At the new house, there is an in-ground sprinkler system for the backyard. The control box has "Richdell" printed on it, but I can't find the model number anywhere. All the Richdell controls I find online look nothing like this thing. Go figure.

So there isn't enough pressure to run all the heads at the same time. I've gone through the control box and cycled through all 12 available zones (whether they're in use or not) to see if I can get it to actually do something with the valves. No dice.

With the water turned on, I cracked open the manual bleeder valves on each motorized valve unit. In doing so, I could get water to all the heads, although the farthest from the hose bib only got water to the tops of the pipes. No dice.

So I suspect the valves are either A) malfunctioning or B) no longer controlled by the box. It is also possible that the control box is a righteous piece of shit and needs replaced.

Trouble shooting electrical connections where water is concerned makes me nervous. Anyone know how to test these motorized valves? Anyone know if the control boxes are pretty much interchangeable? Can I just get a simple dial-based box from Home Depot and re-wire things for great success?

Any help would be nice.

TIA>

You can probably rewire everything to a new box. I work for a McDonald's franchise and whenever the control box dies at one of our stores either the landscapers or one of the electricians replaces the unit with a new 'RainBird' control box.

MegaSquirt IMO

Originally posted by Keith2172
MegaSquirt IMO

+1

Extra points if you can get it to synchronize the sprinkler heads to "youtube.com/watch?v=gEtGhEqK4H4".

You should just be able to change out the control box. They all pretty much do the same things with the same parts. I don't know what you mean about getting water only in the tops of the pipes though. As for the electrical controls I pretty sure those are all low voltage wiring so Death shouldn't be a huge concern but I would use your voltmeter and test to be sure you don't have 120 floating around in there. Keep in mind that I am only a plumber and not a sprinkler technician. All the systems I've seen are simply solenoid valves that control the flow to the zones. To trace the electrical out you have to start with the control box and verify that when the zone is calling, it sends a low voltage signal to the solenoid telling it to turn open. If it isn't sending the signal the box is Fubarred. If it is then the solenoid(s) are fucked. Since this isn't an isolated incident my money is on the control box itself. But like I said I'm not a sprinkler tech and I don't know the layout of your system so I'm just throwing down what I know.

Remember, voltage doesn't kill. Amperage does. I've been hit by 115volts at work a lot.

Thanks, fellas. I'll give it a shot when I get back from Texas next week.

My comment about water not getting to the top was to say that all the heads are getting water, but the ones farthest from the hose bib don't have enough pressure to escape. Unscrewing the top of the head reveals the water in the line.

I'll try to crank up the pressure at the street in the meantime and try MSL's trouble-shooting idea (since it's easy).

If you are trying to run all the zones at one time, it's possible that there just isn't enough pressure to do so. Does the system work if you run one zone at a time?

Let the grass die, replace with rock and cacti.. simple! :p
You do live in a desert you know... :)

hehe problem solved

http://www.waterlessgrass.com/

rent a mexican from home depot for an hour, lol...

you'll prolly have to hit up your nieghbors gardener(s) and throw him a twundo (or a six pack of beer)... on hot days, they'll go for popsicles.... (dont ask me how i know this, lol)

good luck...

p.s. i went all desert w/my backyard... but i back up to a golf course and have a 180 degree view of it from my patio.... (they have all the grass i need)

cheers

Originally posted by soulcontroller
If you are trying to run all the zones at one time, it's possible that there just isn't enough pressure to do so. Does the system work if you run one zone at a time?

Yeah, I would go to home desperate (depot) and pick up a pressure gauge 0-100psi and you can fit that onto a garden hose x I.P.S adapter. Make sure you get all the other adapters you need to adapt from the gauge outlet to the I.P.S which is usually 3/4". That will make you a little pressure gauge to see what you have for house pressure. Just thread the hose side onto a hose-bibb or wall faucet and turn it on all the way and check the pressure on the gauge. You should be somewhere between 50-80 PSI. Below that and you might consider installing a new water pressure reducer on the incoming water line to your house. (Above that and you should do the same) If you're only a little below those numbers then you may have to set the box (if it can) to be a timer and only run certain smaller zones at a time. Even if you have up to the 80psi you may still have to rotate these zones if you have a humugo lawn. This is all assuming you're on city water. If you're on well water thats another story and I can get into that too. Let me know if you need anything else.

^^ thanks. I was trying to get to that in not so many words.

Originally posted by soulcontroller
^^ thanks. I was trying to get to that in not so many words.

Yeah, I'm not very concise. I'm working on that.