Only One Station Comes on… What Have I Done?

Posted on 27th September 2012 in Controllers, What's Going on There?, wiring

I went to a job today where the client told me that they were on a shared bore and that only one of their stations would come on. The pump would come on when the rear lawn was running but not on the other 3 stations… strange…

What was going on?

When I got there I also discovered that he had installed a new control box and wired it up himself. I assumed all this was done correctly, but after half an hour of testing various things it dawned on me that what he had done was wire the master/pump wire incorrectly.

He had mistakenly put the pump wire in station 4 and station 4 wire in the pump terminal thus meaning only one station would work. Once we reversed the wires everything worked as it should have.

The learning here is:

- always get the wires back in the right place

- if in doubt make sure you get the pump/MV and common correct. The rest is easy.

And if you ever re-wire your own control box and have just one station come on then consider that you have got the MV/pump wire in the wrong terminal.

Its easy to do!

 

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Intermittent Problems with Irritrol Kwikdial Controller

Posted on 26th September 2012 in Controllers, Never Seen That One Before, What's Going on There?

I have one customer whose home I have been to twice now to try and resolve a ‘fuse’ issue with his Irritrol controller.

When a kwikdial shows a ‘fuse’ message it generally means either box is playing up or one of the coils is playing up. When it does it intermittently then its hard to know which is the source of the problem – coil or controller.

Today I went back again and we decided to try option A which was to replace all coils on the master and 2 station valves. This was the cheapest option and it looks like it may have worked.

If this doesn’t work then the next option will be to replace the control box.

Let’s home he has a win here.

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How to Avoid Bore Stains

Posted on 26th September 2012 in bore, Installations

I drove past a school on the weekend that was painted blue, but had large red arcs around the paintwork – the result of sprinklers running off a bore.

If you have a bore and you are worried about staining then the answer is to try and design a garden and lawn that can minimise the results of bore water on them.

Some simple suggestions:

  • Use either miniscape dripline or adjustable staked drippers in garden beds rather than sprays. Both of these methods target the plants and drop water in the areas needed rather than risking overspray.
  • Have gardens close to the house and lawn further away, thus minimising the risk of water on walls.
  • Use MP Rotator nozzles rather than regular Toro. They will spray bigger droplets and get blown around less.

A little planning can allow you to have all the benefits of a bore without any of the nasties.

Of course there are some suburbs where bore staining is worse than others. If you live in Greenwood then you are in for a heap of colour on your walls, whereas where we are in Yanchep there is minimal staining. If you aren’t sure what to expect then just look around you at other houses with bores and see what they look like.

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Hunter Solenoid Valves

Posted on 15th September 2012 in solenoids

Personally I prefer to use the Richdel as they are more common around Perth and easily interchangeable, but in this clip Hunter show you the rigorous process their valves go thru before making it to you.

Pretty impressive

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How To Reset a Hunter X Core Controller

Posted on 14th September 2012 in Controllers, General, Installations, What's Going on There?

 

If you have an X Core controller that seems to be playing up then the most likely cause is that it needs resetting.

This can be done easily.

1. Press and hold the ‘PROG’  button.

 

2.  While holding the  ‘PROG’  button press the RESET button for 3 seconds, then release the RESET button while continuing to hold the ‘PROG’  button.

 

3.  Continue holding ‘PROG’ button until time is displayed (this takes about 8 seconds)

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Forgotten to Put Conduit Under Your Driveway?

Posted on 3rd September 2012 in Installations, Never Seen That One Before

It does happen occasionally…

I am currently trying to help some people find a way to get pipe under an 8 m wide driveway with access from one side only.  It is proving difficult.

With access from both sides you can clear a path, but meet in the middle but with access from just one side it is much more difficult.

I have managed to plunk 5m in, but after that it just gets stuck and with poor water pressure we are struggling to keep the pipe moving. Plunking is normally pretty straight forward but it helps if you have good water pressure and can come at the driveway from both sides.

I explored some options today, one of which was the ‘bullet-mole‘, a piece of steel you smack thru with a sledgehammer. It looks like a great option, but unfortunately it can only go 6m and I need one that can do 8… but it does look like a great option for people who have narrower driveways and are needing to get thru.

The other option seems to be compressed air. I haven’t done this before so I’m reluctant to try it unless I am sure it will work, but it seems this may be where we land up.

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Spring Reticulation Service in Perth

Posted on 17th August 2012 in Repairs

On September 1 we can all switch our retic back on.

Inevitably that is the time when you discover that it isn’t working quite the way you hope it should. If that is the case and your retic needs servicing then give us a call on 0400044236 and we can book you in.

The spring and early summer months are always flat out so beat the rush and get in asap!

 

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Can I Repair My Retic Control Box

Posted on 5th July 2012 in Controllers, What's Going on There?

The short answer is probably ‘yes’. You can repair anything if you want to, but it isn’t good economics.

The last time I checked the cost of repairing a control panel for a retic box it was around $150.00 at an electronics specialist. Then there is the removal and replacement – allow another $150.00 and you are already close to replacement cost, but with no warranty.

So in short – like most things these days a retic control box is a disposable item, so my advice is to get one with a decent warranty.

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Laying Sir Walter Turf in Sorrento

Posted on 13th June 2012 in Installations

This is a before and after post so you can see the massive difference new turf can make to a property. We levelled the ground, fixed up the retic and laid the turf.

 

 

 

 

 

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How To Turn Your Retic Off

Posted on 4th June 2012 in Controllers

Its that time of year when we need to switch our reticulation off or face a $100 fine, not to mention the needless waste of water.

Occasionally I get people asking me ‘how do I turn my retic off?’

Sometimes its easy and obvious. Other times it can be confusing. Most control boxes have a function you turn the dial to that is simple labelled ‘turn off’ or similar. All you need to do is turn the dial here and leave it.

If you are unsure then unplug the control box or just give me a call and I will try and talk you thru it on the phone.

 

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