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Sprinkler head pops up, but doesn't spray; underground leak

13 years ago

One of my sprinkler heads pops up, but doesn't spray water. I replaced it (Toro 570), but it still doesn't work. If I push down on it, water will gush up around the popped-up portion, so I know that water is at least flowing to the sprinkler head.

I also noticed that I have water flowing out of my lawn where there is no sprinkler. This spot is directly between the non-functional head and a working sprinkler head. Does this imply that I have an underground leak, and the loss of pressure isn't sufficient to push water out of the sprinkler head?

Thank you,

Ryan

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Comments (3)

lehua49
13 years ago
Ryan,

That is a valid assumption as well as soil clods or debris has blocked the outlet orifice. Aloha
ryan2010
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks lehua.

I replaced the sprinkler head with a new one, and still had the same problem. I also checked the plastic filter inside it, and it was clean.

When I accidentally removed the sprinkler head with the water on, water gushed out of the empty socket. I didn't have a way of measuring the pressure, but to me it seemed a large amount, like a 4" tall fountain gushing out of the ground. How much pressure is needed to push water out of a sprinkler head?

Also, I was able to get the adjustable sprinkler head to spray a 5-10 degree spray of water, but opening it further would turn off the spray. This could confirm the assumption that the sprinkler head needs a minimum amount of pressure to spray effectively, and wasn't receiving it.
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It's totally possible Jeremy, a Die is commonly use for making threads on blank steel bolt not to mention on plastic material such as riser pipe , you can acquire them at some hardware stores. The idea is to customize your own length, whether to resume a used broken pipe or start from a blank riser, a coupler is also an option but lesser the joint the better the performance, my pipe breaks often by accident from garden service and I am tire of running to stores for parts. Photo Houzz Photo
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Hi Craniac, Could be all the above. 9 gpm doesn't tell the whole story but is a start. You need to find out the pressure of the system. There are inexpensive pressure meters ($10 at HD) that screw on to your house connection point. This will be the system pressure of your house after your house pressure regulator in the garage. Your irrigation system can be connected before or after your house pressure regulator. I would guess with 16 heads your connected before the regulator and have street pressure which should be 60 to 80 psi. The house regulator limits this to 40-60 psi for appliances and faucet o-rings safety. Easiest is checking the heads for clogging. Unscrew irrig. head and look inside and clean. Let us know the system pressure and then we can help you more. You may have a faulty valve, clogged filter etc. Tell us about more details of your system. Thanks. Aloha
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Depending in how the head is installed plays a big role in its longevity. All sprinkler heads should be at grade level. If your heads are below grade you can expect spray heads to last maybe only a year or two before they start staying stuck up or won't pop up. The diaphragm the other person was talking about is called a wiper seal. It is a rubber gasket around the shaft at the top of the sprinkler head. It gives the head a water tight seal and removes any debris as the head retracts.
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lehua49
13 years ago
Ryan,

Sounds like a pressure problem. 4" height of water coming from a 1/2" hole is lacking good pressure. Three possibilities. 1) obstruction in the line from a break. 2) a valve that doesn't open fully. 3) something has lessened the source pressure like not having the main valve opened fully. First check that all valves are fully opened and other zones operate normally. Check pressure from the house with an inexpensive pressure gauge, repair the apparent leak and flush the zone. Aloha

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