All sprinklers work - the second time they’re started

post by Benr75 on Aug 4, 2022

1. Start zone manually - 3 of 6 sprinklers start - no leakage or water pressure issues visible.
2. Start zone manually again - all 6 sprinklers start and work normally.

Really stumped on this one. Tried re-seating the wire - no change in behavior.

Any advice or tips appreciated. Apologies if this has been covered and I’m just not putting in the right search terms.

A work around would be to figure out how in the schedule to have them start for a minute, stop, then start again.

post by Thomas_Lerman on Aug 4, 2022

Are you saying that 1/2 of the sprinklers of the same zone did not work the first time, but did on the second? If so, what I have seen could be leakage, water pressure, or blockage say from a filter. Some sprinklers have filters built in and some also have a “self-cleaning” thing built in. I have to sometimes help my sprinklers a bit.

post by Benr75 on Aug 4, 2022

Yes, there are 6 in the zone, 3 start the first time. Sounds like Rachio system is doing its job and I need to physically get in there in more detail. Thx for the tip and I’ll reply back once I solve the problem.

post by Thomas_Lerman on Aug 4, 2022

Please do report back I agree that it sounds like Rachio is doing its job, causing the valve to open.

post by Benr75 on Sep 23, 2022

Found the valve and determined the pipe was pinched by some roots.

BUT to really close this out I made the decision to completely replace my sprinkler system from the rachio out. It was installed several decades ago, needed yearly adjustments, was a total mess of sprinkler head types, and the zones were less than ideal. It was quite an investment to do it, but well worth it. If you decide to do this here are some things I learned:

• Go all the way. Some of the companies that bid on the job wanted to try to reuse existing pipe. Ultimately that would have just ended me up in the same patching situation I was in before.
• The company I went with used a large trenching machine and finished the job in the day. Yes it tears up the lawn but it has rebounded well.
• I had the utilities marked but I did not do a good job of marking some of my low voltage lighting and several breaks were made. Make the effort to do this as any unmarked wiring will not be fixed by the company doing the work from what I can tell.
• If your local water company provide rebates read carefully and submit promptly.

Next year I plan to adjust my landscaping to require less watering.

post by Thomas_Lerman on Sep 24, 2022

Sounds great. I found making a make of where everything is very helpful too. This includes wiring, valve & boxes, heads, all wiring, and zones. I personally used Google Earth to do that.