DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

How to turn on the sprinkler system water?

2K views 14 replies 7 participants last post by  lowvolter 
#1 ·
We moved to our new to us house in January. Now it's time to start watering the lawn. We have two underground thingies that just split the water up. (One in the front yard and one in the back.) We don't seem to have a backflow device. (Our old house didn't have one either.) Any ideas on how to turn the water on?
 
#2 ·
You really only need to water the lawn if you live in a HOA and the powers to be "require" you to waste water to keep your lawn for their wellbeing nice and green, or if you are not getting any rain for a long period, and you wish to keep it from dying by watering it just enough once every couple of days.

As for your question, there should be something like a timer box to allow it to run on a cycle. If you have water shooting up out of the yard, that means that sprinkler heads have been removed when they winterized the system, but never replaced them, or you have a neighbor that needed new sprinkler heads for their system and they saw easy pickings from a house that was unoccupied.
 
#3 ·
We live in a desert and my husband is insistent that our yard look just like the cookie cutter mold.

My husband has been quite meticulous with making sure that all the sprinkler heads are on correctly and the timer box is set up to turn on the sprinklers. There is no water that gets to the sprinklers, however.
 
#10 · (Edited)
ewwwww.........:)

Well we know the system isnt getting water or the zone valves are not getting power. Confirm somehow that it is getting water and the control center is getting power. Check the zones valves to see if they are getting voltage when the timer is energized. If they are not getting voltage with the timer in the manual mode, it may be time then to call a irrigation contractor. good luck
 
#13 ·
We moved to our new to us house in January. Now it's time to start watering the lawn. We have two underground thingies that just split the water up. (One in the front yard and one in the back.) We don't seem to have a backflow device. (Our old house didn't have one either.) Any ideas on how to turn the water on?

Thats good news to read that your neighbor may help with your problem. I cannot speak for your location, but in my town and for good reasons, not having a BFPV on irrigation is a BIG no-no.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Depending on where you live....there is sometimes what they call around here as a "secondary" valve. There would be a valve in your yard somewhere that is below the frost level. If it's warm it may not be buried real deep. This valve cuts into your main line going into your house. Look for some type of pipe access (plug cap,box, etc" in your yard. Draw an imaginary straight line from your water main near the curb to the main shutoff inside your house. Usually they are there. It may be in the grass and dirt has sloughed off on top of it. You would use a long "sprinkler key" to turn this on. I found mine in a flower bed under a large rock.

Just a thought.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top