Rain Rich Blog: sprinklers parts Archives

Service Agreement Renewal

By Richard Silverman on August 31, 2011 7:30 PM

As summer begins to fade into fall, in a few short weeks it will be time to close down sprinkler systems. It is hard to believe after a great spring and summer that it is time to think about the importance of winterizing. Service Agreements will be arriving by mail for your review and renewal. The Rain Rich team has worked hard to review each account to insure that all the correct coverage and pricing is customized for your property. We feel it is important that you realize we have not raised our prices for the third consecutive year. In this tough economy I have been able to cut costs and pass savings onto my clients and will continue to do so as long as is economically possible.

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Beat the HEAT

By Richard Silverman on August 8, 2011 10:03 PM

During these hot days of extreme temperatures it is important to implement a plan to protect your lawn and plants. Here are several action steps to care for your landscape investment:

1. Water often and for long periods whenever possible. When water begins to form a puddle on your property then cut back on the run time for that zone. If possible, run a second cycle during the day.

2. Water early morning. Anytime after midnight and before 10am. The water pressure is high, the volume is best and distribution of water will also be at its optimum.

3. Water during the day to cool grass down. Golf courses do this all the time and it is called syringing. Ground water from our aquifer is 54 degrees Fahrenheit and the cool water will calm down lawn & plants and relieve some stress. It is a myth that watering during the day will burn your plants.

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Sprinkler Problems

By Richard Silverman on July 27, 2011 7:09 PM

Due to the heat, many of us are experiencing various problems with our sprinkler systems. Some of these issues might be due to the age of the system and can only be solved by performing preventative maintenance during the course of the summer.

Depending upon the complexity and size of the system some clients need more service than others. Typically the average sprinkler system requires repairs or replacements within 5 - 10 years. This includes sprinkler heads, sprinkler valves, controllers, rain sensors, and pipe repairs. Better grade equipment and installation allow the system to last longer, perform better, and require less maintenance.

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SPRINKLER ALERT!

By Richard Silverman on July 19, 2011 7:25 PM

The HEAT is on! DUE TO HIGH HEAT AND PROLONG DRY PERIOD WE ARE ADVISING ALL OF OUR CLIENTS TO DO THE FOLLOWING:

1. Increase the run time on your rotary sprinkler zones to 60 minutes per day for sunny areas.

2. Increase your SPRAY sprinkler zones to water for 15 minutes every day.

3. Increase your DRIP IRRIGATION zones to water for 60 minutes every day.

4. Increase the water budget key on your sprinklers to 110% or more.

5. Water as early in the morning as possible. Start at 1 am if possible. This will give your system the greatest pressure and volume and operate at the highest efficiency. It will also finish the cycle before you are up and using water in the home.

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Sprinkler Modifications

By Richard Silverman on July 12, 2011 4:48 PM

By now most everyone has had their sprinklers turned on and many of the repairs completed. As the season moves into the hot summer many of the calls for service are related to changes in the landscape and or home due to the following:

1. Plants grow and block the spray from the sprinkler heads. Sprinklers heads either need to be added to improve coverage, raised above plantings, or moved to provide better coverage.

2. Roots from trees can grow around sprinkler pipes and strangle piping reducing flow and loss of coverage.

3. New plantings can sometimes interfere with spray distribution.

4. New landscape construction such as patios, walkways, driveways, etc. can interfere with sprinkler coverage.

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Controllers and Scheduling Sprinkler Systems

By Richard Silverman on June 30, 2011 11:54 PM

It looks like this 4th of July will be the perfect weekend to be outside with the forecast of hot, dry, sunny weather. More than likely you will need to irrigate more frequently or increase your watering to maintain a happy landscape. I won't waste your time getting into all the programming details as this is just a quick guide to get you through the weekend.

Here a few guidelines and items to check in case you have a problem:

1. Make sure your clock is plugged in and the controller is in the "run" position.

2. To increase the watering time for each zone simply use the "seasonal adjustment" button on the face of the controller and press the arrow key that faces up. The display should read 100% and hold the button until you increase the percentage above 100%. Any increment above 100% is an increase and any increment below 100% is a decrease. Some of the new controllers require that you turn the dial from "run" to "season adjustment" before pressing the up arrow.

3. Please! Do not turn dial to "set program start times". Do not set or try to set more program start times unless you are very comfortable with programming and totally "get it". You only need one start time to activate the entire water cycle. Please leave as is!

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Controller Adjustments

By Kim Steed on June 7, 2011 7:59 PM

With the warmer temperatures moving in, don't forget to adjust your irrigation controller! You can literally save thousands of gallons of water in your landscape, and save your plants from drowning, with the proper setting of your irrigation controller. You need to change the watering schedules as plants become established, with the changing seasons, and when it rains.

Programming sprinkler systems clocks can be a relatively simple task once you have a few basic guidelines. Program your controller for the number of days per week you want the system to operate combined with the duration that each zone waters also known as the run time. You can have your sprinkler system programmed to come on every day, every other day, every third day, and so on.

Operating your sprinkler controller is an important part of irrigation management and maintenance. The sprinkler controller should be adjusted bi-monthly to minimize under watering and over watering. Inadequate sprinkler controller management can lead to turf and tree dehydration, fungus problems and insect infestation.

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Spring Start Ups 2011

By Richard Silverman on May 26, 2011 2:56 PM

Spring start ups are more than 50% complete and if you haven't had your sprinkler system turn on yet than this would probably be the last good week before the hot weather arrives. Hot weather is sure to return and I recommend you be prepared.

This spring we are finding more problems than usual due to the long and unusually cold winter that just passed. There are many different types of sprinkler systems that we install and with more than 70 days of snow cover on the ground we have found damage due to:

• Snow plows and snow blowers
• Machinery such as thatches, core aerators, and lawn mowers
• Continuous freeze thaw action of the ground on pipes and fittings tearing them apart

Sprinkler equipment, specifically residential grade sprinkler equipment, is only manufacture red to last 10 -12 years at most. Many of the sprinkler systems that Rain Rich services are much older and this is due to better quality equipment we install vs. the equipment our competitors install and the superior service we provide e.g. winterizing.

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Winterizing 2010

By Richard Silverman on September 30, 2010 7:23 PM

Now that Autumn has officially begun and cool weather is just around the corner it is time to prepare for the winter by closing down the lawn sprinkler system and removing all the water in the lines.

Winterizing your sprinkler system is as important as putting antifreeze in your car. If you do not have this service completed in a timely manner then the consequences can be disastrous. When water freezes it expands and this can lead to frozen pipes that will split and crack. Repairing or replacing broken equipment is expensive and is un-necessary if you have your system winterized this October and November. My recommendation is to have your system taken care of before Thanksgiving.

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Sprinkler System Redux

By Richard Silverman on September 14, 2010 8:23 PM

As summer begins to move into fall the dry weather continues and the Rain Rich Team is still busy fixing up and replacing sprinkler systems installed by others. Frustrated owners continue to call us to see what we can do to make their sprinkler systems work. It never fails that when we get a dry hot summer with very little or no rain that all the inadequacies of a poor design & installation become very apparent as dry lawn and shrubs. There are several mistakes made by inexperienced or handyman sprinkler companies and these include:

1. The sprinkler system is designed without knowing the working water pressure and volume.

2. Too many sprinkler heads on each zone.

3. Poor sprinkler head spacing. Usually too far apart.

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