Troubleshooting a leak in a latteral line

[JimLewis]

Suppose you suspect maybe there is a leak in a latteral line. Not the main line. You can tell that that is not leaking (e.g. by checking the water meter.) But for some reason or another (e.g. lawn is abnormally wet in certain areas...or maybe customer's water bill is higher than usual, etc.) you think maybe there's a leak in one of the latteral zones. How do your troubleshoot this?

Assume, obviously, that even though you suspect a leak - you have no obvious evidence of it. That is, you don't see water bubbling up anywhere under the lawn, etc.

The only thing I can think of is to go to each zone that runs through that area and turn the heads on that zone completely off. Then open the valve for that zone, let it pressurize, and check the water meter again. If there is no leak, the water meter guage should stop moving as soon as that zone is pressurized.

But this method is kind of a major PITA. Especially if you have to do it for 3 or 4 or 5 zones. Turning off each head, opening the valve, checking the water meter, closing the valve and then turning back on the flow on each head and adjusting the distance all over again? Then to have to do this whole process AGAIN for each zone???

Is there a better way?

[PLM-1]

LOL...thought we were gonna talk about septic tanks! I was gonna say, they are supposed to leak!

[YardPro]

that's why i like the hunter I-20's or any other head with a in head shutoff... you can turn the system on and just shut the head off and go look at your meter.

[bicmudpuppy]

IF you can estimate gpm, compare what you *think* you should have for the zones in question vs what the meter shows. Put your pressure guage back on, even at the hose bib, and run the system. Does the pressure drop more than you would expect on a given zone? Once you have narrowed down your choice of zones to one zone, the shut them off or cap them. Yeah, it is a lot of work, but your getting paid for it, right? If the leak isn't worth the money you are charging them, then forget it. It is just a lateral.

[Instant Rain]

Sometimes wet spots in a lawn are caused by poor drainage(low spots, clay soil) in combination with over watering. look at the lay of the land. does the water have any where to go or is it just going to pool in that area. and make sure the timer is set to a realistic watering time. If the low spot isn"t too bad you may be able to tamp a furrow to a lower potion of the lawn. If its real bad you may be able to sell a drain to get rid of the problem.

[kerdog]

How would you 'cap' off a spray or a rotor? If you were looking for leaks in laterals. Is there a way, even if it is time consuming, to do it? Other than pulling the head and plugging line outlet?

See ya---kerdog

[Dirty Water]

How would you 'cap' off a spray or a rotor? If you were looking for leaks in laterals. Is there a way, even if it is time consuming, to do it? Other than pulling the head and plugging line outlet?

See ya---kerdog

Hunter makes nozzle "blanks" for plugging a PGP, and if you use a filter like your supposed to in a rainbird spray, all you have to do is screw down the screw on the nozzle.

[kerdog]

Hunter makes nozzle "blanks" for plugging a PGP, and if you use a filter like your supposed to in a rainbird spray, all you have to do is screw down the screw on the nozzle.


Yep, I see it in the catalog, the blank is included with the set of low angle nozzles. (Hunter, that is) Besides the blank for the PGP, and the I-20 and RB 5000+, is that it?
I was hoping for a cap that would thread onto spray bodies.
Like Jim Lewis, I too have wondered how one would find or know of a small leak on a zone. Thanks Jon....

See ya---kerdog

[SprinklerGuy]

If it is small enough that it doesn't show up? If it is of any size at all, you will notice it in the performance of that zone.

I'm assuming Jim Lewis, that one of your clients has mentioned that their water bill is extremely high lately and they want to know if it is their system? Every time I hear that, I estimate how many gallons per minute each zone is using...multiply that by the amount of minutes the zone runs per month based on their settings on the timer...and then come up with a "gallons" used per month estimate for their sprinkler system. They can then compare that with their bill and see for themselves if the sprinkler system is at fault. They can look at winter bills versus summer bills to see if their is a giant jump in water usage in the warmer months.

I really believe that if the leak is big enough, it will show itself eventually. Don't you?

[bicmudpuppy]

If it is small enough that it doesn't show up? If it is of any size at all, you will notice it in the performance of that zone.

I'm assuming Jim Lewis, that one of your clients has mentioned that their water bill is extremely high lately and they want to know if it is their system? Every time I hear that, I estimate how many gallons per minute each zone is using...multiply that by the amount of minutes the zone runs per month based on their settings on the timer...and then come up with a "gallons" used per month estimate for their sprinkler system. They can then compare that with their bill and see for themselves if the sprinkler system is at fault. They can look at winter bills versus summer bills to see if their is a giant jump in water usage in the warmer months.

I really believe that if the leak is big enough, it will show itself eventually. Don't you?

How big do you think it has to be before it "shows" itself? I just finished fixing one the plumber had to hunt for. It showed up on the water bill and the meter but it never surfaced. The plumber gave the home owner the run around about this leak for 5 years. This leak was 12-15 gph. It never surfaced. If it can happen in a residential main, it can happen in the sprinkler system.

As to capping heads.......I do it the hard way. If I know I'm looking for a lateral leak that isn't obvious, then I cap heads. FA glued to a piece of pipe with a cap on it for each head. I like about a foot long so they stick up. Unscrew the head and screw on the capped pipe. Now, not only are they capped, but they are "flagged" too.

[kerdog]

I just found in the RB catalog....Xeri-Caps for spray heads. Used to retro a spray head system, by capping off any unused spray heads. XC-1800 for female (says 1800 Series, I'm guessing any head) and XC-T-570 for male (Toro).

See ya-----kerdog

[bicmudpuppy]

I just found in the RB catalog....Xeri-Caps for spray heads. Used to retro a spray head system, by capping off any unused spray heads. XC-1800 for female (says 1800 Series, I'm guessing any head) and XC-T-570 for male (Toro).

See ya-----kerdog
and if flow is what you are looking for, anything short of a solid cap isn't going to give you zero flow. pop-up seals leak. Doesn't matter if you install a blank or turn off a rotor or close a spray. Some leakage still occurs. If the zone is 6 or more heads and they all "drip" just a bit, your going to see a pretty good "leak" that isn't part of the problem. Your trying to find a leak that you haven't actually proven exists. Leaving any potential for extra leakage leaves you still guessing.

[kerdog]

and if flow is what you are looking for, anything short of a solid cap isn't going to give you zero flow. pop-up seals leak. Doesn't matter if you install a blank or turn off a rotor or close a spray. Some leakage still occurs. If the zone is 6 or more heads and they all "drip" just a bit, your going to see a pretty good "leak" that isn't part of the problem. Your trying to find a leak that you haven't actually proven exists. Leaving any potential for extra leakage leaves you still guessing.

O.K.,......I woulda realized that.......uh, after I went to the trouble of "capping' all the heads. Experience, hate learning the hard way!

[sheshovel]

bicmudpuppy is correct again nothing short of a solid pipe with a cap on it on every head with pressure on the zone will do it.Though you can always dig up the wet spot along the line in between the two heads,your gonna end up doing it anyway to know for sure.usually these leaks are from tree roots crushing the line .but the head on the other side would show a great loss of pressure.Your gonna hafta do it the hard way anyway by digging up the line.That's the only way to satisfy the customer that there is or is not a leak.

[Planter]

I was hoping for a cap that would thread onto spray bodies.


Rainbird makes an adaptor that will thread onto the riser of a Rainbird or Hunter head. I bought a bunch of 2" bodies, put on the adaptor and capped them one night. I just spin off the tops in the field, spin on the capped two inch and turn it all on. In a few minutes the leak shows up.

[PSUturf]

I have discovered slow leaks while doing winterizations. It's pretty easy to locate where air is leaking regardless of whether the soil is wet or dry around the leak.

[sps2868]

I have discovered slow leaks while doing winterizations. It's pretty easy to locate where air is leaking regardless of whether the soil is wet or dry around the leak.

If the homeowner is convinced there is a leak and you cannot readily locate it I would follow this advise and break out the compressor mid season and put air to the system.... :blob3:

WOW best answers are generally the easiest. Hook up the compressor drive there and fill the lines with air. All of an hour including drive time. Bill them anyway you want. Hourly + machine charge. Hourly plus blow-out price. Straight hourly. Price as if you did a blow-out and turn-on. LOVE the options.

Most importantly if the air doesn't leak under 80psi air then it doesn't leak under water pressure. (period) :cool2:

Great solution PSU!!!!!