I just bought a house and it has a sprinkler system installed in the front yard, I have been fiddling with the sprinkler system for the last week on and off and the only thing that I can think of as to why the sprinkler heads won't pop up when water (and control module) is turned on, is that my Anti-Siphon Valve is shot. Am I look in the wrong direction? or would a busted Anti-Siphon Valve cause that?

I had the sellers of the house give me a 500$ cash credit at the end of closing because in the ad for the house they said the sprinkler system was working...so I have some money to spend on fixing it, but if its a 13$ valve, I think I made out like a bandit.

 

If you have automatic valves, there should be a brass screw on the top of the valve itself.
Try turning the valve in so the sprinkler activates.
If they work, then its the valve should be replaced.
Hope this helps.

 

the anti siphion vavle might be in backwards or one of the many on/off valves that get put in might be off.
if you try to turn them on manually does water come out and they just dont pop up? or not water at all?

 

I think the valves are pressure operated by the water. I have only tried to get the sprinkler system to work through the valve because that is the only way I can get water to the piping and nothing pops up at all.

 

you may want to flush the system first. Take off the sprinkler head furthest from the valve, turn the water on for a minute or so, then replace the head. You should inspect the sprinkler inlet screen (on the bottom of the sprinkler itself) before you put it back on. Flush all of the lines this way, and make sure you don't allow debris back into the lines.

 

let's take this to it's simplest point. If there is pressure in the line the heads will popup, maybe not spray if they are plugged but they will still popup.

I would start by looking in the furnace room by the water heater for a water shutoff valve that is turned off or some place similar where the PO would have installed a shutoff valve. If you verified it's open and operating I would then take the hose end off the valve and see if you have good water pressure after the valve. Then I would go to the closest head and remove the spray part only, pull up the head and unscrew and run some water good pressure repeat with the rest of the heads until you find your problem. I'm betting it's either shut off or a bad solenoid at the valve.

 

Thanks for the input...But the one simple question...

If my Anti-siphon valve were busted would that cause the whole system not to work?

 

Possibly. An anti-siphon valve is nothing more than a one way valve (a check valve). If it were installed backwards it would not work at all.

 

Have you verified that you're getting power to your control valves when the control module shows to be on? Could just be a wiring problem to the valves.

 

I did verify that I was getting power to the control valves on the solenoid, however I am pretty sure that it is bad.

 

Is your sprinkler system on a separate meter? If so, check for a pressure regulator / anti siphon in ground immediately following the meter.

Most control valves, depending on who makes it, have some means of manually activating. Sounds like you may have no water going to the valves, thus no water to the heads.

It really depends on the way your system is set up.

If you live in a lightening prone area, look out. Get ready to dish out bucks for new controllers. I've bought three in 10 years. One got blown into the neighbors yard.

Good luck, David

 

The zone valves should have a screw that you can remove to open them manually. Water will be coming at ya, so be prepared. Also, there isn't a pump that raises water pressure?

 

no, the way the system works (i just bought the house) from what I can tell. I have a short hose that connects directly from an outdoor valve like the common one you hook up a garden hose too, that hose goes directly into the valve that is just below the anti siphon valve. If I turn the valve one way it will shoot a direct stream of water(from the pressure coming from the hose), if I close it it shoots the water up into the anti siphon valve (where I think my problem is) and from there to 5 valves that go directly to each sprinkler head...I know that none of the sprinkler valves are getting water because I've opened them up and I get nothing.

 

The one valve is probably a winter blow down valve. Anyway, it very well could be the anti-siphon valve.