Hey Tom, this is Rick my CZcams has been sending me some of your videos. Your videos are very well done 👍. I got a couple good laughs from this one. You always have done high quality work. God Bless you my friend. Jeremiah 29:11
Your videos are top-notch, sir. This was a huge job, done right now. It's bananas what irrigation costs. Knowing from experience it's just a lot of work any way you slice it. I appreciate the pricing beta too.
The slip fix is a great option. I have found if you install them to close to the value you will have movement when the value turns on and off in the slip fix and in turn will develop a leak or a break. Just something to think about.
Absolutely true and I attempted to make that point in the video. That's why I mentioned that it's not my first choice but the circumstances were ripe for making an exception. Thanks for chiming in with that valid concern.
I only have one valve, I guess I should be thankful for that. It was 30 years old, and had no manufacturer info on it and I just replaced with an orbit 1" inline valve. I also reran the pvc from the water main to my valve. It was an intimidating project at first, but came out great. I even dug out the box and refilled with gravel in order to allow better drainage.
I replaced 6 Orbit Jar Tops with Hunter self cleaning valves. The well water we have has a lot of black Manganese in it. I had to clean the Jar tops sometimes 2x a year even though we have a filter screen on the supply. I was going to use unions but ended up using compression couplers instead because the out pipes were too hard to cut to precision length needed for unions. Great video thanks.
That black stuff is awful. I had a job many moons ago where the well water was so caustic that it ate through the brass backflow device in 2 years! No filter.
My record is 14 valves. They were split between 3 manifolds, i made them into 4. I did it all solo and when i was finally 90% done i found myself muttering "i did it" Props on 17 valves that is crazy man.
Wow what a job. well done. I enjoyed the video very detailed information. I also agree too in pipe sizing. and that system has alot of zones. is it all in one timer or is it 2 timers
Why not take advantage of the space and make the manifold above ground? So much easier for future work. I'm converting my underground manifold to above ground. It's currently leaking from multiple locations, and the debris and soil have made access impossible. Underground manifold are a like not wearing seat belts, eventually its gonna kill you to fix it.
That was discussed with the owner, but he preferred to remain underground especially given that his manifold faces all day full sun in a hot environment. Fortunately there are no plants or trees nearby so having them underground won't be an issue as far as that's concerned. I just did what you mentioned this last week for a guy when one of his valves needed to be replaced. I replaced all 3 in that box with anti-siphon valves above ground.
thanks for the videos. I found you while planning for my own irrigation system. Do you have any recommendation for an irrigation system in located in Canada where the winter could be pretty cold. In addition, my home's water system run on an artesian well, I would like to have the most efficient sprinklers to minimize water consumption. Lastly, I have to irrigate approx 30 000 sq.ft. of grass in addition to 8 000 sq.ft. of flowersbeds spread all over the property. I started to look around, and it looks like Hunter system works better in low presure/low water flow, but there are too many types of sprinklers I'm totally lost.
Alan, wow, you have some extreme conditions and perameters. You can't go wrong with the Hunter products. It's mostly what I use. As far as the well water, be sure to watch my video about Irrigationg with Well Water. The cold water situation.....I have a video teaching how to blow out your water lines in the winter so as long as there is no water in the lines during the winter, that's not an issue. I don't recommend multi stream rotar sprays or 'Techline' on well systems as you'll see in my videos. Let me know how it goes.
For the drip lines you have a pressure reducer and the adapter to drip. What about an inline filter? Others videos call for one. Or is all the water filtered upstream? Thoughts! I’m building a new system soon and your video is very helpful. Thanks
Richard, I see I didn't SAY anything about the filter, but it's there. On these installations, a wye filter is the only one you can service. A straight inline filter is unserviceable. You can see more on my drip videos. The place in this video where I show the wye filter starts at 8:16 Good luck with yours.
can i use one valve for two pipes that split off into a different section? I know i can but are there cons? Then I dont have to buy two valves for each line.
Yes, as long as you've done the math to be sure the line can handle what you intend to put on it. You can visit the manufacturer's website to get the stats on the volume (water flow aka GPM) your valve can handle vs what each sprinkler head/nozzle will require. Just know that, unless you install a ball valve on each (and alternate them being on/off) of the laterals, all of it will come on when the valve is activated. I hope that made sense.
You should’ve been able to do that replumb job without one slip fix . You had plenty of 90’s you could’ve moved back and pushed back into a coupling or valve.
Jeff, in some circumstances that would be correct but in this situation I was under the gun on time and the soil was extremely difficult to cut through due to hard clay soil, thick fibrous roots , and rocks. I am a big fan of doing what you described when possible. I only use slip fixes as a last resort. Thanks for your input.
Those slip fixes need to be restrained. (9:11) Otherwise you have a hydraulic ram. Also regarding running 1" out from the valves. If the zone is running more than 12 GPM, I would agree with you, but if flows are less, there is no need to oversize the pipe to the zones.
Thank you for your video. I am curious as to why in a big rebuild job like this that you don't install a pvc union on one side or the other of each valve to allow future service/replacement. One other question. In a big setup of in-line vales, i assume that there is also a master valve? Is that valve a antiphon valve or is it a two part setup with a brass vacuum breaker + inline? Best practice?
Larry, Good questions! Unions are a great idea and I intend to make a video about them, but in short there are 2 main reasons I don't. These reasons are not difinitive and I'm not saying don't do it. These are just my reasons. Too many times over the years I have done my best to avoid leaks during jobs. One example is an 8 valve a/s manifold I built and did it assembly line style as usual and attempted to teflon wrap everything the same and torque everything the same yet the middle valve (of course) leaked when it was complete. Arrrgh! For this reason, I avoid threads and unions have threads. Another reason is there are several other things about unions that can be problematic that I've dealt with that I'll go into in that video. The video shows the PVB that was already inline before the manifold. A PVB, double check valve, or RP are recommended before inline manifolds. An a/s valve is not recommended and in some states/counties/other municipalities they are not legal to be used for this purpose.
@@SprinklerPros I totally get it on leaks and threads. I find the same thing applies to copper and galvanized piping, where threads tend to leak, sweat does not. I have found that pvc unions tend to leak over time in the hot sun due to the seal surface turning concaved around the oring and lessening the seal compression. I don't like placing them on the constant pressure side, but do like having them on the lateral pipe valved side for service. I wish that they were made a lite bit better (more fiber in the plastic and honed flat against the oring surface), but i guess you get what you pay for. I caught the image of the PVB upon re-watching. I suspect that a ASV is fine for small to medium residential systems in the main line if it is normally closed, vs normally pressurized, but a good brass PVB, DCV or RP are better although much more expensive options.
Mike, I have never worked north of Paso Robles/San Miguel, but it's not out of the question. I don't do full irrigation installations anymore. Are you needing troubleshooting and repairs? THAT I can do.
Looking for some guidance for the house that we just moved into. One zone of our sprinklers has very low pressure. Before I replaced the heads they would sprinkle a couple of feet. After I replaced them- initially with the Hunter PGP Rotor, then with the Hunter 4in pop-up- they barely pop-up at all, and when they do they spray it's only a couple of issues. I'm assuming the issue is pressure, but every other zone in our yard has good pressure and has done great with the sprinkler head swap. Of note, the problematic zone has 7 heads in it, while most of the functional zones have 3-4 (though we do have one zone that's 6 heads that functions well with the Hunter 4in pop-ups). When the problematic zone is running I don't see water coming up from the grass in any particular area (that would make me think that there's an obvious leak there). What's the best way to start troubleshooting this? I know I could probable dig up all the piping from valve station the all the heads, but would like to know if there are any troubleshooting steps short of this I could try first
Sean, it sounds like there are just too many heads on that line. Try turning off the nozzles on half of them and see how it does. If this is the case then you have two options. Cap off half the heads (reduce the lawn area) or replace the nozzles with rotary nozzles like Hunter MP Rotators which you can view on the video _Best Rotary Nozzles_ . BTW, you can purchase a Hunter gauge and adapter available on the Sprinklers page of my Resources site. With that you can check the water pressure on your existing lines as they are right now to establish a benchmark. On each line, check the pressure on the furthest head from the valve. Write it down. The operating PSI needs to be a minimum of 30 but preferable between 30 and 40. Let me know how it goes.
if only one zone has low pressure you may have a restricted pipe. if your system has poly pipe it may have been crushed by a rock or root therefore reducing pressure/flow
Dale, a couple of reasons. when splicing into an existing situation, the pipe cuts must be exact for the unions to meet up properly. When splicing in a union sometimes there is little to no flexibility in the piping to scrunch the union in. We don't encounter those problems with a slip fix.
How do you put in a pressure gauge for a sprinkler system? my system is full pressure somewhere between 65 to 90 PSI. Which pressure gauge would you recommend? Is it on your resource page? I have above ground Hunter ASV 3/4'' valve.
You can put it on a hose bibb if there are no pressure regulators before it. If you're going to replace a sprinkler valve, after you remove the old one you can figure out a way to attach the guage there before installing the new valve.Those are just two ideas. I have a guage on the Sprinklers page of my Resources site. It won't connect onto a hose bibb without an adapter.
Try 7 valves in a single box..... they were in 2 levels, lower and upper going in either north to south or east to west........ that's what I have to deal with. Splitting those up into 2 boxes like it should have been in the first place. WHAT A MESS...... just go on youtube they said..... you will find the answers to how to fix your house problems they said..... good luck I say. I swear my house was built by corner cutting men from mars.
once again your are so OLD SCHOOL!!! you should have a disclaimer that you don’t use the most modern and current technology. I am a 26 year irrigation tech and have kept up with all the newest technology. your use of PVC glued fittings and slip fixes takes so much time and not to mention you installed this manifold so 1970’s. you should call yourself OLD SCHOOL PROS. do yourself and your you tube subscribers a favor and do some research on 2022 products. this will save them time and they will have a better manifold for the future.
John, I am aware of the new products, but newer doesn't necessarily better. I have tried some of the new products you elude to and I don't like them for various reasons. Your time would be better spent showing us how it ought to be done on your channel.
Thank you!! Your videos are always helpful. I enjoy watching them.
Thank you for saying so.
Hey Tom, this is Rick my CZcams has been sending me some of your videos. Your videos are very well done 👍. I got a couple good laughs from this one. You always have done high quality work. God Bless you my friend. Jeremiah 29:11
Very cool! Thanks James
Hey Rick! I see you now. I replied to you as James at the time you left the comment. Good seeing you today!
Your videos are top-notch, sir. This was a huge job, done right now. It's bananas what irrigation costs. Knowing from experience it's just a lot of work any way you slice it. I appreciate the pricing beta too.
Glad to help
Nice video!
Thank you
Another informative video! Thanks Tom! Appreciate you!👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
The slip fix is a great option. I have found if you install them to close to the value you will have movement when the value turns on and off in the slip fix and in turn will develop a leak or a break. Just something to think about.
Absolutely true and I attempted to make that point in the video. That's why I mentioned that it's not my first choice but the circumstances were ripe for making an exception. Thanks for chiming in with that valid concern.
I only have one valve, I guess I should be thankful for that. It was 30 years old, and had no manufacturer info on it and I just replaced with an orbit 1" inline valve. I also reran the pvc from the water main to my valve. It was an intimidating project at first, but came out great. I even dug out the box and refilled with gravel in order to allow better drainage.
I replaced 6 Orbit Jar Tops with Hunter self cleaning valves. The well water we have has a lot of black Manganese in it. I had to clean the Jar tops sometimes 2x a year even though we have a filter screen on the supply. I was going to use unions but ended up using compression couplers instead because the out pipes were too hard to cut to precision length needed for unions. Great video thanks.
That black stuff is awful. I had a job many moons ago where the well water was so caustic that it ate through the brass backflow device in 2 years! No filter.
My record is 14 valves.
They were split between 3 manifolds, i made them into 4.
I did it all solo and when i was finally 90% done i found myself muttering "i did it"
Props on 17 valves that is crazy man.
tx
Good work 👍🏻
Thank you, Abu.
Wow what a job. well done. I enjoyed the video very detailed information. I also agree too in pipe sizing. and that system has alot of zones. is it all in one timer or is it 2 timers
Kevin, they were all on one timer. Thanks for being here and leaving your comments.
Great insight loved the entire video
Glad you enjoyed it!
Why not take advantage of the space and make the manifold above ground? So much easier for future work. I'm converting my underground manifold to above ground. It's currently leaking from multiple locations, and the debris and soil have made access impossible. Underground manifold are a like not wearing seat belts, eventually its gonna kill you to fix it.
That was discussed with the owner, but he preferred to remain underground especially given that his manifold faces all day full sun in a hot environment. Fortunately there are no plants or trees nearby so having them underground won't be an issue as far as that's concerned. I just did what you mentioned this last week for a guy when one of his valves needed to be replaced. I replaced all 3 in that box with anti-siphon valves above ground.
@@SprinklerPros Makes sense. Each location and personal preference is unique. Thanks for your reply. Keep up the good work.
thanks for the videos. I found you while planning for my own irrigation system. Do you have any recommendation for an irrigation system in located in Canada where the winter could be pretty cold. In addition, my home's water system run on an artesian well, I would like to have the most efficient sprinklers to minimize water consumption. Lastly, I have to irrigate approx 30 000 sq.ft. of grass in addition to 8 000 sq.ft. of flowersbeds spread all over the property. I started to look around, and it looks like Hunter system works better in low presure/low water flow, but there are too many types of sprinklers I'm totally lost.
Alan, wow, you have some extreme conditions and perameters. You can't go wrong with the Hunter products. It's mostly what I use. As far as the well water, be sure to watch my video about Irrigationg with Well Water. The cold water situation.....I have a video teaching how to blow out your water lines in the winter so as long as there is no water in the lines during the winter, that's not an issue. I don't recommend multi stream rotar sprays or 'Techline' on well systems as you'll see in my videos. Let me know how it goes.
I did 12 past year.
For the drip lines you have a pressure reducer and the adapter to drip. What about an inline filter? Others videos call for one. Or is all the water filtered upstream? Thoughts!
I’m building a new system soon and your video is very helpful. Thanks
Richard, I see I didn't SAY anything about the filter, but it's there. On these installations, a wye filter is the only one you can service. A straight inline filter is unserviceable. You can see more on my drip videos. The place in this video where I show the wye filter starts at 8:16 Good luck with yours.
Thank you. I hadn’t thought about servicing the filter. I will now. 👍
can i use one valve for two pipes that split off into a different section? I know i can but are there cons? Then I dont have to buy two valves for each line.
Yes, as long as you've done the math to be sure the line can handle what you intend to put on it. You can visit the manufacturer's website to get the stats on the volume (water flow aka GPM) your valve can handle vs what each sprinkler head/nozzle will require. Just know that, unless you install a ball valve on each (and alternate them being on/off) of the laterals, all of it will come on when the valve is activated. I hope that made sense.
You should’ve been able to do that replumb job without one slip fix . You had plenty of 90’s you could’ve moved back and pushed back into a coupling or valve.
Jeff, in some circumstances that would be correct but in this situation I was under the gun on time and the soil was extremely difficult to cut through due to hard clay soil, thick fibrous roots , and rocks. I am a big fan of doing what you described when possible. I only use slip fixes as a last resort. Thanks for your input.
Those slip fixes need to be restrained. (9:11) Otherwise you have a hydraulic ram. Also regarding running 1" out from the valves. If the zone is running more than 12 GPM, I would agree with you, but if flows are less, there is no need to oversize the pipe to the zones.
Thank you for your video. I am curious as to why in a big rebuild job like this that you don't install a pvc union on one side or the other of each valve to allow future service/replacement.
One other question. In a big setup of in-line vales, i assume that there is also a master valve? Is that valve a antiphon valve or is it a two part setup with a brass vacuum breaker + inline? Best practice?
Larry, Good questions! Unions are a great idea and I intend to make a video about them, but in short there are 2 main reasons I don't. These reasons are not difinitive and I'm not saying don't do it. These are just my reasons. Too many times over the years I have done my best to avoid leaks during jobs. One example is an 8 valve a/s manifold I built and did it assembly line style as usual and attempted to teflon wrap everything the same and torque everything the same yet the middle valve (of course) leaked when it was complete. Arrrgh! For this reason, I avoid threads and unions have threads. Another reason is there are several other things about unions that can be problematic that I've dealt with that I'll go into in that video.
The video shows the PVB that was already inline before the manifold. A PVB, double check valve, or RP are recommended before inline manifolds. An a/s valve is not recommended and in some states/counties/other municipalities they are not legal to be used for this purpose.
@@SprinklerPros I totally get it on leaks and threads. I find the same thing applies to copper and galvanized piping, where threads tend to leak, sweat does not. I have found that pvc unions tend to leak over time in the hot sun due to the seal surface turning concaved around the oring and lessening the seal compression. I don't like placing them on the constant pressure side, but do like having them on the lateral pipe valved side for service. I wish that they were made a lite bit better (more fiber in the plastic and honed flat against the oring surface), but i guess you get what you pay for.
I caught the image of the PVB upon re-watching. I suspect that a ASV is fine for small to medium residential systems in the main line if it is normally closed, vs normally pressurized, but a good brass PVB, DCV or RP are better although much more expensive options.
Do you ever work in the Bay Area? I have a large job in the East Bay ( Alamo ) that would benefit from your experience. Way more than 17 valves haha
Mike, I have never worked north of Paso Robles/San Miguel, but it's not out of the question. I don't do full irrigation installations anymore. Are you needing troubleshooting and repairs? THAT I can do.
No more than three valves per those boxes
yes
Looking for some guidance for the house that we just moved into. One zone of our sprinklers has very low pressure. Before I replaced the heads they would sprinkle a couple of feet. After I replaced them- initially with the Hunter PGP Rotor, then with the Hunter 4in pop-up- they barely pop-up at all, and when they do they spray it's only a couple of issues. I'm assuming the issue is pressure, but every other zone in our yard has good pressure and has done great with the sprinkler head swap. Of note, the problematic zone has 7 heads in it, while most of the functional zones have 3-4 (though we do have one zone that's 6 heads that functions well with the Hunter 4in pop-ups). When the problematic zone is running I don't see water coming up from the grass in any particular area (that would make me think that there's an obvious leak there). What's the best way to start troubleshooting this? I know I could probable dig up all the piping from valve station the all the heads, but would like to know if there are any troubleshooting steps short of this I could try first
Sean, it sounds like there are just too many heads on that line. Try turning off the nozzles on half of them and see how it does. If this is the case then you have two options. Cap off half the heads (reduce the lawn area) or replace the nozzles with rotary nozzles like Hunter MP Rotators which you can view on the video _Best Rotary Nozzles_ . BTW, you can purchase a Hunter gauge and adapter available on the Sprinklers page of my Resources site. With that you can check the water pressure on your existing lines as they are right now to establish a benchmark. On each line, check the pressure on the furthest head from the valve. Write it down. The operating PSI needs to be a minimum of 30 but preferable between 30 and 40. Let me know how it goes.
if only one zone has low pressure you may have a restricted pipe. if your system has poly pipe it may have been crushed by a rock or root therefore reducing pressure/flow
I like slip fixes. But why not unions?
Dale, a couple of reasons. when splicing into an existing situation, the pipe cuts must be exact for the unions to meet up properly. When splicing in a union sometimes there is little to no flexibility in the piping to scrunch the union in. We don't encounter those problems with a slip fix.
How do you put in a pressure gauge for a sprinkler system? my system is full pressure somewhere between 65 to 90 PSI. Which pressure gauge would you recommend? Is it on your resource page? I have above ground Hunter ASV 3/4'' valve.
You can put it on a hose bibb if there are no pressure regulators before it. If you're going to replace a sprinkler valve, after you remove the old one you can figure out a way to attach the guage there before installing the new valve.Those are just two ideas. I have a guage on the Sprinklers page of my Resources site. It won't connect onto a hose bibb without an adapter.
What is a slip fix? What does it do, problem it solves?
You can watch my Short video about them here: czcams.com/users/shortsfOoDyxkIc-k
I sure wish I could get information on Sprinkler manifold do I build it or buy it?
Dean, since I know you watched the video, I'm not sure what you mean. I sincerely would like to answer your question.
Sprinkler warehouse sells a nice manifold set up.
Try 7 valves in a single box..... they were in 2 levels, lower and upper going in either north to south or east to west........ that's what I have to deal with. Splitting those up into 2 boxes like it should have been in the first place. WHAT A MESS...... just go on youtube they said..... you will find the answers to how to fix your house problems they said..... good luck I say.
I swear my house was built by corner cutting men from mars.
You (hilarious)....situation (not). That's awful. The other day I came across 6 Irritrol 700-3/4" in one rect. valve box.
@@SprinklerPros Yucky, I sometimes wonder what were people thinking when they install so many in such a tight space.
do you have an email address? I have a couple of questions I need help with.
Yes, I have an email address but I don't give that out here. You'll need to find me on my website and contact me thru those means.
@@SprinklerPros done!
once again your are so OLD SCHOOL!!! you should have a disclaimer that you don’t use the most modern and current technology. I am a 26 year irrigation tech and have kept up with all the newest technology. your use of PVC glued fittings and slip fixes takes so much time and not to mention you installed this manifold so 1970’s. you should call yourself OLD SCHOOL PROS. do yourself and your you tube subscribers a favor and do some research on 2022 products. this will save them time and they will have a better manifold for the future.
John, I am aware of the new products, but newer doesn't necessarily better. I have tried some of the new products you elude to and I don't like them for various reasons. Your time would be better spent showing us how it ought to be done on your channel.
They're got to certainly blow up and take out half the neighborhood
He did it all in one night....high on methamphetamine!