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General Discussion => Essentially Flyertalk => Topic started by: steve dave on July 07, 2010, 12:41:23 PM
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So, I have in ground sprinklers and, like, there's this thing outside my house before it goes into the ground that is leaking. I don't really know what it is. Looks kinda like a bell or something. It sits on top of a little pipe that ends up going into the ground and it now has a slow stream of water that comes out the top of it all the time. Used to not do this. I've tried whacking it with my hand and yelling at it but it doesn't seem to help. Can one of you plumbing types post step by step instructions on what I should do? I'll probabaly need pictures and junk. K'thanks.
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It's your backflow preventer and it may be able to be rebuilt, or you may have to replace it. Depends on what kind you have.
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A) Is this hard?
B) How much is one and where would I buy it?
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A) Is this hard?
B) How much is one and where would I buy it?
For the cost, I'd replace it. You can buy at a sprinkler supply store. I think Home Depot has them also. For a single backflow preventer, it should be around $50 - $60. A double backflow would be around $90 - $110.
Turn the sprinkler system off, drain the supply line and take the backflow preventer off and into HD or the sprinkler supply store. They'll hook you up.
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This thing is only, like, 5 years old. Should it already be kicking me in the nuts? Thanks, I'll hang up and listen off the air.
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Probably not, although some are really cheaply made.
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check out this link for some pics / advice:
http://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/articles.asp?id=188
Good Luck!!
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Through the magic of google I've deduced that it is a pressure vacuum breaker type backflow preventer with two little valve deals on the side. Does any of this give me any better chance of just yelling at it more and fixing it?
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Through the magic of google I've deduced that it is a pressure vacuum breaker type backflow preventer with two little valve deals on the side. Does any of this give me any better chance of just yelling at it more and fixing it?
No. It's the cheaper of the two I mentioned earlier though (~$50).
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Do I have to remove the whole thing or just pull the guts apart and get some new guts? Seems like that would be my best bet for not rough ridin' something up big time (almost certainly will anyway).
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Do I have to remove the whole thing or just pull the guts apart and get some new guts? Seems like that would be my best bet for not fracking something up big time (almost certainly will anyway).
Some backflows are rebuildable, and some aren't. It also usually takes some good tools and some skill (which sounds like it may be an issue here).
You may be better off just cutting the PVC pipe leading into and out of the BP and getting some slip couplers.
Go here (I think you're Omaha): http://www.reams.net/locations.htm Write the model # down (if there is one), take some pictures in with you and they'll help you. They'll have everything you need.
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Do I have to remove the whole thing or just pull the guts apart and get some new guts? Seems like that would be my best bet for not rough ridin' something up big time (almost certainly will anyway).
My buddy had this same issue SD and tried the same thing. He ended up just moving. Depending on how the basement is going, I would go ahead and just put the house on the market. It had a good run
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Do I have to remove the whole thing or just pull the guts apart and get some new guts? Seems like that would be my best bet for not fracking something up big time (almost certainly will anyway).
Some backflows are rebuildable, and some aren't. It also usually takes some good tools and some skill (which sounds like it may be an issue here).
You may be better off just cutting the PVC pipe leading into and out of the BP and getting some slip couplers.
There's no PVC involved in this SOB. It's all some sort of space age metal or something (possibly brass, dunno).
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Do I have to remove the whole thing or just pull the guts apart and get some new guts? Seems like that would be my best bet for not fracking something up big time (almost certainly will anyway).
Some backflows are rebuildable, and some aren't. It also usually takes some good tools and some skill (which sounds like it may be an issue here).
You may be better off just cutting the PVC pipe leading into and out of the BP and getting some slip couplers.
There's no PVC involved in this SOB. It's all some sort of space age metal or something (possibly brass, dunno).
I give up, follow ChiCat's advice.
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I think you need to give it a good caulking.
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I think you need to give it a good caulking.
I'm going to hit it with something harder than my hand prolly. I'll report back with how that goes.
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I think you need to give it a good caulking.
I'm going to hit it with something harder than my hand prolly. I'll report back with how that goes.
let me know if u need help ;)
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You need to get a thingamagig, and a do hicky. Tape it to the whatsit, and them screw in the whatchamacallit. Then get a sledge hammer.
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Buy a Ouija Board, get in contact with Billy Mays and buy some LEAK ENDER 2000!!
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:frankstare:
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Duct taPe the shazbot! out of it
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sd,
i know a guy. take pics and post or send them to me on my brand new sprint evo cellular telephone or something and i'll ask him. if you lived in mhk, we'd just tell him and he'd come over and fix it for free for you prob. blows out my lines every year. no charge. big time. :gocho:
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sd,
i know a guy. take pics and post or send them to me on my brand new sprint evo cellular telephone or something and i'll ask him. if you lived in mhk, we'd just tell him and he'd come over and fix it for free for you prob. blows out my lines every year. no charge. big time. :gocho:
:surprised:
:cheese:
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I e-mailed it to your yahoo account and texted it to your phone. The water comes out from under the top deal at a kinda fast drippy rate.
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So, rick daris has his guy all over this but I'm posting the picture of the thing anyway:
(https://goemaw.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh193%2Fstevedaveksu%2FIMAG0039.jpg&hash=3bffeab47805776841d5564a102d297615e0d82c)
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So, rick daris has his guy all over this but I'm posting the picture of the thing anyway:
(https://goemaw.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh193%2Fstevedaveksu%2FIMAG0039.jpg&hash=3bffeab47805776841d5564a102d297615e0d82c)
That doesn't look like a bell.
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So, rick daris has his guy all over this but I'm posting the picture of the thing anyway:
(https://goemaw.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh193%2Fstevedaveksu%2FIMAG0039.jpg&hash=3bffeab47805776841d5564a102d297615e0d82c)
can we get a pic showing what is just to the left and just below? more out of curiousity than anything. wouldn't hurt though.
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(https://goemaw.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh193%2Fstevedaveksu%2FIMAG0039-1.jpg&hash=2c262e17109a005531ed3c309278c743b0c61838)
The pipe on the left hand side goes into the ground to feed my sprinklers :dunno:
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So, rick daris has his guy all over this but I'm posting the picture of the thing anyway:
(https://goemaw.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh193%2Fstevedaveksu%2FIMAG0039.jpg&hash=3bffeab47805776841d5564a102d297615e0d82c)
You have a febco 765??? :facepalm:
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You have a febco 765??? :facepalm:
lol
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(https://goemaw.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh193%2Fstevedaveksu%2FIMAG0039-1.jpg&hash=2c262e17109a005531ed3c309278c743b0c61838)
The pipe on the left hand side goes into the ground to feed my sprinklers :dunno:
hmmmm. this looks very shoddy/unicameralish to my untrained eye. never seen anything like it around these parts. i will run it past my friend though. very odd indeed though. very.
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(https://goemaw.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh193%2Fstevedaveksu%2FIMAG0039-1.jpg&hash=2c262e17109a005531ed3c309278c743b0c61838)
The pipe on the left hand side goes into the ground to feed my sprinklers :dunno:
hmmmm. this looks very shoddy/unicameralish to my untrained eye. never seen anything like it around these parts. i will run it past my friend though. very odd indeed though. very.
yeah wtf is that? are you using that to water your crops or something
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Let me guess, if you're rocking the Febco, these are your sprinkler heads?
(https://goemaw.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm3.static.flickr.com%2F2542%2F3775970361_1b583d23e9.jpg&hash=9819d4874d92be9a1783e70117cd8bdb277b41d6)
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You have a febco 765??? :facepalm:
lol
It probably won't work, but try this. There is some kind of relief valve under that bell thingy on the top. It may have gotten something stuck in it allowing it to leak. Turn off the main water and then open those two spigots to the left and underneath the febco 765 which should drain all water out of it and release the presure on the leaky thingy. Maybe tap the febco 765 lightly with a hammer while the spigots are open to dislodge whatever might be stuck. Close the spigots and the blue shut-off under the febco 765. Turn the water main back on then open the blue shut off. Hammer back a 12 of brewskys and go for a drive. If you don't get a DUI and it still leaks, call Wes at Heritage Lawn in Oiathe.
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You have a febco 765??? :facepalm:
lol
It probably won't work, but try this. There is some kind of relief valve under that bell thingy on the top. It may have gotten something stuck in it allowing it to leak. Turn off the main water and then open those two spigots to the left and underneath the febco 765 which should drain all water out of it and release the presure on the leaky thingy. Maybe tap the febco 765 lightly with a hammer while the spigots are open to dislodge whatever might be stuck. Close the spigots and the blue shut-off under the febco 765. Turn the water main back on then open the blue shut off. Hammer back a 12 of brewskys and go for a drive. If you don't get a DUI and it still leaks, call Wes at Heritage Lawn in Oiathe.
Will def. try this. Thanks. :combofan:
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Kick it. Hard.
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Kick it. Hard.
Did this. Last night my neighbor and I also stared at it for awhile. Neither of these did a damn thing. It's almost unfixable imo.
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Kick it. Hard.
Did this. Last night my neighbor and I also stared at it for awhile. Neither of these did a damn thing. It's almost unfixable imo.
Add another neighbor/passerby to help stare. Then, while you and the neighbor are staring, have the passerby grab your half empty toolbox of random tools. Tell him to set the toolbox down near the sprinkler thingamajig and awkwardly rummage through the tools, eventually grabbing a hacksaw and a half used tube of JB Weld. This will scare the sprinkler thingamajig, and it will function properly fearing further damage/death.
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Have you waited at least 1 week? I always do that just to see if it fixes itself.
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Have you waited at least 1 week? I always do that just to see if it fixes itself.
hmmm, have not tried this. Kind of want to water my grass without having to turn off the mainline water to the system after each watering though. Yeah, I'm that lazy.
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Have you waited at least 1 week? I always do that just to see if it fixes itself.
hmmm, have not tried this. Kind of want to water my grass without having to turn off the mainline water to the system after each watering though. Yeah, I'm that lazy.
I've been staying out of this thread up to this point, but I just wanted to add that IMO, you have to mow your yard a bunch more when you water it. Take that FWIW.
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Have you waited at least 1 week? I always do that just to see if it fixes itself.
hmmm, have not tried this. Kind of want to water my grass without having to turn off the mainline water to the system after each watering though. Yeah, I'm that lazy.
I've been staying out of this thread up to this point, but I just wanted to add that IMO, you have to mow your yard a bunch more when you water it. Take that FWIW.
Did you see the part about laziness? Yeah, I don't mow my yard bro.
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Have you waited at least 1 week? I always do that just to see if it fixes itself.
hmmm, have not tried this. Kind of want to water my grass without having to turn off the mainline water to the system after each watering though. Yeah, I'm that lazy.
I've been staying out of this thread up to this point, but I just wanted to add that IMO, you have to mow your yard a bunch more when you water it. Take that FWIW.
Did you see the part about laziness? Yeah, I don't mow my yard bro.
LOL, oh neither do I. I just thought you might. Some people like it, apparently. No, I don't water mine this time of year so I can back the lawn service off to ever 10-14 days instead of 7.
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Oh, that makes sense. I'm on, like, an all year contract with this place that shovels my snow, aererates the lawn, fertilizes, mows, etc. It's kind of important to have the winter part because it snows like a mother rough rider here and I'm sure as hell not getting out there.
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Oh, that makes sense. I'm on, like, an all year contract with this place that shovels my snow, aererates the lawn, fertilizes, mows, etc. It's kind of important to have the winter part because it snows like a mother rough rider here and I'm sure as hell not getting out there.
By chance did you see the 180th & Center Target after the Christmas snow storm this past winter?
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Have you waited at least 1 week? I always do that just to see if it fixes itself.
hmmm, have not tried this. Kind of want to water my grass without having to turn off the mainline water to the system after each watering though. Yeah, I'm that lazy.
I've been staying out of this thread up to this point, but I just wanted to add that IMO, you have to mow your yard a bunch more when you water it. Take that FWIW.
Did you see the part about laziness? Yeah, I don't mow my yard bro.
LOL, oh neither do I. I just thought you might. Some people like it, apparently. No, I don't water mine this time of year so I can back the lawn service off to ever 10-14 days instead of 7.
tdaver rule of thumb - if you have to water it, it's not supposed to grow where you live.
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Oh, that makes sense. I'm on, like, an all year contract with this place that shovels my snow, aererates the lawn, fertilizes, mows, etc. It's kind of important to have the winter part because it snows like a mother rough rider here and I'm sure as hell not getting out there.
By chance did you see the 180th & Center Target after the Christmas snow storm this past winter?
No
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UPDATE: ksubrian's trick didn't work. I pulled off the top cap thing and took out the top screwed on plastic deal (broke an arm off of it in the process, not suprisingly), took out the thing below it and called the local supply store. $41 for a new kit to replace all that junk and I should be good to go. Getting it over lunch today and then it's off to pretend I'm handy around the house.
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UPDATE: ksubrian's trick didn't work. I pulled off the top cap thing and took out the top screwed on plastic deal (broke an arm off of it in the process, not suprisingly), took out the thing below it and called the local supply store. $41 for a new kit to replace all that junk and I should be good to go. Getting it over lunch today and then it's off to pretend I'm handy around the house.
Sounds like a real good way to ruin an otherwise decent friday night.
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UPDATE: ksubrian's trick didn't work. I pulled off the top cap thing and took out the top screwed on plastic deal (broke an arm off of it in the process, not suprisingly), took out the thing below it and called the local supply store. $41 for a new kit to replace all that junk and I should be good to go. Getting it over lunch today and then it's off to pretend I'm handy around the house.
When you are there, pick up some random tool and buy it. Act like you know what it's used for and all that.
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UPDATE: ksubrian's trick didn't work. I pulled off the top cap thing and took out the top screwed on plastic deal (broke an arm off of it in the process, not suprisingly), took out the thing below it and called the local supply store. $41 for a new kit to replace all that junk and I should be good to go. Getting it over lunch today and then it's off to pretend I'm handy around the house.
Hey SD, sorry it didn't work. I knew for sure that it would, or maybe it was the effects of the 4 40oz high lifes I had just consumed. Oh well, at least it got you tearing into it to find the kit fix. Wish I lived close to you. I would come over and put in the kit (and consume some age appropriate beverages).
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UPDATE: ksubrian's trick didn't work. I pulled off the top cap thing and took out the top screwed on plastic deal (broke an arm off of it in the process, not suprisingly), took out the thing below it and called the local supply store. $41 for a new kit to replace all that junk and I should be good to go. Getting it over lunch today and then it's off to pretend I'm handy around the house.
Hey SD, sorry it didn't work. I knew for sure that it would, or maybe it was the effects of the 4 40oz high lifes I had just consumed. Oh well, at least it got you tearing into it to find the kit fix. Wish I lived close to you. I would come over and put in the kit (and consume some age appropriate beverages).
Thanks bro
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if that doesn't work, consider putting a bucket under it to catch all the dripping water, and then just walk around the yard randomly dispersing the collected water.
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if that doesn't work, consider putting a bucket under it to catch all the dripping water, and then just walk around the yard randomly dispersing the collected water.
no way, too lazy
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if that doesn't work, consider putting a bucket under it to catch all the dripping water, and then just walk around the yard randomly dispersing the collected water.
no way, too lazy
Build a robot that is programmed to fill a bucket with the dripping water and randomly disperse it around the yard.
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if that doesn't work, consider putting a bucket under it to catch all the dripping water, and then just walk around the yard randomly dispersing the collected water.
no way, too lazy
Build a robot that is programmed to fill a bucket with the dripping water and randomly disperse it around the yard.
what is this? some lazy fantasyland where I know stuff about robots?
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if that doesn't work, consider putting a bucket under it to catch all the dripping water, and then just walk around the yard randomly dispersing the collected water.
no way, too lazy
I forgot to add the part about making Mrs SD handle the bucket.
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UPDATE: ksubrian's trick didn't work. I pulled off the top cap thing and took out the top screwed on plastic deal (broke an arm off of it in the process, not suprisingly), took out the thing below it and called the local supply store. $41 for a new kit to replace all that junk and I should be good to go. Getting it over lunch today and then it's off to pretend I'm handy around the house.
(https://goemaw.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.broadcastengineering.com%2Fbrad%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F11%2Ftom-hanks-money-pit.jpg&hash=2b8a8673d39700dc6cd39c94b73fcf23bf3fe59f)
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What's that you say? steve dave is some sort of home repair wizard and has his sprinkler system fixed and it's not even 5PM!? :surprised:
(https://goemaw.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.bigstockphoto.com%2Fthumbs%2F8%2F9%2F2%2Fsmall%2F298016.jpg&hash=2d253687d18480f7cf19ab901432b399ae8791c7)
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Threads like these (and finish a basement) are why I rent.