servicing Two Rocks to Trigg – call Andrew 0400044236
Not sure how to set your control box and lost the manual?
Then just check this page and you may well find your box listed and them manual that is required.
This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us hereSeems the water authority have been sending out their inspectors pre dawn and in the evening so if you are watering when you shouldn’t be then you might want to think twice. Its a hefty fine…
If you aren’t sure how to set your control then just give me a call.
This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us hereSo what’s the deal when your retic box if switched to off and a solenoid is still receiving an electrical signal and is stuck open?
Honestly I have no idea…
But its happened to me 3 times now and today I was able to resolve it.
The first two times were with Hunter EC 2 station control boxes and I couldn’t find a solution and ended up changing the box over. It was a faulty box, but this time I had another 3 terminals to test before doing a swap. On terminals 4 & 5 the solenoid stuck open (there was negilible voltage coming from the terminals (4V) but when I switched the wires to terminal 6 the problem went away.
I have no idea what was going on but on each occasion it has been a Hunter control box that has been the problem. Today was a brand new X Core.
So if you find a solenoid stuck open despite there being no voltage going to it maybe you’re not crazy. Maybe its the control box doing some crazy stuff
This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
Yeah… that’s one of those questions that you can’t answer quite so easily…
The things to consider are:
- what is your water flow rate?
- what type of nozzle are you using?
- what type of sprinkler?
In most suburbs I work on around 30l/min flow rate but in places like Yanchep it can be as low as 18l/m or The Green in Butler it is around 22L/M.
From there you work out how many regular pop-ups you can fit on a line. For example a 12ft Toro pop-up nozzle with a 180 degree spray uses 4l/m, a 90 degree spray 2l/m and a whole spray 8l/m. However a 15 ft nozzle with increase water usage and a 10ft will decrease.
Then if you use MP Rotators you decrease water usage again but increase your spray distance…
So if you want to get it right then talk to someone who understands these variables or get a specification chart that can guide you in your planning. I have been to plenty of homes where the sprinklers are functioning poorly because the wrong kinds of sprinklers have been used.
This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
This is not a question with a simple answer, because the response depends on the type of sprinklers you are using and how they apply water.
The goal is to get 10ml of water to your lawn/garden each time they operate so different nozzles will require different run times. For example regular pop-ups can be run for around 12 minutes to apply 10mls.
Toro precision nozzles need to be left on for around 25 mins to get the same result. Then there are the MP Rotators which need 45-50 mins to deliver 10mls.
There are specs for each type of sprinkler available from the manufacturers or your retic guy can help you make sense of it. Here’s an example of how to find the answer. The chart shows that PGP needs to be on for 60 mins to apply 10ml.
The important thing is to remember that not all sprinklers deliver water at the same rate.
This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
If nothing comes on whatsoever then chances are you may have a broken common wire.
We were at a job today where the back came on, but the front didn’t. The fact that the back came on eliminated the possibility of it being the master solenoid.
It had to be a common wire (or all 3 solenoids had died at the same time).
As is often the case a brief search revealed a wire sticking out of the ground that shouldn’t have been there. A dig in the area revealed its other half and when they were re-joined ‘voila’ the whole system kicked into gear.
Sometimes its a simple solution, but you need to know where to look.
This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
So what’s a reasonable warranty on a reticulation installation. With some operators the minute they leave the retic is your problem and that is not what you want.
We believe our warranties are the best you will find.
Obviously we do not warrant equipment against physical damage by a third party and warranties on controllers will not apply if the door to the control box is left open and it gets water damaged.
At the end of the day we will do our best to make sure you are looked after with the highest level of service possible.
This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
If you have a solenoid that stays on with all of the other stations then 9 times out of 10 it is your diaphragm that is playing up. First check that you haven’t accidentally placed it in the ‘on’ position, then check that the small screw for flushing is done up tight. If these are all ok and there are no visible leaks then its usually the diaphragm.
This is the rubber piece in the middle of the solenoid and allows water to flow or blocks its flow. For some solenoids eg Richdel you can probably head down to your local retic shop, grab a new diaphragm and change it over. Other solenoids aren’t quite so easy and you may need to replace the whole unit.
If you are buying a solenoid then I recommend the jar top variety which you can screw on and off rather than the solenoids where stainless screws are used to join the two halves together. In my experience the solenoids that are screwed together are harder to separate and rejoin. Bits of dirt can get in between the surfaces, the gasket can break and it can just be messier getting it all to line up again.
This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
Occasionally retic does weird stuff.
The good news is that being a ‘closed system’ there are only so many variables that can go wrong. If you have an analytical mind then you can solve most problems by a process of deduction.
Yesterday I went to see a client whose retic had come on and wouldn’t go off. They had been on holidays when this happened so they came home to huge water bill.
The logical answer is that both the master valve and the station valve had failed and stuck open simultaneously allowing water thru. But what are the chances of that? I’d be guessing one in a million so I started by testing the control box to see if there were any issues there.
Nope.
By turning the valves on and off manually I was able to detect that all 3 of the clients solenoids were faulty. The fault was intermitent, but it was there. The end result was 3 new solenoids and no more problems.
This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
Ok so you have noticed a drop in pressure on your sprinklers.
Believe it or not the first place to check is your water meter. Make sure someone hasn’t turned the pressure down here. It happens… I have no idea why people do it but that’s the first test.
Then check and see if it is on just one station or on all.
If its ‘all’ then you have a break in your mainline – that’s the 25ml or 40ml main pipe that feeds to the solenoids. This should show up in a large puddle of water somewhere. You may need to leave it on for a while if its just a small crack as it will take a while for it to show through.
If its just one station then you will have either a broken pipe in the line or a broken riser.
Check for pooling around the sprinklers as that will indicate a riser problem. If you can move the sprinkler then its likely the riser is broken. If not then you will need to check the line for cracks and breaks. This can be a long tedious process as you will need to locate the break and sometimes its not obvious.
A small crack can result in a significant pressure drop but can be a pain to find.
Here’s one my father worked on recently. His pressure on this one station dropped significantly and he ended up having to trace the line until he found the problem – a joint that had cracked.
If you have a drop in pressure then the only solution is to keep looking till you find it – or call us and we will look for you!
This is the Brighton Reticulation Blog and our main site can be found here For service or advice with the issues in this post call Andrew on 0400044236, or email us here
