This weekend I finally got around to fixing the sprinkler problems in my rose line. I had been doing some hand watering, but really needed to get the problems fixed so the roses get enough water. Especially as the temperatures have climbed into the 90’s.
I had mentioned in my post More Tree Trimming that I needed to do some repair and was thinking about getting someone to do it for me. I finally decided that I would at least see what was needed and see if it was easy enough to do myself.
The sprinkler head at the end of my line had been damaged and also the pipe and elbow connector.
I finally did a bit of digging to see what needed to be done. The PVC pipe had been snapped off almost all the way through right at the elbow. I only needed to apply a bit of elbow grease to get it to snap off the rest of the way. I carried the snapped off assembly with me in my car for a couple weeks before finally going to OSH on Friday.
Luckily I just needed to get some parts along with some PVC cement to make the repair. Since the pipe snapped off pretty cleanly I didn’t need to cut the PVC pipe.
Here I am getting ready to apply the cement to the PVC pipe.
Here it is all put together. I also put a bit longer riser in so that the head is very visible and will not be hit by a mower, which is most likely what damaged it before.
I let the cement dry overnight and tested it this morning. No leaks.
However, a small underground leak near my Mister Lincoln Rose was bigger this year and definitely needed some attention.
I was really worried about what I would find when I dug down to find the source of the problem. This is why I had thought about having someone else do the repair for me.
However, after finishing my mowing I decided to see what the problem was.
It ended up being just a cracked elbow connector. What a relief
After washing up a bit I headed off to OSH again to find a new connector.
Here you can see the new connector in place. It was not a clean job. I got much dirtier than I like to get. It looks simple here. Just screw the sprinkler in and I am done.
It was not so simple. However, it was not that hard either as all the other parts were in good condition. I just had to dig a large hole to get to everything and also to have room to screw things in.
At least now I know what the system looks like. I can troubleshoot a problem better from the symptoms 🙂
I am not sure why I am so afraid of trying to make my own repairs of my sprinkler system. Perhaps it is bad memories of poorly designed fluid systems in some products I worked on years ago with a previous company. I never liked working on them when they sprung leaks.
My sprinkler are now working well and my roses will get the water they need.
Now, if I had only trimmed off all the old blossoms like I needed to. Oh well, maybe tomorrow evening I will get to them.
Steven
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As I was leaving Patterson I took this picture of the sunset. I really like the trio of palm trees silhouetted against the evening sky.
Here are more silhouettes as I wait for the stop light to head toward I-5.
As I get out on the interstate, I have a great view ahead of me. Some high clouds, but also a solid band of red sky ahead of me to the north.
As I approach the 580/5 split I get a nice shot of trucks and cars heading across the overpass as they head south toward LA. They are silhouetted against a colorful sunset.
Off in the distance you can just barely see the two peaks of Mt. Diablo silhouetted against the sunset. It is hard to show the beauty of the sunset, it is so much nicer to view in person.
