How To Fix Sprinkler Heads How To Fix Sprinkler Heads

At some point during the summer season, your sprinkler heads might become damaged due to a lawnmower blade hitting them or a tire rolling over them. They might even have gotten damaged during the winter months from the freezing and thawing if any water was left in them.

Fortunately, fixing, or replacing, sprinkler heads is relatively simply and can be easily done

Locate Broken Sprinkler Head

You might already know where it is, but it doesn't hurt to take a walk around your sprinkler system and check for other damaged sprinkler heads. You can do this by yourself if you have a clear view of the lawn from the water valve. If not, then enlist some help from a buddy to turn the water on and off when you locate the broken sprinkler heads.

Determine the Cause of Malfunction

If you have run over it with the lawnmower, chances you are already know the cause of the malfunction. However, if the sprinkler head just started not popping up, or not rotating, then you will have to check out why this is happening. There are several reasons why a sprinkler head might malfunction.

•Clogged sprinkler head sleeve that is not allowing the sprinkler to pop up
•Stuck rotator arm so the sprinkler does not move
•Bent, or cracked sprinkler head sleeve
•Broken water outlet so the water sprays irregularly instead of a pattern.

Remove Sprinkler Head and Check Pipes

You can usually unscrew the sprinkler head from the sleeve quite easily. If there are screws holding it in place, use a screwdriver to remove them and remove the sprinkler head. Check the sleeve itself to see if it is bent, cracked, or clogged with dirt. Using a wire snack, thread it through the pipe to see if there is any blockage. Sometimes a root, or dirt in the pipe will cause water not to flow to the sprinkler head.

Clean Clogged Pipes or Sprinkler Head

If the sprinkler head is clogged, use a small, thin wire to unclog the holes. If the pipe is clogged then you can use the snake to try and bust through the clog or use some chemical cleaners inside the pipe itself.

Replace Sprinkler Head

Sometimes the only fix for the sprinkler head is to replace it all together. If a lawnmower blade has chopped it up, then simply taking it to the hardware store and purchasing a replacement for it is the easiest remedy.

Seat Back in Sleeve

After you have checked the pipes again, you can set the new sprinkler head back inside the sleeve. Screw it in hand tight, and replace any screws.

Test Your Repair

Turn the water on and check to make sure you were able to fix the sprinkler head. If there are still problems, especially with water pressure, the problem might be in the irrigation pipes themselves and require digging up and searching for the problem area.

Regular maintenance of your sprinkler heads will reveal potential problems with heads and pipes before they get to be too bad.


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