By Katherine Woodford

Young parents are often overheard asking if their newborn babies come with instruction manuals. An irrigation contractor, turning on a new system for that first test run, or the contractor called to service a system installed by another company, may feel the same question pertinent when referring to troubleshooting.

Where do you begin the search for the source of a problem? With the basics, advises Brian Vinchesi, president of Irrigation Consulting, Inc., current president of the American Society of Irrigation Consultants and treasurer of the Irrigation Association.

“Have a troubleshooting plan. Think about what you’re doing first, eliminating possibilities in a very set stage of events. If the system is not working, follow these steps and stick to them. Once you start guessing, you will be there all day, and that costs you money.”

“Initially, you need to find out whether the cause is electrical or mechanical. If the system works manually but not electrically, then it is an electrical problem; if it does not work either way it’s a mechanical problem.”

If it’s a mechanical problem, the first thing Vinchesi does is pull out his pressure gauge. “A pressure gauge never lies; it will tell you exactly what’s going on in your system.”

Using the pressure gauge, check the pressure at the source of water, to make sure there is enough pressure to run the system. For city water-supplied installations, do this with the system on and with the system off. This will tell you if the issue is with the system or with the water supply. The pressure gauge will indicate whether the master shut-off valve controlling the city water is partially open or completely closed. Check to see if the backflow device and the main water meter valve are open. Look for a leak on the mainline or lateral line. If there are problems on the supply side, it’s up to the city to fix it.

Contractors encounter such problems, particularly with older homes where the pipe running from the street to the house develops corrosion that restricts water flow. Vinchesi recommends checking the amount of water and the pressure available prior to pricing a system, because correcting this type of problem can run the costs up.

Pumped water supplied installations can be a little more difficult to determine. If the pump is working, it can be illusory, Vinchesi says, “Again, the pressure gauge never lies. If the pressure is low, there is a reason. The problem could be that the pump is not getting water. Yet, a surprisingly frequent occurrence is that the pump is wired backwards. If it is rotating backwards, it will work, but it will not work correctly, deceiving the contractor into thinking the problem is elsewhere.”

The pressure gauge is great for troubleshooting mechanical problems as well. Once you have established that the water source is not the cause, determine whether every zone or just one zone has a problem, again using the pressure gauge and, if necessary an adapter on a sprinkler in each zone.

If there is trouble with one zone, check to see if the valve is opening all the way or if the flow control on the valve is remaining closed.

Sometimes a worker installs the valve backwards, and occasionally a pipe is not connected.

Every contractor has been guilty of poor planning at least once in his or her career. If the schematic called for too small of pipe, the ideal solution is to go back and install bigger pipe. However, this is costly. While not the best, another solution would be to install a booster pump. A zone can be split if there are too many heads on a zone.
The problem could be as simple as one or two sprinklers not popping up or spraying. They are either clogged from trash in the line or a pipe was not connected.

“Electrical troubleshooting is detailed and meticulous, but there are set things to look for,” Vinchesi explained. “You start from the controller, and work your way out. The problem could be caused by a bad solenoid in a valve, a short or a bad splice in a wire, or frequently on new installations someone just forgot to connect something properly.”

Suggested Steps
Using a multi-meter, check the voltage at the controller. The correct voltage should be around 24 vac (volts ac current). If you do not have this reading, replace the controller.

Check the voltage from the main supply to the transformer, using a multi-meter. The transformer’s job is to transform 110 volts to 24 volts. No voltage would indicate a blown breaker, a bad outlet or connection.

If you find the correct voltage, check the voltage from the transformer to the controller. If you find no voltage, replace the transformer. If there is voltage and you have an electric master valve, go to the controller and run the first station. If there is no voltage in the controller from the first station to the first valve, check to see that the weather sensors are not triggered and that the controller fuse is still good. Reset the controller by unplugging it, remove the battery from the unit for five minutes, replace the battery and plug the controller back in. If there is still a problem, you have a bad controller.

“If a whole zone does not work, check the power to the valve,” recommends Brian Cutulle, owner, Patriot Irrigation & Lighting, Antioch, Tennessee. “I’ve found in new installations that if there’s a problem, it’s usually caused by wiring, and you just have to know where to look.”
If you did have a 24-vac reading at the first station, unplug the controller, turn the multi-meter setting to olms, and check the olms at the controller for the first station. If you do not have a reading of 20 olms, replace the solenoid in the valve or replace the valve.

If the reading is over 90 olms, check the wire connections at the valve. If you continue to have this reading, you have a bad splice or broken wire to the valve. If you don’t have a faultfinder or wire locator, it would be less costly to run a new wire. If the olms reading was between 20 and 90 olms, check the flow control open on the valve; if it is open, replace the valve. Run each zone manually, checking the voltage to the remaining stations.

Matthew Bumond, owner of Olympus Irrigation Company in Salt Lake City, Utah, tests his systems as he installs them. “It may take a minute longer per step, but I don’t have any problems when I turn a system on.” He makes sure the wiring from each valve is working first; next he wires the clock so that he can turn on each station to assure the wiring is intact. He then checks to make sure that the clock and solenoids are working correctly. After that, the crew blows out the main line and the lateral lines to remove debris before installing the sprinklers.

“With this preparation, our systems are ready to go when we turn them on,” he continued. “When planning a system, I over-engineer so there are few call-backs. Ninety percent of the repair calls are electrical, from the homeowner digging in flowerbeds or the clock not working because of a blown fuse.”

Taking over a system that you did not install . . .
A wise investment for a contractor to add to his equipment inventory is a faultfinder or wire locator, to help trace the source of a wiring problem. Economics do not always allow this for start-up businesses; however, it’s recommended as soon as it is expedient.

Having this tool, and the skill to use it successfully, allows more freedom to take over systems, without the anxiety commonly associated with locating valves.

“There are companies that do not use valve boxes, which makes it hard to find the valves, but you can find them if you’re skilled with a wire tracker,” Vinchesi said. “If you can’t find the valve and the homeowner doesn’t know where it is, then you’re probably in trouble; it’s hard to fix it if you can’t find it. You either have to start over or dig a lot of holes, which I don’t recommend.”

It is best to provide the homeowner with an approximate cost of what the repair will be before you begin. If it’s going to take more than a day to find a valve box, then it would be cheaper to put in a new valve and wire.

Vinchesi suggests that when a contractor first agrees to take over a system, he should go to the site and run the system through just to get a feel for it. Turn on every zone, watch it run for 10-15 minutes. Make note if the system is operating properly, if any heads need to be raised or lowered, if any arcs need to be adjusted, and check the backflow to see that it’s running properly.

“I always ask for a schematic first; sometimes I get lucky,” Cutulle said, “I let the customer know up-front that my fee is $45 per hour. I look at the quality of the existing system, and the number of zones, and base an estimate on that.”

Cutulle also likes to get the customer involved in the repair. They know more than they think they know about where things are located. He also finds this helps when he hands them the invoice. “They know how hard you’ve worked, plus you’ve developed the beginning of a business friendship.”

The key to successful troubleshooting is to have standard steps in place within your company prior to approaching that first troubleshooting situation. This will give you confidence that shines through, in your work and to your customer.

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Valves – Repair or Replace? There are three parts to a valve that can be replaced: the diaphragm, solenoid and body. Before deciding whether to repair or replace, consider these three factors: How long is the system going to be down if you repair the valve? How long has the valve been in the system? Is the valve brass or plastic? Seasoned contractors will buy a new valve and replace only the top half of the one that needs repair, as long as the original body is still in good shape. The costs equal out to about the same as buying the new parts separately. Wire Repair Always use a direct burial splice kit design for underground. Unplug the controller. Strip the insulation back approximately ¼" from end of both wires.

 

October 2001