From Two Rocks to Joondalup – call Andrew 0400044236
Winter is the quiet time for retic blokes and the crew at Brighton Retic are taking our annual leave until August 7th.
If you require service work then we will be happy to get back in touch as soon as we get back. If you would like a quote then please email and we will be in touch when we pick it up.
Alternatively for service work, we can highly recommend Bede Anderson of Mr Retic for northern suburbs work 0452227204 or Luke from Luke’s Landscaping for work south of the river 0424133950.
In case you weren’t aware all reticulation needs to be switched off as of June 1st and until Aug 31st.
For most controllers it is a simple matter of turning the dial to ‘off’ and ensuring the sprinklers don’t run. If you continue to run your retic over winter then you will get fined around $150.00
If you aren’t sure how to switch the system off then give us a call and we’ll try and talk you thru it over the phone.
One of the occupational hazards of doing retic and using a mechanical trencher is that we sometimes hit other pipes under the ground. Some are easier to fix than others and some require a plumber. Where we can we will fix the pipes on the spot, but it isn’t always possible.
Yesterday I accidentally cut thru a stormwater pipe thinking it was the conduit supplied for retic under a driveway. I was half way thru the cut (trimming what I thought was excess) when I realised what I had done… Oops… The pipe I wanted was further down the drive, but now I was left with the job of repairing my mistake.
Sometimes when stormwater pipe is chipped or cracked we can fix it by using another piece of stormwater, cutting it lengthways and using it a a sleeve. You slip it over, glue it and usually that’s all good.
In this case I needed to actually rejoin the two pipes – tricky when neither of them are flexible. It was a clean cut but it was all the way thru so a sleeve wasn’t going to work.
The solution?
Get a 90ml coupling, lift the most ‘movable’ piece of pipe above the other and slip the coupling over it. Slide it right along, then realign the pipes and pull the coupling back over the other piece of pipe. When you are sure you have it lined up slide it up again and use some glue. You need to be sure not to get sand in between the pipes or they won’t slide.
If you have a whole section of pipe that needs replacing, or if it is impossible to lift the pipe up then simply use two couplings and do the same thing but insert a new piece of pipe where the damaged section was.
My son discovered this video on Youtube today and is pretty keen to make one… Luckily we have all the parts we need in the back of the Cruiser!
Sometimes it can be difficult to install a system when there is no way of running wire from the control box to the solenoids. Maybe the liquid limestone went in too quickly and people hadn’t considered the future problems.
It may not be all over…
There are a couple of battery powered solenoids models available that require w ater supply, but do not need a control box positioned on the wall. We prefer to use the Hunter Node for reliability and ease of use. It functions in much the same way as the X Core controller and had the option of installing multiple solenoids, so even if you can’t access your water meter or get power to your solenoids the ‘Node’ may still allow you have a functioning retic system
This cooler weather is the perfect time to install some turf.
It will grow well before winter, you can avoid the heat and your lawn will look great.
Give us a call for a free quote. We can usually give you a pretty good estimate over the phone and then can measure up if we are looking like going ahead
This is the most common controller we use so for those who would like some easy to follow instructions here they are courtesy of Hunter
Part 2 – some more advanced programming:
So you have put a new solenoid on but it doesn’t seem to be sealing?
Chances are you may have put it on back to front. Yes – solenoids are intended for water flow in one direction only. If you can’t seem to get the water to stop then check the base of the solenoid to see which way the arrow is pointing and if it isn’t in the direction of water flow then you will need to remove it and turn it around.
Another test is to see if the solenoid seals when you turn it ‘on’. Sometimes when solenoids are installed back to front they will stop water flow when the coil is turned to the on position. Either way – get the direction wrong and you will need to dis-assemble and start over.
Sure – this is Hunter propaganda, but in my experience MPs have proven themselves to be top quality nozzles over time. It is not uncommon for me to return to a house I installed MP rotators in after 3-4 years and see them performing as well as the day we installed them.
At Brighton retic we are taking a break from Dec 25 through to Jan 7th.
Enjoy the holiday season as we celebrate the birth of Christ.