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Posted by Dave FL on November 5, 2007, 12:26 pm
> If you have a leak somewhere there has got to be a rather large soggy
> spot.
Can't find any, it could be possible that since I live in Florida, the
soil below 1-2 feet is sandy, and could be soaking it up?
> Are the sprinkler valves electric? Can they be turned off manually
> (individually)?
Hunter sprinkler system with a Rain Bird controller
> (I assume you cut off water to the sprinkler valve manifold) that the
> "leak" is a faulty sprinkler valve not a line failure.
I have checked all of the valves (had to replace one solenoid) and
they are not filling up with water when running. I have only turned
off the rain bird control, not the incoming water at the backflow
preventer (Two knobs, 1 for interior & 1 for exterior)
> Are some the heads in one of the zones wet constantly?
No, even with the main still on and RB turned off
Dave FL
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Posted by dadiOH on November 5, 2007, 2:54 pm
Dave FL wrote:
>
>> If you have a leak somewhere there has got to be a rather large
>> soggy spot.
>
> Can't find any, it could be possible that since I live in Florida,
> the soil below 1-2 feet is sandy, and could be soaking it up?
I live in Florida too and the amount of water mentioned is a LOT even
for Florida sand to soak up. With that much water leaking there must
be a joint (or maybe a holed pipe - been digging?) underground that
failed but - even in sand - I'd think that would blow out from the
surface.
Do you know where the sprinkler supply lines run? If so, walk them.
--
dadiOH
____________________________
dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
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Posted by Oren on November 5, 2007, 3:08 pm
>
>> If you have a leak somewhere there has got to be a rather large soggy
>> spot.
>
>Can't find any, it could be possible that since I live in Florida, the
>soil below 1-2 feet is sandy, and could be soaking it up?
I've never had one on any of my irrigation systems, but there is/can
be what's called a _positive drain valve_ on the end of the zones.
Essentially, when the valve shuts off the remaining water drains to a
sand pit. The prevents freezing of the pipes.
If you have such a PDV valve and have a bad diaphragm / solenoid on
the zone valve, water would leak to ground.
(Not an expert..)
>> Are the sprinkler valves electric? Can they be turned off manually
>> (individually)?
>
>Hunter sprinkler system with a Rain Bird controller
>
>> (I assume you cut off water to the sprinkler valve manifold) that the
>> "leak" is a faulty sprinkler valve not a line failure.
>
>I have checked all of the valves (had to replace one solenoid) and
>they are not filling up with water when running. I have only turned
>off the rain bird control, not the incoming water at the backflow
>preventer (Two knobs, 1 for interior & 1 for exterior)
>
>> Are some the heads in one of the zones wet constantly?
>
>No, even with the main still on and RB turned off
>
>Dave FL
>
--
Oren
"I wouldn't even be here if my support group hadn't beaten me up."
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Posted by Dave FL on November 5, 2007, 4:46 pm
> I've never had one on any of my irrigation systems, but there is/can
> be what's called a _positive drain valve_ on the end of the zones.
> Essentially, when the valve shuts off the remaining water drains to a
> sand pit. The prevents freezing of the pipes.
Sounds like a plausible explanation, but our freeze/thaw in Florida is
very minimal.
> If you have such a PDV valve and have a bad diaphragm / solenoid on
> the zone valve, water would leak to ground.
>
> (Not an expert..)
(Nor am I)
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Posted by Not@home on November 5, 2007, 7:36 pm
Dave FL wrote:
>
>> If you have a leak somewhere there has got to be a rather large soggy
>> spot.
>
> Can't find any, it could be possible that since I live in Florida, the
> soil below 1-2 feet is sandy, and could be soaking it up?
>
>> Are the sprinkler valves electric? Can they be turned off manually
>> (individually)?
>
> Hunter sprinkler system with a Rain Bird controller
>
>> (I assume you cut off water to the sprinkler valve manifold) that the
>> "leak" is a faulty sprinkler valve not a line failure.
>
> I have checked all of the valves (had to replace one solenoid) and
> they are not filling up with water when running. I have only turned
> off the rain bird control, not the incoming water at the backflow
> preventer (Two knobs, 1 for interior & 1 for exterior)
>
>> Are some the heads in one of the zones wet constantly?
>
> No, even with the main still on and RB turned off
>
> Dave FL
>
You seem to be saying that you turned of the controller, and the water
loss stopped. If that is so, then the system is water tight up to the
control valves, so your leak must be beyond the control valves.
I think if your timing was wrong for any zone, you would have noticed
that there was at least some water coming from the heads in that zone;
since you didn't say that, I assume your timing is OK.
So I suspect you have at least one leak in at least one of the lines
going from the control valves out into the zone. With the volume of
water you appear to be losing, it should be very apparent which line(s)
is leaking just by listening to them when the system is not irrigating.
If necessary, you could make something like a stethoscope from a piece
of tubing to help you identify the leaking line.
Once you have identified the leaking line, try pushing a dowel rod, or
the equivalent, into the soil, starting at the midpoint of the line.
Eventually you will find the area that is wet, and you start excavating
there. Actually, with that much water flow, you should almost be able
to hear the actual point of the leak with your homemade stethoscope,
but I don't know how much flow there is as you have just given a dollar
amount, and water prices vary around the country. Its not uncommon that
a nominal amount of water is very cheap, but once you exceed that
amount, the price per unit increases quite a bit.
A drain valve, assuming you even have them, should not be the problem,
as they are designed to close when there is water pressure, and open
when there is no pressure, to allow the lines to drain. Of course, your
whole underground system is probably plastic, so there could be a break
anywhere.
>
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