Troubleshooting Pressure Issues In Your Sprinkler System
Posted on: 27 June 2018
Sprinkler systems are a great way to keep all the plant life in your yard hydrated, but what happens when something goes wrong? Knowing how to diagnose water pressure issues will help you keep your yard hydrated with minimal downtime.
Symptoms Of Water Pressure Issues
When your sprinkler system is experiencing pressure issues, you may notice the flow from the sprinkler heads isn't getting very far or isn't spraying at all. For wide scale issues, all your sprinkler heads will be affected. For issues affecting a specific section of your sprinkler system, maybe only one quadrant of your sprinkler system will be experiencing pressure issues.
Diagnosing And Basic Repair
If your sprinkler system is experiencing these issues, you may have a couple options to try to get it back up and running again. With most water pressure issues, you will need a water pressure gauge to diagnose where the pressure issue is occurring. All sprinkler systems experience a reduction in pressure as water flows further from the source, so it's important to know what the pressure requirements are for your system and how each component reduces the pressure. This information can typically be found either in the manual or on the sprinkler system website.
You should use the pressure gauge at the backfill device to determine where the loss of pressure is coming from. You can do this by removing the screw from the test cock and attaching your pressure gauge. Several test cocks will be along this backfill device and will allow you to test the pressure at different points in the system.
If the water pressure drops before the backfill device, that means your system isn't getting enough pressure from the start, and you may have an issue in a city water line. Sometimes this indicates a valve that is partially closed between the line and backfill device, and the valve just needs to be opened.
Areas of low pressure after the backfill device indicate a problem with the backfill device itself, corroded lines, or clogged sprinkler heads. Most sprinkler heads can simply be popped off and their filters cleaned to test if it's the sprinkler heads.
Know When To Call For Backup
If a water pressure issue is in your downstream, it could be caused by a corroded or damaged pipe. These types of situations normally require a technician that specializes in sprinkler systems to dig up the affected area and make repairs.
For more information and tips, contact a sprinkler repair company in your area.
Share