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Zone won't turn on after raising sprinkler head?

#1

I have the Rachio 16 Zone 2nd Generation controller running my irrigation system.

Earlier this week I needed to raise a few sprinkler heads due to the grass getting thicker. Before I raised the sprinkler heads I did a “Quick Run” on the zone to find the heads I needed to raise. The zone ran with no problem. After the zone finished its run, I raised two heads. To raise the heads all I did was unscrew the heads and add a longer pipe between the sprinkler head and the pvc pipe. Simple enough! Next, I went to do a quick run on the zone to test the spray radius. Now the zone won’t turn on! On the app it shows the zone is running, but the heads are not coming up. I tried to manually turn the solenoid to see if that was the issue. It wasn’t. The zone appears to be acting when the diaphragm needs to be replaced in the valve.

My question, why after raising a sprinkler head does the zone not turn on when it was working just a few minutes earlier? Pure coincidence? Anyone else experience a similar problem? Also, has anyone experienced more issues with diaphragm’s failing in the valves since switching to Rachio?

Thanks Ryan

#2

Pure coincidence…I could see some dirt or pebbles getting into the line when you pulled the body out, but that would only affect 1 or 2 sprinklers, not the whole zone…

#3

Is it possible the added pipe has taken away from the needed pressure to pop the head?

#4

Yes.

Yes. Plenty on this forum.

What I’ve concluded from being on the community forum is that Rachio controllers are being installed on aged irrigation systems. People are installing the controllers, playing with the app controls and turning their systems on manually a lot more. They are becoming more in touch with their irrigation systems components than ever before. This is a good thing.

The only relationship between a Rachio and a diaphragm is the Rachio customer’s interaction with the activation and being there at the same time the incident happened. The same thing would have happened on any other controller.

#5

Nope!

#6

Update: Changed out the diaphragm on the valve and everything is working great again. On a side note: since I was raisin sprinkler heads I first ran the zone with the spray nozzels removed to clear out and dirt in the lines. I was amazed how much dirt came out just from raising the heads.

Thanks all the input.