunk into the ground one day. Pretty much a kiddie pool. A soggy grass muddy kiddie pool.

 

[jeepins]

Well sounds like you should've invited the ladies over and started some sort of fight

 

[qslim]

Well sounds like you should've invited the ladies over and started some sort of fight

Wife: "What the HELL is this?!"
Me: "Just working on the sprinklers honey <sprays more water in mud pit>"