[SoHoVe]

Kind of annoyed...the cheap plastic shut off valve ( I don't know what else to call the part) the builder installed failed after about 8 years water was spraying everywhere...no huge deal but I spent $$$ to have it replaced with a heavy duty brass fixture thinking that would last longer but now its dripping in the area of the plastic thumb screws. Should I have kept this out of the sun or something? It seems ridiculous that these are only lasting a handful of years.

Yeah the dripping isn't a huge deal at this point but I am totally opposed to wasting water.

Is this just the way things go here?

[SoHoVe]

* the valve is above ground

[ScoopLV]

My valves are GUARANTEED to fail when I go on vacation. I come home to find the Zambezi River flowing down my driveway. If there is one aspect of home-ownership constant annoyance for me, it's irrigation.

I would pay a lot of money for an irrigation system that didn't fail in the open position, let alone "not fail at all."

[Danknee]

Originally Posted by SoHoVe

* the valve is above ground

If It is the anti siphon valve, those things are toast if they freeze once. They sell insulated bags to cover them and you are supposed to blow air through them when you winterize. That said, due to our weather I never winterize my sprinklers.

I had two die in four years, finally put an insulated bag on it and the last one survived the winter.

[MediocreButArrogant]

Do you mean the automatic irrigation valves that control each watering zone, or a main shut-off valve (possibly containing a backflow prevention device)?

The irrigation control valves installed above ground are usually the anti-siphon variety, with vertical inlets and outlets. I would much rather have my valves underground, in a box, using non-anti-siphon inline valves, and a separate backflow prevention device upstream. I've had good luck with "pro" valves from Rainbird and Toro (stuff you can only buy at places like Ewing Irrigation, not sold at Home Depot or Lowes or even Star Nursery for some items).

FWIW, for irrigation control valves, the valve bodies are usually ok, so you can fix many problems by buying an identical replacement valve, and transferring the guts over to the old valve.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by Danknee

If It is the anti siphon valve, those things are toast if they freeze once. They sell insulated bags to cover them and you are supposed to blow air through them when you winterize. That said, due to our weather I never winterize my sprinklers.

I had two die in four years, finally put an insulated bag on it and the last one survived the winter.

My problem is the solenoids which get stuck in the open position. So I come home to a flooded garden and a whopping water bill.

I have been through dozens of solenoids in the past eight years. I have paid half a dozen landscapers to fix this because I am done with dealing with irrigation. If it were up to me, I would rip out every plant in my yard and shut the irrigation lines down permanently. But the HOA and my wife say otherwise.

If there is a solution to this problem, I am all ears.

[NDJeff]

Originally Posted by Danknee

If It is the anti siphon valve, those things are toast if they freeze once. They sell insulated bags to cover them and you are supposed to blow air through them when you winterize. That said, due to our weather I never winterize my sprinklers.

I had two die in four years, finally put an insulated bag on it and the last one survived the winter.

Yep, the PVB valve on the side of my house was leaking and corroded when I bought the place last year. My house was built in 2006. They usually look like the ones on this page
I'm pretty sure they are required by code to prevent water from the sprinkler system getting sucked back into the plumbing system and contaminating it.

I replaced the whole valve assembly and bought the insulated bag cover from Star Nursery. They aren't cheap, especially if you buy the brass one like I did. I don't want to do it again soon so I paid for the quality part. I'm guessing all the parts including the cover ran me $150-$200. If you have minimal handyman skills you can do it yourself quite easily. Just snap a photo and take it to Star or Plant World, they will know exactly what you need. If it's just leaking around the bleed valves on the side it may not be closed, maybe some mineral deposits keeping it from seating. The valves are called Pressure Vacuum Breaker assemblies, if you want to read up on them.

I also had one of the underground valves leaking. I bought a new one of the same type, but I reused the plastic valve body of the old one. It fixed the leak and I didn't have to cut any pipe to make the repair.

I knew nothing about landscape irrigation a year ago, but owning a home here I had to learn pretty quick. I agree with Scoop, it's a pain in the posterior.

[bionictony]

Make sure the pressure regulator going to the sprinkler valves work properly. So the valves last longer and can be able to shut off. I guess if the pressure is too high, it will not be able to shut off so the sprinklers stay on. I plumed the backyard sprinkler lines myself. I put the valves above ground uncovered because the builder put 3 valves uncovered in the front yard. So I put 4 valves in the back myself with an emergency shut off valve. They are above ground and I used the cheaper rainbird $15 valves 2 years ago. If they ever break I can switch out to union connectors and switch to $25 rainbird plastic valves. switching to union connectors, i can easily replace valves anytime if they break for a 3rd time. You can get siphon rebuild kits also. But the valves themselves are also low cost. It saves to do work yourself. How much does a garden guy charge to fix a broken valve now a days?

Even though brass seems better, they use rubber/plastic internals so those fail overtime also. It seems like in Nevada, plastic valves would be better because the plastic body does not heat up as much as a metal valve body causing the internals to fail earlier. Rubber does not like heat.

[SoHoVe]

Yes, its the main shut off with a back flow prevention device. After reading these responses I guess I'm LUCKY to only be replacing it for a second time! This time I'm thinking maybe of boxing it in and dropping a large planter over it maybe the dirt around the box will keep it from freezing. Fortunately its in a good location to be hidden this way.

[NDJeff]

Don't stick it in the ground, it won't function properly if it's not higher than the irrigation lines. That's why they are installed a couple feet up on the side of the house. Get one of the insulated covers and fasten it on with a zip tie or padlock.