Any hints for finding shorted valves?

[Wet_Boots]

There's a Japanimation series based on that book.

[jvanvliet]

How about a;

Station Master Pro? Check the circuit/short/solenoid, etc. Every irrigation pro ought to have one. (Even comes with a noise maker to track wires although it is useless on a long run). You can operate it right from the controller or even out the field.

http://65.36.183.19/prod_detail.cfm?...=801&pid=10574

A real wire tracker & a 5ft. 3/8 - 1/2" copper grounding rod hammered down to the nub with an UBER clamp & at least #12 wire?

http://bettervalvelocator.com/

run it until the signal gets weak, dig up the wire and hook it up again there and move foward. ( be sure to splice the wire back together when you finish... duct tape is good for that right?)

16 Guats with probe rods?

http://www.durhamgeo.com/testing/soi...-proberod.html

Site map with valves located on it?

Hammer SCD40 piece of pipe within pi$$ing distance of the valve with so much metal in it a $20.00 metal detector will find it. & make sure the field box doesn't get grown over?

I complain bitterly when the LCO (unless it my Co.) lets crap build up and cover the field boxes.

[1idejim]

Originally Posted by jvanvliet

How about a;

Station Master Pro? Check the circuit/short/solenoid, etc. Every irrigation pro ought to have one. (Even comes with a noise maker to track wires although it is useless on a long run). You can operate it right from the controller or even out the field.
both the stationmaster and the pro-48 can identify individual wires for over a mile, yes, they are a great tool everyone needs

http://65.36.183.19/prod_detail.cfm?...=801&pid=10574

A real wire tracker & a 5ft. 3/8 - 1/2" copper grounding rod hammered down to the nub with an UBER clamp & at least #12 wire?
i have both the 521 and the pro-650, the locators don't need 5' copper grounds for proper tracing ground.

http://bettervalvelocator.com/

run it until the signal gets weak, dig up the wire and hook it up again there and move forward. ( be sure to splice the wire back together when you finish... duct tape is good for that right?)
the only reason to pot hole is to repair a broken wire. with or without a TDR you can diagnose the field wiring from the controller and if the wire is compromised make the decision to break out a GFL or usr the 521/pro-700. with the TDR you can also use the distance reading to narrow the search area down to a few feet.

16 Guats with probe rods?
that's just wrong

http://www.durhamgeo.com/testing/soi...-proberod.html

Site map with valves located on it?
agreed. problem is that things change, people construct, destruct, buy and sell. as-bilts are only as good as the installer is accurate.

Hammer SCD40 piece of pipe within pi$$ing distance of the valve with so much metal in it a $20.00 metal detector will find it. & make sure the field box doesn't get grown over?
this methodology is spec'd at most of the schools i've worked at. i have a magnawand and can find V.B.'s faster with standard locating techniques.

http://www.trenchlessutility.com/PDF...d%201d2100.pdf

I complain bitterly when the LCO (unless it my Co.) lets crap build up and cover the field boxes.

maintenance is the key to keeping anything efficient, without proper maintenance of the V.B.'s, you'll have to locate sooner or later and if you have good skills, you're the man they call to do the job.

by the way, i talked mike through the locate the other day, he was done in much less time than it took to read and reply to your post

[irrig8r]

What the hell is a Guat? Sounds derogatory.

[1idejim]

Originally Posted by irrig8r

What the hell is a Guat? Sounds derogatory.

just a guess, a Guatemalan?

[Waterlogged]

I think I will hijack a little, I'm thinking about the TDR, but I have a question. In my area most of the houses I deal with will have multistrand coming from the controller to just outside the house and then switch to single strand 16#- 18#. Do I consider the short run of multistrand when telling the device the gauge size of wire I'm testing?
And Captain, do you mind telling me your price range on the TDR you bought? I have found some under $200. Thanks.

[S.O.Contracting]

Originally Posted by Waterlogged

I think I will hijack a little, I'm thinking about the TDR, but I have a question. In my area most of the houses I deal with will have multistrand coming from the controller to just outside the house and then switch to single strand 16#- 18#. Do I consider the short run of multistrand when telling the device the gauge size of wire I'm testing?

On the same note. What about the systems with a 14-16 gauge common with multi for the zone wires? Really think the TDR can be an amazing tool in a troubleshooting.

[jvanvliet]

Originally Posted by 1idejim

maintenance is the key to keeping anything efficient, without proper maintenance of the V.B.'s, you'll have to locate sooner or later and if you have good skills, you're the man they call to do the job.

by the way, i talked mike through the locate the other day, he was done in much less time than it took to read and reply to your post

I am obviously in the presence of the g(note little g)od of irrigation. Many of us in south Florida inherit properties that have had the "local boys" or residents maintain their systems for years and only call when it's fubared.

Perhaps the 50X100 lots that you maintain make it easier to locate valves & faulty wiring and in less time than it takes to read this post. Unfortunately I have not had similar experiences on the 5 - 25+ acre common areas, some with installation as much as 30 years old and others installed by hacks, that are my bread and butter along with the residential homes utilizing the much dreaded indexing valves (no problem locating the valve here).

Without the benefit of your superhuman abilities, it has been difficult for me to trace wire that has been in the ground for that long in that short of a period of time, broken insulation and rigged in every way possible, the occasional lightning strike not being helpful either; but then I failed to contact you.

The 12-18" aluminum spike provided for grounding must be supernaturally enhanced for your applications, I have found that driving a good size grounding rod into the ground increases the performance exponentially, not necessarily 5 ft it just happens to be how long mine is, and if I can hammer it all the way down, I do, perhaps it is merely Freudian (see your Dickhunters guide for a definition).

Some of my accounts, The Ocean Club of Ocean Ridge, The Estates of Silver Lakes (boynton Beach) The City of Golf, French Villas of Lighthouse Point (Lighthouse Point) Grand Reserve (Coral Springs) Nautica (boynton beach) and others have not yet complained about the methodology I've employed in maintaining their irrigation systems, nor the time it has taken (on occasion) to locate field valves that have issues for a variety of reasons including landscape installation.

Nonetheless, I bow to your ability to speak a valve into existence via telephone in less time than it took to read & reply to my thread.

Perhaps I can find the answers in your "Dickhunters" guide... or is that just a hobby.

On another note, it is usually insecure people who build themselves up degrading and stepping on the shoulders of others.

I had hoped to have been offering something positive but now seem to have degenerated to your level.

Thank you for your input

[jvanvliet]

Originally Posted by irrig8r

What the hell is a Guat? Sounds derogatory.

It is a Guatemalan; they make up a large % of the work force down here. Guats is not considered derogatory even by the Guatemalans... just the pinkos.

BTW mine are documented and legal.

[1idejim]

Originally Posted by jvanvliet

I am obviously in the presence of the g(note little g)od of irrigation. Many of us in south Florida inherit properties that have had the "local boys" or residents maintain their systems for years and only call when it's fubared.

Perhaps the 50X100 lots that you maintain make it easier to locate valves & faulty wiring and in less time than it takes to read this post. Unfortunately I have not had similar experiences on the 5 - 25+ acre common areas, some with installation as much as 30 years old and others installed by hacks, that are my bread and butter along with the residential homes utilizing the much dreaded indexing valves (no problem locating the valve here).

Without the benefit of your superhuman abilities, it has been difficult for me to trace wire that has been in the ground for that long in that short of a period of time, broken insulation and rigged in every way possible, the occasional lightning strike not being helpful either; but then I failed to contact you.

The 12-18" aluminum spike provided for grounding must be supernaturally enhanced for your applications, I have found that driving a good size grounding rod into the ground increases the performance exponentially, not necessarily 5 ft it just happens to be how long mine is, and if I can hammer it all the way down, I do, perhaps it is merely Freudian (see your Dickhunters guide for a definition).

Some of my accounts, The Ocean Club of Ocean Ridge, The Estates of Silver Lakes (boynton Beach) The City of Golf, French Villas of Lighthouse Point (Lighthouse Point) Grand Reserve (Coral Springs) Nautica (boynton beach) and others have not yet complained about the methodology I've employed in maintaining their irrigation systems, nor the time it has taken (on occasion) to locate field valves that have issues for a variety of reasons including landscape installation.

Nonetheless, I bow to your ability to speak a valve into existence via telephone in less time than it took to read & reply to my thread.

Perhaps I can find the answers in your "Dickhunters" guide... or is that just a hobby.

On another note, it is usually insecure people who build themselves up degrading and stepping on the shoulders of others.

I had hoped to have been offering something positive but now seem to have degenerated to your level.

Thank you for your input

what a bunch of ugly things to say to a person that didn't call you any names or make any disparaging remarks about you.

if you had followed many of my posts you'd notice that i'm not a person to call others names or attack their work, if i do things differently i just say it, i don't attack them.

if you had read this thread you wouldn't have written the post in the manner that you did

this must mean that we're not going to be friends and the invite to winter is out of the question.............i can't have nothin' nice............

if you're working on those big jobs, you might consider a buying a TDR