How To Repair Puncture Irrigation Lines

Bert spent 25 years working as a home-improvement and residential construction contractor in central Florida.

Simply as in that location is with many problems in life, in that location is more than than ane manner to fix a broken sprinkler pipage. The appropriate method depends on the damaged section's location. For case, a clean break before the valve usually requires a hard pipage repair, while easier repair methods piece of work fine when the damaged area occurs after the valve.

This guide will break down five different methods to repair a buried sprinkler pipe.

Geysers often erupt when a sprinkler pipe breaks before the zone valve. — Geysers oftentimes erupt when a sprinkler pipage breaks before the zone valve.

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Locate and Expose the Damaged Pipe

Finding the leak is sometimes the most hard function of this project. Plainly some leaks are easier to observe than others, such as a geyser that rips through the soil. In less obvious cases, a homeowner may only notice a pressure loss at the end of a zone. In this situation, turn on the leaking zone. Stand back and compare the spray height of each sprinkler head. If you encounter a loss in water force per unit area between two sprinkler heads, suspect a leak between these two heads. Go to the suspected area and look for overly saturated soil.

Remove the soil covering the broken sprinkler pipage with a shovel. When the tool'due south blade touches something hard, stop earthworks with the shovel and expose virtually a ii-foot-long department of the piping with either your hand or pocket-sized trowel. Clear a four- to six-inch deep trench under the sprinkler line. This gives the water inside the piping a place to drain.

Identify the pipe size before shopping for repair fittings. The person at the hardware store does not know what size piping y'all have. Manufacturers print the pipe size on the side of the pipe. Unfortunately this is often hard to read when on older buried pipe. If this is the case, wrap a slice of string effectually the pipe and make a mark where the end meets. Go the hardware store and use the string to identify the piping size. If you feel the need to run a risk on pipe size, choose 3/4 inch.

Saddle Repair Kit

Irrigation repair technicians use a saddle repair kit to fix a cracked department of straight pipe, such as when someone punctures a sprinkler pipe with a shovel. The pieces in these kits hug pipage, not fittings; leaking fittings require a hard piping repair. Some kits use a PVC saddle and cement, while others utilize a safety gasket and metal clamps.

PVC Saddle mode

Wipe the damaged area with a rag to remove mud and dry it. If water continues to seep from the break, turn off the h2o source and remove the closest sprinkler caput. This releases the h2o pressure level from the pipe.
Paint the pipage with a PVC cleaner or primer. Using a PVC cleaner or primer helps ensure the repair kit bonds permanently onto the pipe.
Apply a liberal amount of cement to both the piping and the repair kit.
Position the kit'south pieces over the damaged area and snap them together. Let the cement dry, using the time recommended by kit manufacturer as a guide, before leak testing.

Clamp Mode

Clean the surface of the damaged pipe with a rag. Remove all dirt and debris.
Slip the clamp over the damaged area of the pipage. Position the clamp's safe gasket over the damaged area.
Assemble the clamp. Tighten the clamp's bolts with the correct sized wrench. Turn on the water source to check for leaks.

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Flexible Coupling

Many homeowners beloved the trees in their yard. Unfortunately, as the roots abound, they push up on any irrigation pipes running above them. Eventually the tension causes the pipe to fissure and leak. The root's upward force creates uneven pipes that sit at odd angles to each other, making a hard piping repair difficult. To make matters worse, removing the offending root tin can damage or kill the tree. A flexible coupling solves this outcome without cutting the roots.

Lay the flexible coupling on the damaged piping and heart information technology over the split in the pipe. Utilize the coupling to determine where to cut the pipe and marking the pipe with a pencil at the appropriate spots.
Cut pipe on the pencil marks with PVC cutters. Remove any burrs with a knife.
Permit the water drain from the pipe. Dry and clean both ends of pipage with a rag.
Utilise a liberal amount of wet-or-dry PVC cement to the both ends of the flexible coupling and the sprinkler pipe. Apace movement to the adjacent step.
Slip both ends of the coupling over their respective pipe ends. Twist the coupling back and forth about i/four to 1/2 turn. Let the cement dry, using the manufacturer'south instructions as a guide, then leak test the repair.

Some technicians use a PVC compression fitting as a no-cement repair fitting. — Some technicians use a PVC compression fitting every bit a no-cement repair fitting.

Compression Coupling

Irrigation repair technicians looking for a no-glue fitting frequently choose to use a PVC compression coupling, sometimes called a dresser coupling. A PVC compression fitting uses rubber gaskets equally a mechanical sealant. When the technician tightens the fitting's nuts those nuts force the safety rings into the void between the pipe's outer surface and the fitting. If the fitting leaks, the technician simply tightens the nut some other half turn. Unfortunately, a PVC dresser plumbing fixtures should not be used on a constant pressure level pipe, such as the pipage feeding the valve. In that case, pick a unlike repair method.

Remove about two inches of pipage. This cut does non need to be verbal, simply shut.
Slide both dresser nuts over their respective ends of the pipe.
Work both safe bushings onto their respective pipe ends. Push one safety bushing about 5 inches abroad from the cut end of the pipe. Position the second rubber bushing nearly one inch from the finish of its pipe.
Slip 1 end of the dresser coupling over the pipe with the bushing placed five inches from the terminate. Go along to arrange the fitting until the gratis end clears the remaining pipe.
Position the end of the compression plumbing fixtures confronting the safe bushing that sits one inch away from the pipage. This should center the coupling over the two-inch gap.
Slide the distant bushing toward the coupling until it touches the fitting. Both rubber bushings should now touch on the fitting. Tighten both nuts with a wrench.
Turn the water pressure on and leak test. If the plumbing fixtures leaks, place one wrench on the coupling and a second on the leaking nut. Concur the coupling yet and turn the nut approximately one half turn. Repeat equally necessary.

An expandable coupling works well in tight spaces.

Expanding Coupling

An expanding coupling, sometimes chosen a scope coupling, works well when replacing a leaking fitting located in a tight space, such as within a valve box. The stationary terminate of this fitting attaches direct to a section of pipe and the fitting'due south movable shaft slides into another pipe fitting. Occasionally a repair technician completes a difficult-pipe repair with an expandable coupling; yet, this situation rarely happens due to the plumbing equipment's high cost.

Fully expand the coupling and mensurate its length. Subtract two inches from the measurement and transfer the calculation to the leaking sprinkler pipe.
Cut the sprinkler line at the appropriate spot with PVC cutters. Let the h2o draining from the pipage blot into the ground before standing.
Wipe the PVC pipe in the repair surface area with a dry rag. Removing all the clay and debris from the pipe helps ensure a leak-costless connection.
Attach a PVC fitting to the end of the pipe that accepts the expanding coupling's shaft. The type of fitting depends on the repair. If the shaft connects to a threaded valve port, coat a male person fitting's threads with thread tape earlier installing it on the valve. If the shaft slides into a coupling or other fitting, apply PVC cement to both the pipe and fitting. Install the plumbing equipment on the pipe, using a twisting motion.
Fully compress the expanding coupling.
Apply cement to both the PVC pipage and the expandable fitting'southward coupling stop.
Mountain the expanding coupling onto the piping, using a twisting motion. The twisting movement blends the cement.
Cover the shaft'due south mating end and its fitting with PVC cement. Quickly slide the shaft into the fitting. Rotate the shaft dorsum and forth slightly. Follow the cement manufacturer's recommended curing time before leak testing.

Hard Pipage Bridge

Occasionally it makes sense to build a difficult pipe bridge using PVC pipe and fittings, such as when a sprinkler line passes over multiple growing tree roots or when the leak is located in an expanse likewise pocket-sized for other methods. The verbal type and corporeality of fittings needed depends on the situation, withal, most pipe bridges utilize four ninety-degree fittings and a section of pipe.

Dig a ditch across the unabridged repair area. This exposes all obstacles.
Cutting the pipe on both ends of the repair with PVC cutters. Allow the h2o drain from the pipe and soak into the soil. Dry and clean the piping ends with a dry rag.
Attach a 90-degree plumbing equipment to one cached sprinkler pipe with PVC cement. Plough the fitting until its open port faces upwards. Repeat this on the other cached pipage. Both 90-degree fittings must face the aforementioned direction.
Cut 2 risers from a length of PVC pipe. The length of the risers depends on the amount of peak needed to clear the obstruction. It sometimes helps to lay a chip piece of pipe on the obstacle in the trench and measure the distance from the bottom of the fleck to the top of the buried piping. Endeavour to continue the risers every bit small-scale as possible. Cement a ninety-degree fitting onto each riser.
Measure the length of the removed section of pipe. Transfer this measurement to a new piece of pipe and cut at the appropriate spot.
Attach ane of the 90-caste plumbing fixtures on ane riser to the new pipe with PVC cement. Cement the ninety-degree plumbing equipment on the remaining riser to the pipe'due south other end. Twist the 90-degree fitting until the 2d riser's position matches the showtime.
Apply a liberal corporeality of PVC cement to both of the 90-degree fittings connected to the buried sprinkler pipe. Position the bridge in the trench and slip a riser into each buried fitting. Press the risers into their respective fittings. Let the cement cure completely earlier leak testing.

This article is accurate and true to the all-time of the author's knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes but and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional person communication in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.