Flow Control Solenoid Valves

Posted on 11th June 2013 in Products, solenoids

So what’s the difference between an ordinary solenoid valve and one with flow control?

 

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Basically its the large ‘dial’ in the middle that you can turn to adjust the rate at which water flows thru the valve. You may choose to use one of these if you have a small station and do not want you retic operating at full capacity.

For example some people have a small veggie patch that needs some very specific watering. Rather than adding the veggies patch to the lawn station or to other garden beds they would irrigate it separately. In that instance it may be necessary to reduce the flow and use this type of valve.

Any alternative is to use an inline tap to reduce to flow.

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Transformations

Posted on 11th June 2013 in In My Own Backyard, Sir Walter Turf, sprinklers

When someone calls us to get to work on their backyard or front yard then essentially what they are hoping for is a transformation – a complete facelift that will have you say ‘wow!’

We don’t often get to go back  and see how our jobs look a year or two later, but this is one job I will stay in touch with because I drive past it every day.

Just 300m from our home is this residence right on the beach in Yanchep. It has had both an internal and external facelift over the last year or two.

Last year we came here and did the retic and turf at the rear, and then today we went back and completed work at the front. Here are some shots from a year ago as well as some pics of how it looks today.

 

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That was last year and here’s today…

brazier

 

brazier back

 

And then today we did the front

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Water Water Water

Posted on 11th March 2013 in Controllers, General, Installations, Turf

Any time lay lawn we will set your retic control box for you, but after that its up to you to make sure it is actually working.

Different controllers respond differently to power outages and occasionally controllers can ‘die’, leaving you with no water. A recent turf installation we did in Brighton came close to tragedy.

The house was uninhabited and the person responsible for it lived in the country. After laying the turf we set the control box and left, only to discover two weeks later that the control box had faulted and the lawn hadn’t been watered as needed. It was close to dead and was going to need some intense watering to bring it back to life.

At last inspection it seemed that the lawn had a chance of making it, which is very fortunate. A dead lawn doesn’t just cost money to replace. It costs to remove and tip, so in the end the exercise costs even more than double.

So please please please – check that your lawn is getting watered as it should be. And if its not then call us straight away so we can help you sort it out!

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My Retic Won’t Come On

Posted on 18th January 2013 in What's Going on There?, wiring

Broken wires

 

This week I went back to a job I first looked at a couple of months back.

I stopped in on my way home to see why this particular system wasn’t working. It was late in the afternoon and more than I had time for so I declined to take the job on right then.

So when we got back yesterday I knew what we were doing.

I had already tested for power at the Master Valve and there was nothing there. However what was really odd was that there was intermittent power. I know because I brushed the fleshy side of my forearm across the wires and got a small boot. The power wouldn’t register on the multi-meter, although it did shoot up to 28v on one occasion before dying again and making me wonder if i was dreaming…

So the logical conclusion was that a common wire had been broken somewhere. Even when the master valve was turned on manually there was still no water going thru the system. We began at the controller and traced the wires thru a series of 4 different joins and eventually discovered a sliced cable about 30ml underground alongside the driveway. It looked like the edger had given it a beating.

The wire were joining occasionally hence the odd readings, but once it was all tidied up and rejoined the system was working perfectly again.

 

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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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Remote Control for Retic Controllers

Posted on 14th September 2012 in Controllers

If your control box is in an awkward spot or if you have a bigger property then testing the retic can be a real pain in the proverbial.

Running back and forward to the box to test, flush re-test takes time and the solution is a simple remote control that will save you that annoyance.

Finally, you don’t need to walk back to the controller to stop and start a manual watering cycle.

The ROAM Remote lets you do just that: Roam wire-free for simple remote operation. The mid-range solution for residential and commercial applications, the ROAM will operate up to a 300 metre range.

For use with Hunter controllers SRC, XC, X-CORE, PRO-C, ICC, I-CORE & ACC, the ROAM offers features other remotes cannot, at a price we all like. With a large LCD and simple push button operation, this remote is tough enough for anything with its sturdy ABS construction, but small enough to fit in your pocket.

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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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Laying Kikuyu Turf

Posted on 31st May 2012 in Installations, Turf

Its been over 5 years of running this business and only yesterday I laid kikuyu turf for the first time. Kikuyu is a cooch variety and is typically used in parks or for commercial applications.

It is hard wearing and sturdy. It has a broader leaf than wintergreen and yesterday’s batch felt quite spongy, although I don’t know if that is typical.

We can supply and lay kikuyu at the same price as Wintergreen if it is your preference.

 

 

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Village Green Turf

Posted on 25th May 2012 in Installing

 

I had a request yesterday for ‘Village Green Turf’, a variety I have heard of but never used before. I did some research and discovered that it is a form of kikuyu but one that has some improved features. See the chart below for its strengths and then refer to the brochure here for more info. We can supply and lay Village Green Turf for you – just call now for a free measure and quote.

 

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How to Install Sprinklers by The Kerb

Posted on 13th May 2012 in Installations, Installing, Products, sprinklers

 

The first time I did some DIY retic I tried to install my kerbside sprinklers by digging along the line of the kerb.

Big mistake!

After 10 minutes I had all but given up. You see the soil along the kerb is actually roadbase. It is hard and rocky and not easy digging. If you want to install sprinklers along the kerb then dig a trench one metre away from the kerb and parallel to it and then ‘t’ off to the point where you need sprinklers. You will still need to do some hard digging but it will save you a lot of effort and you will do the job right.

The other tip with kerbside sprinklers is to make sure they are well below kerb height – because they will get driven over. If you’re lucky they won’t get damaged, but if they are even sticking up a little bit then expect to replace them regularly.

I get calls from one client a few times each summer to replace the same sprinkler. Personally I reckon it would be easier just to sink the sprinkler a bit lower…

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