Outdoors
Sponsored by

Sprinkler Leak?

1,596 Views | 11 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by Tony Franklins Other Shoe
Wheatables02
How long do you want to ignore this user?
I discovered standing water between my neighbor and I's house a few weeks back. I checked my water meter and it was not moving nor was the mico meter (triangle) moving. I vacuumed up most of the water with a wet dri vac and it was back less than 12 hours later.

I called the city to check my water meter who stated it was fine and it did not show any signs of a leak. The city checked my neighbor's meter and said the micrometer was moving. The city shut off his irrigation and the micrometer stopped. The city told me the neighbor likely had a leak in his irrigation. The city left my neighbor's irrigation off and my standing water dried up.

I informed my neighbor who called a sprinkler company out. I had run my sprinklers the night before (actually the Rachio had automatically) and the sprinkler guy told my neighbors, "your neighbor runs his sprinklers too much. They don't even water golf courses this much". My sprinklers ran for 12 minutes a station (automatically by rachio) and they are small misters.

The sprinkler repair company didn't dig at all and told my neighbors that both houses likely had a leak and left. He did this in front of my wife and my neighbors wife. I was pissed about their level of "service" and comments. I was not home at the time.

Fast forward to today. They have a bunch of standing water in their yard now at the opposite corner from where I found my standing water (78 feet down the fence line but along the same fence). They asked if I had run my sprinklers again. My sprinklers have not run since 03/21 and I've turned them off.

Am I crazy here or do they not have a leak? If I had a small leak I would have wet ground and my meter would be running and I have neither.

I'm in DFW and can't get anyone out until April 9th to verify. I don't know why I am even calling anyone...maybe its because they aren't doing anything????
EskimoJoe
How long do you want to ignore this user?
they have a leak and a knack for calling chitty lawn irrigation companies
powerbelly
How long do you want to ignore this user?
EskimoJoe said:

they have a leak and a knack for calling chitty lawn irrigation companies
And they aren't too bright.


Quote:

They have a bunch of standing water in their yard now at the opposite corner from where I found my standing water (78 feet down the fence line). They asked if I had run my sprinklers again.
AgySkeet06
How long do you want to ignore this user?
This sound fairly straightforward if I had been contacted by the neighbor.

Going off the evidence from the city you have 1 of 2 issues, either a leak in the mainline or a leak at a station valve. Checking each station valve (and disassembling for obvious damage to the diaphragms) will tell you if it is a valve issue. If valves are good then the challenge of truly tracing the mainline would begin. In my experience you see fittings at TEEs and Elbows slowly pull apart from very bad initial solvent welding (likley no primer or just not very light-nonthorough application of glue.

The bulk of the issue could likely "hidden" by having a master valve installed after the backflow. to prevent unwanted flow when not in operation
Wheatables02
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AgySkeet06 said:

This sound fairly straightforward if I had been contacted by the neighbor.

Going off the evidence from the city you have 1 of 2 issues, either a leak in the mainline or a leak at a station valve. Checking each station valve (and disassembling for obvious damage to the diaphragms) will tell you if it is a valve issue. If valves are good then the challenge of truly tracing the mainline would begin. In my experience you see fittings at TEEs and Elbows slowly pull apart from very bad initial solvent welding (likley no primer or just not very light-nonthorough application of glue.

The bulk of the issue could likely "hidden" by having a master valve installed after the backflow. to prevent unwanted flow when not in operation
Just to confirm - the city told me my water meter was not spinning when my lines were active. My neighbor's triangle or micro meter was spinning with his sprinkler system enabled but not on.

Are you referring to me having an issue or the neighbor?
dodger02
How long do you want to ignore this user?
AgySkeet06 said:

This sound fairly straightforward if I had been contacted by the neighbor.

Going off the evidence from the city you have 1 of 2 issues, either a leak in the mainline or a leak at a station valve. Checking each station valve (and disassembling for obvious damage to the diaphragms) will tell you if it is a valve issue. If valves are good then the challenge of truly tracing the mainline would begin. In my experience you see fittings at TEEs and Elbows slowly pull apart from very bad initial solvent welding (likley no primer or just not very light-nonthorough application of glue.

The bulk of the issue could likely "hidden" by having a master valve installed after the backflow. to prevent unwanted flow when not in operation
This would be my guess.

I'm lucky in that I live outside the city limits and don't have to mess with the authorities when I need to fix my sprinkler system. I can fix 95% of my sprinkler issues on my own.

But, I've been known to dig a few holes looking for my leak. A wet spot in one location could actually be a leak 10-15' away at a joint. As Skeet says, most of mine have been due to bad connections. I've found a couple of joints that had no glue at all. Those will surely separate in time.
CactusThomas
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Your neighbor will be more willing to look into this issue when he gets his water bill.
Wheatables02
How long do you want to ignore this user?
dodger02 said:

AgySkeet06 said:

This sound fairly straightforward if I had been contacted by the neighbor.

Going off the evidence from the city you have 1 of 2 issues, either a leak in the mainline or a leak at a station valve. Checking each station valve (and disassembling for obvious damage to the diaphragms) will tell you if it is a valve issue. If valves are good then the challenge of truly tracing the mainline would begin. In my experience you see fittings at TEEs and Elbows slowly pull apart from very bad initial solvent welding (likley no primer or just not very light-nonthorough application of glue.

The bulk of the issue could likely "hidden" by having a master valve installed after the backflow. to prevent unwanted flow when not in operation
This would be my guess.

I'm lucky in that I live outside the city limits and don't have to mess with the authorities when I need to fix my sprinkler system. I can fix 95% of my sprinkler issues on my own.

But, I've been known to dig a few holes looking for my leak. A wet spot in one location could actually be a leak 10-15' away at a joint. As Skeet says, most of mine have been due to bad connections. I've found a couple of joints that had no glue at all. Those will surely separate in time.
Thanks. I will start checking to ensure.

My water bill is actually down to last year....
AgySkeet06
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Referring to the neighbor and having the crappy company come look at it (i question if they were licensed...), Since your city test showed no evidence you should be in good shape. I'm a Licensed Irrigator and have seen these issues more time that 1 really should....
BO297
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Leaks are obvious through your water bill. I have had a bad run of several leaks in the last two years. Monthly bill doubles.
turf guy ag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
Wheatables, I deal mostly with large commercial systems but do some residential from time to time, helping friends and family. I can help out if you want someone to come out prior to the 9th, either myself or a tech can meet with you and your neighbor to help shed some light on his situation. To Agyskeet's point, having a licensed irrigator is usually the best approach, saving time and money over the long term. My number is 8one7seven3nine6nine8eight.
turf guy ag
How long do you want to ignore this user?
As an alternative, you could shut off his backflow device to dry out the area until he gets an irrigator to resolve the problem.
Tony Franklins Other Shoe
How long do you want to ignore this user?
No mention of tearing down a fence or burning a house down yet?
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.