April 2019

Common Problems with Your Lawn Sprinkler System

Common Problems with Your Lawn Sprinkler System

With the many components making up a sprinkler system, there are common problems that can make the system to malfunction. From damaged pumps to malfunctioning non-return valves, your system can offer other kinds of minor and major problems. Grapevine tree service pros remind us that identifying sprinkler problems is very important to the health of your Lawn, Trees and all plant life.

Here, we will look at six of the most common complications associated with your lawn sprinkler system.

  1. Sprinkler heads.

Depending on the kind of system you have at home, the sprinkler heads work under the same mechanism. Rotors, drip lie, bubblers, and emitters are four common sprinkler heads in the market.  With time, these heads become clogged, broken, or stuck.

  1. Faulty valves.

A ball valve and a gate valve are common sprinkler valves on offer. However, there are three other types of valve systems; Anti-siphon valves, in-line valve, and automatic control sprinkler valves. These valves regulate the amounts of water flow from the water pump to the sprinkler heads.  Without the correct maintenance procedures, the valves will not turn off completely leading to water leakage.  Also, with time, the valves become worn out after exposure to chemicals found in the water (metal salt, Nitrate, and Lead) .

  1. Broken hose.

A damaged/broken hose will not only lead to water wastage. If your sprinkler hose is broken, debris and foreign material will get into the system and cause further damages to the system.

Common causes of broken hose:

  • Variations of ground temperature.
  • Pipes’ life span.
  • Pressure from roots.
  • Continuous lawn-mowing and grass manicure.
  1. Automatic Pump Controllers.

A pump controller is an important tool that helps automatically control the turning on/off, and regulating water pressure in the sprinkler system. If you notice the system is not functioning as effectively as before, there might be a problem with the system sensors.  The following are common problems associated with pump controllers:

  • Muck build up.
  • Poor maintenance.
  • Clogged pressure and flow detectors.
  • Electric spikes and voltage surge.
  1. Backflow preventers.

With the four common types of backflow preventers in the market, it is important for homeowners to install any of the system to avoid irrigation water from back siphoning into your homes’ water system.  These preventers have a shut-off valve to control the flow of water to the irrigation system whenever need be/emergency.

The three common problems associated with preventers include:

  • Damaged shut-off valves.
  • Faulty first and second check valves.
  • High and low relief valve opening.
  1. Electrical wiring.

The electrical wiring in any sprinkler system should work exemplary for improved performance. Timers and automatic valves depend on electricity to turn ON and OFF. However, without the correct maintenance and poor handling, the system will stop working.

Simple troubleshooting and diagnostic procedures can be done at home, but, if the system appears to have more than just minor complications, we advise contacting professionals for repairs and replacement.

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Best Time of Day to Turn on Your Sprinklers

Best Time of Day to Turn on Your Sprinklers

Having a flourishing lawn is everybody’s dream. For this to happen you must put a lot of time and work to your lawn. This implies maintaining your lawn is the key to a beautiful and thriving lawn. Apart from feeding and weeding your lawn, you must also ensure it is properly watered. One sign that you are not watering your lawn properly is that it starts to wilt and turn yellow. For you to water your lawn properly you must put some factors into consideration. The time to open your sprinklers or water your lawn is very critical. This because of the different water evaporation rates of water during different times of the day. Below are the best times to open your sprinklers.  Here’s a look at why we suggest these times to water.

Very early in the morning

Research conducted by landscaping professional’s shows that early in the morning is the best time to water your lawn. Specifically, between 4 am and 5 am. Though this may be quite challenging especially if you don’t have a smart sprinkler it’s the time your lawn absorbs water optimally.AT this time there is high humidity, low wind and lots of dew in the grass. This means the rate of water evaporation is minimal. This means the lawn gets enough time to absorb the optimal amount of water and time to dry in case you want to use it. Watering your lawn at this time also helps in preventing lawn diseases because your lawn has enough time to dry.

Very late in the afternoon

This time offers alternative time water your lawn if you will be unable to water it in the morning. It’s important to note it should be after sunset and before nightfall so that you can give the blades enough to dry, Otherwise, your lawn may end up getting lawn diseases such as fungus. This time experiences almost similar climatic condition with the morning hours. This means the level of humidity in the air is high and the heat is low hence there is a low evaporation rate. Thus the lawn gets enough time to absorb as much water as possible.

One important thing to note is you should avoid watering your lawn during the day. This because the humidity levels in the atmosphere are high and the climate is generally hot. Therefore the rate of water evaporation is very high. This means that there will be a lot of water wastage due to high evaporation rate and the grass will not be able to absorb water to their maximum.

From the above information, you should stickily stick to watering your lawn early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

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How Sprinkler Systems Work

How Sprinkler Systems Work

If you want a lush and green garden or lawn then you are going to need to maintain it.  That means putting in the work weeding, planting and watering your flowers and plants.  If you have ever so much as looked after a houseplant then you know how crucial water is to making a beautiful garden, without water you have nothing.  A small flowerbed or a potted plant you can simply use a watering can from your local garden center.  For a bigger area you’re going to need to put in a sprinkler system, if you’re wondering how sprinkler systems work and if you really need one, let’s have a look.

Types of Sprinklers

You’re probably going to be surprised when you go shopping for sprinklers and find out there are several different types.  A basic irrigation system consists of a hose, and a head to disperse water.  Think of the sprinklers you used to run through in the summertime when you were a child, it had half a dozen streams of water and it moved back and forth.  These work well for a good size lawn but they do have some drawbacks.  You have to manually turn them off and on and you’re going to have to move them around to try and get the whole lawn.

Oscillating Heads

The oscillating heads work in a similar manner.  With an oscillating head as the water goes through the hose and sprinkler head some is sent to power a small turbine that turns the head.  The sprinkler head rotates and spread water all over the place.  These types of sprinklers don’t cover as big an area but they work well on smaller lawns.  Again they will require you to manually move the sprinkler and to turn off the water.

Inground Sprinkler Systems

These are far more sophisticated types of sprinklers, the generally have timers and a control system that you can program to go on and off when you want them to.  When you set the timer the controller turns the sprinklers on and opens the valves.  These types of sprinklers can even come equipped with rain detectors that will turn them off if it rains so that you don’t waste any water or overwater your lawns.

The average American lawn can make do with one of the first two types of sprinklers but if you have commercial property or a very large piece of property then you may want to invest in an inground system to keep your property looking fabulous.

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