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Which one's the Common?

3K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  Wet_Boots 
#1 ·
I guess it doesn't matter what kind of wire you use if you don't do it right.
Got on a job yesterday that was all messed up. Had to go back and finish it today. The timer was removed, wires cut.
The first picture :hammerhead: - somebody please tell me which one's the common.
Second picture :hammerhead:- these three wires were run to one valve
Third picture :hammerhead:- these two wires were run to another valve
Turns out there were three commons, all white. Found the cut wire somebody else could not find, so they had wired two zones together.
A 521, a StationMaster and a Progressive 700 (tone and probe) got me there.
 

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#5 ·
Wow. What a mess. Good job.

Nice soil. And to think we break out the jack hammer daily.
i've been running a demo hammer under a cabin for 4 days straight, i think my left wrist has a stress fracture right now.

my answer would be with a TDR, the common would be equal to each wire tested, multimeter to earth ground will give you the same restance readings. this was a mess. good work
 
#9 ·
I worked on a foreclosure like this earlier this year... the lady bought a multimillion dollar house and we had no clue where the irrigation system was... Started at one valve and followed it to another and eventually it worked. Next time, I rewire the whole system, or just run new lines!!
 
#10 ·
I worked on a foreclosure like this earlier this year... the lady bought a multimillion dollar house and we had no clue where the irrigation system was... Started at one valve and followed it another and eventually it worked. Next time, I rewire the whole system, or just run new lines!!
andy, if you own and use a 521/700 proficiently a problem such as this is just a problem. a problem that you can solve with the tracer, a multimeter, a stationmaster and some time........

i can't see the need to rewire a system just because you're not familar with it, shoot, every job i'm on is new to me and a problem to someone else.

by adding a few more tools to your sig, and some practice :):)
 
#12 ·
well i'll be damned, walked into the wholesale house today and jeff the pump, wire and controller guru (and a darn good one) asks if i can answer a question about a wire issue for a local contractor.

wire issue is the same one as we have here, compromised wire run, all stations and common all the same color.

i gave the contractor my answer, then told him that if he wanted me to sort the problem out that i'd give him a fixed price, guaranteed results. he just looked at me and said "wouldn't it be easier if the wires were different colors?

i have no idea what this guy will do about the wire issue but i doubt that i'll get the call, he'll prolly go battery.:hammerhead:

pretty proud of that sharpshooter dana
 
#14 ·
well i'll be damned, walked into the wholesale house today and jeff the pump, wire and controller guru (and a darn good one) asks if i can answer a question about a wire issue for a local contractor.

wire issue is the same one as we have here, compromised wire run, all stations and common all the same color.

i gave the contractor my answer, then told him that if he wanted me to sort the problem out that i'd give him a fixed price, guaranteed results. he just looked at me and said "wouldn't it be easier if the wires were different colors?

i have no idea what this guy will do about the wire issue but i doubt that i'll get the call, he'll prolly go battery.:hammerhead:
Of course it would be easier if they were different colors. That is what phase tape is for. ;)
 
#15 ·
Of course it would be easier if they were different colors. That is what phase tape is for. ;)
it's good to hear from you kiril and you're right.

i think that some of the better wiring guys on this forum are from texas, they scatter valves for hydraulic reasons and run single strand wire therefore they deal with wires, not colors.
i prefer single strand and don't care if the common or mv are different colors from the valves because a wire is a wire to me.
 
#16 ·
andy, if you own and use a 521/700 proficiently a problem such as this is just a problem. a problem that you can solve with the tracer, a multimeter, a stationmaster and some time........

i can't see the need to rewire a system just because you're not familar with it, shoot, every job i'm on is new to me and a problem to someone else.

by adding a few more tools to your sig, and some practice :):)
I'm not fimaliar with some of the terms you used, but I'm sure there was an easier was to find valves on this project.
The problem was that when I found one valve, I found a multistrand (there was no controller)...so I followed the wire to the next valve... all of the valves were buried under ground because there was still house construction and trucks, etc passing over them after the system was built. 3/4 of the heads were broken or clogged, 4 zone pipes were cracked, and the fittings after the back flow were cracked because no one decided to put a box over them, and they were exposed...
I'm just saying, the amount of work we did, we should have just replaced it, and designed it right. There was head to head contact on only 3 of 10 zones after I got it all running....A learning curve for repair, I guess?!

My new installs go fairly smoothly, and work well
 
#17 ·
I'm just saying, the amount of work we did, we should have just replaced it, and designed it right. There was head to head contact on only 3 of 10 zones after I got it all running....A learning curve for repair, I guess?!
Your correct , you should have. If you were the professional you claim to be , you would have seen that before and presented that choice to the customer. Now the customer has speant just as much ( assuming your charging industry standards ) but is still left with a POS system. That must make you proud.
 
#18 ·
this thread has become disfunctional, all of my go to guys are listing their finest equipment, we have an intoxicated egomaniac demanding respect, for what? peter finds another opportunity to plug 'tails and boots is eyeballing the cheese.

andy, no one here or anywhere else is going to give you respect, that you'll have to earn. as far as your post about being unfamiliar with my terminology, those are valve/wire tracing and diagnostic tools, your sig says a lot about yourself

So much competition in malpractice

You are not a professional if you don't do a job right; you are an amateur that causes true professional's costs to be questioned.

later :drinkup:
 
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