I've got 14 zones and I've only found 5 of the valves... sprinkler company wants $120 to get the rest.

Will a metal detector track the control wires throught the ground?
Or is there something else I can use to track these things down.

Any DIY solutions (Besides poking a stick into the ground looking for valve covers?)

thanks

Your best bet DIY wise is to rent a thumper like the sprinkler contractor would use. That will probably cost you half or more of the $120 the company wants.

It is possible to use a metal detector to find them IF;

-the metal detector is high quality
-there is a significant amount of metal in the valve
-the valve is in good contact with dirt around it and not real open in the box/ground

I've seen some people with different qualities of metal detectors try and find buried sprinkler valves. The only consistent ones that seem to find them are the companies that do it professionally for property pins, valves and other buried devices with some pretty high dollar metal detectors.

I did talk to a guy once that found lots of bottlecaps, some change, a vice-grip and a couple of sockets his kids had lost in the yard over the years...but not the sprinkler valves.

Go to a sprinkler supplier and rent a locator. approx 50 bucks for a day. They can run you through the process but basically you hook it to the ground wire and one vale wire at a time. Turn it on and then play the real life version of hotter/colder while you run around your yard.

Where are you located?

One of the few things I don't even mess with, just Go straight to the sprinkler guys. Forgot their name, but often time board sponor, located in B/CS.

[This message has been edited by Mr. Dubi (edited 4/20/2012 7:24p).]

I am in Boerne, so the board sponsor in B/CS isn't an option.
I'd heard metal detectors were not a good solution, so thanks for pointing me in the right direction. The ground wire "hotter/colder game" device is what I need.

Yep -- the ground wire "hotter/colder" device is called a "toner" or a "locator" -- it takes some skill to use. It's sort of like using a metal detector in that you listen for the strongest signal from the wand. I did this for a friend's yard; we used the vertical spray paint cans used for marking utilities to mark particularly strong signals, and I ended up locating all 8 valves from her system that way. I have a lot of experience using similar tools for network or electrical maintenance, though...

You dont have valve covers in the yard? You have to have something that covers them.

quote:

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You dont have valve covers in the yard? You have to have something that covers them.

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When a sprinkler system has been in the ground for years, the covers that were installed at grade are now under a few inches of grass. If you know the general area, then you can find them with a screwdriver. However if you have no clue where they are, then it would be a lot of work...

As others have stated, you will need a valve locator. You can rent one from a local irrigation supply house. $120 to locate 14 valves isn't a bad price. If the guy knows what he is doing he should be able to find them in under 30 minutes. Renting a locator will run you $40-$60 and will probably take an inexperienced person a few hours to get the hang of it. If you have the time, there is no reason you can't do it yourself. Post back whenever you decide and I can walk you through the process.

You've got 14 zones? I've got 5. I must be an lolpoors.