Which irrigation is best for your lawn spray or drip? Choosing an efficient irrigation system for your lawn or garden has never been more important. With water conservation now being a key issue in many communities, you need to do your homework to find out which one is right for you.
Lawn Sprinkler Valves and How To Locate Them
By Craig Borglum
Irrigation solenoid valves are the gatekeepers to your sprinkler heads.
They are connected to the water source for your irrigation and control the flow of water to each sprinkler “zone” or section. If you have a five zone system you have five valves.
Quality solenoid valves are built to perform under adverse conditions. They lay quietly in the ground doing their job year after year, covered in dirt and water. As with any equipment that is made up of moving parts, they will eventually wear out and fail.
Automatic sprinkler system controllers are programmed to go on and off on a certain day and at a certain time. The controller does not know if it is sunny and dry outside or raining. For this reason every lawn sprinkler system should have a rain sensor.
The rain sensor determines whether or not enough rainfall has occurred in order to skip an irrigation cycle. There are three basic types of rain sensors. They all serve the same purpose: keeping your system from over-watering the turf or your garden. How does it do that? The electrical connection between the sensor and your sprinkler system controller is interrupted when a certain amount of rain triggers the device. The sensor breaks the electrical connection so that electricity cannot flow to either the sprinkler valves or to a pump start (if your system is on a well without a pressure tank).
