# Sprinkler heads are not high enough



## Green

First time this year running the system during the day, I recently noticed that a couple of rotor heads are too low. The seam between the body and head is barely above ground level, and the stream is not making past the grass very well. No wonder the grass is browning in the area. These heads were just moved less than a year ago, and obviously sunk over the past year. I have never raised a head myself, but also never had a problem this simple. Should I, without a doubt, consider learning to do it? I'm a bit nervous.


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## Green

I was thinking that if I tackle it myself, I need to be fully trained and prepared first, with videos and articles. Maybe replacing the head with one 2 inches bigger is an easier solution than using risers...? Also, the thing I'm nervous about is having a bunch of dirty water fill the hole and get into the pipe if I mess up.


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## Green

Thing is, everyone has to start somewhere. I asked someone offline who has done it, and he said it's not hard to do.


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## dacoyne

How to raise sprinkler head, @wardconnor did a video on it.


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## ken-n-nancy

Raising a sprinkler head isn't difficult, at least not if the heads were properly installed using a swing joint riser or flexible riser.

With the proper riser installed, raising or lowering a head doesn't even require disconnecting any plumbing. The only tool you'll need is a shovel and trowel. It will only take about 15 minutes the first time you do it. You'll be even faster at it the next time.

Videos showing how to do this can be seen on youtube.

If you don't have a swing joint riser or flexible riser, you'll need to insert a short piece of pipe extension. Connor Ward on this site even uploaded a video to youtube showing how to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBOKjLNY1PU

There's lots more such videos on youtube, too - some even by the sprinkler head manufacturers.

For background information on risers, see https://www.irrigationtutorials.com/types-of-sprinkler-risers/


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## ken-n-nancy

Green said:


> I was thinking that if I tackle it myself, I need to be fully trained and prepared first, with videos and articles. Maybe replacing the head with one 2 inches bigger is an easier solution than using risers...? Also, the thing I'm nervous about is having a bunch of dirty water fill the hole and get into the pipe if I mess up.


Raising the head by inserting a vertical extension is basically the same difficulty and complexity as replacing a head. If you're careful, you'll be able to keep dirt out of the pipe. Even if you do get dirt in the pipe, it can be flushed out by temporarily removing the last head on the zone.


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## Green

Thank you both.

@ken-n-nancy, swing joints were not used in the installation as far as I know. I'm pretty sure he used solid plastic elbows that screw into the bottom of the head, and connected those to the funny pipe using barbed fittings...so I would have to unscrew the head and either install an extension riser or use a 6-inch head instead of the existing 4-inch. I'm leaning tiward the 6-inch because honestly it should have been used from the start since these are at the bottom of a small hill. It's a good opportunity to upgrade the head, too. There is a new version of the I-20 available now with pressure regulation.


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## Green

ken-n-nancy said:


> Green said:
> 
> 
> 
> I was thinking that if I tackle it myself, I need to be fully trained and prepared first, with videos and articles. Maybe replacing the head with one 2 inches bigger is an easier solution than using risers...? Also, the thing I'm nervous about is having a bunch of dirty water fill the hole and get into the pipe if I mess up.
> 
> 
> 
> Raising the head by inserting a vertical extension is basically the same difficulty and complexity as replacing a head. If you're careful, you'll be able to keep dirt out of the pipe. Even if you do get dirt in the pipe, it can be flushed out by temporarily removing the last head on the zone.
Click to expand...

The last heads on the zone have spray bodies. (Yes, I had my installer mix and match despite his warning, as I was confident I could match the precip rates later.) That makes flushing easier I guess.


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## g-man

If it is on funny pipe, all you have to do is dig around the head, raise the head and place some soil below. No need to unhook anything.


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## ken-n-nancy

g-man said:


> If it is on funny pipe, all you have to do is dig around the head, raise the head and place some soil below. No need to unhook anything.


+1.

Funny pipe is a synonym for the "flexible riser" that I mentioned. That is what I have in my system, too. Adjusting the placement of a head a little bit (up/down, right/left,) is as easy as g-man describes above.

When digging up the head, I find it helpful to have a small tarp on which to place the removed sod and soil to make sure it all gets back into the hole again...


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## Ware

ken-n-nancy said:


> ...When digging up the head, I find it helpful to have a small tarp on which to place the removed sod and soil to make sure it all gets back into the hole again...


Good tip. :thumbsup:


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## Green

ken-n-nancy said:


> g-man said:
> 
> 
> 
> If it is on funny pipe, all you have to do is dig around the head, raise the head and place some soil below. No need to unhook anything.
> 
> 
> 
> +1.
> 
> Funny pipe is a synonym for the "flexible riser" that I mentioned. That is what I have in my system, too. Adjusting the placement of a head a little bit (up/down, right/left,) is as easy as g-man describes above.
> 
> When digging up the head, I find it helpful to have a small tarp on which to place the removed sod and soil to make sure it all gets back into the hole again...
Click to expand...

Thanks, everyone. Sounds easier, especially since I don't have to order new heads, or unscrew stuff on my first time doing it. But what's going to keep it from settling again just as much over time?


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## g-man

Just the dirt underneath keeps it. When they are placed the first time, the dirt doesnt compress all the way and they settle. It could also be part of the freeze/thaw cycles. It is just par for the course with sprinkler heads. They also lean to a side sometimes.


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## Green

g-man said:


> Just the dirt underneath keeps it. When they are placed the first time, the dirt doesnt compress all the way and they settle. It could also be part of the freeze/thaw cycles. It is just par for the course with sprinkler heads. They also lean to a side sometimes.


Yeah. Well, the sidewalk is nearby. It should help with rigidity. I guess as long as I'm careful digging, the very worst that could happen is I damage the grass for nothing if I can't move the head upward.

How deep would you dig? All the way down to where the connection is?


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## Green

All right. I'm going out to do it now.


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## g-man

Use a small shovel and try to take off 6in deep on one side of the head, so you could see it and be able to lift it.


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## Ware

g-man said:


> Use a small shovel...


A hori hori garden knife would be good for this task. They have a nice thin profile. I use one for setting gopher traps, etc.


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## Green

Ok. I reached the bottom, and freed up the body. Now I just need to measure, get some extra soil, and reposition everything. It was a bit cramped near the corner of sidewalk and driveway.


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## ken-n-nancy

Green said:


> Ok. I reached the bottom, and freed up the body. Now I just need to measure, get some extra soil, and reposition everything. It was a bit cramped near the corner of sidewalk and driveway.


Excellent! Before you put the soil back in, make sure you haven't unscrewed the body at all from the pipe below. Easiest way to do this is to just try to turn it a little further in the tightening direction (but don't try to turn it so forcefully that you break it -- it's always hard to teach "mechanic's feel" in an online forum...)


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## Green

ken-n-nancy said:


> Green said:
> 
> 
> 
> Ok. I reached the bottom, and freed up the body. Now I just need to measure, get some extra soil, and reposition everything. It was a bit cramped near the corner of sidewalk and driveway.
> 
> 
> 
> Excellent! Before you put the soil back in, make sure you haven't unscrewed the body at all from the pipe below. Easiest way to do this is to just try to turn it a little further in the tightening direction (but don't try to turn it so forcefully that you break it -- it's always hard to teach "mechanic's feel" in an online forum...)
Click to expand...

Just saw this now, but I did tighten it a tiny bit out of force of habit.

So, the first time I did it and got the soil back, I realized it was definitely a quarter inch or more too high. It took a few more partial attempts to lower it again. Only thing is, it might still be a little high. The problem is, the lawn grade is above the sidwalk grade, so there isnt much leeway to work with when raising. We will see how it goes over the next 2 months. I could always redo it in September. I'm mowing high right now so the mower blade won't hit it for the time being. But the cap is above the sidewalk grade now. It could be an issue for the snowblower, especially if a neighbor does the sidewalk.

I need to go put away my stuff out there and get some fungicide down on that area...


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## wardconnor

This is a great informative thread. Good tips


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## ken-n-nancy

Green said:


> I need to go put away my stuff out there and get some fungicide down on that area...


Congrats! Now this is a task that won't seem like a burden to you - it really does only take 15 minutes or less once you've done it a few times!


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## g-man

@Ware how is it that I just learn about this tool? That looks great with the ruler to get the bulb depth correctly. I'm ordering one.


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## Green

wardconnor said:


> This is a great informative thread. Good tips


Thanks to your video and also one by @LawnCareNut; those were the two I watched before doing it...as well as everyone who replied in the thread.


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## Green

ken-n-nancy said:


> Green said:
> 
> 
> 
> I need to go put away my stuff out there and get some fungicide down on that area...
> 
> 
> 
> Congrats! Now this is a task that won't seem like a burden to you - it really does only take 15 minutes or less once you've done it a few times!
Click to expand...

Headway G is down on the small area near the head. Photos to follow later.

Thanks! It was a good first job...I didn't have to uncrew anything. That might have been a little much for the first time. Before this, my experience ended at changing nozzles and adjusting arcs.

A little later, I'll go out and water the area again after the dew sets in.

I have the head on the other side that needs to be raised too, also by the sidewalk in the same area, and installed last year, but it's not quite as low.


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## Green

The only other thing left to do tomorrow on this head is reajust the arc. The right stop is a little off. Normally on a head that is well anchored, I just grab the body with a tool and rotate to set the right limit while it's running. That was how my installer showed me to do it.

But now that this head has just been moved, I probably need to hold the cap with the other hand.

Here's a question for @ken-n-nancy, (or anyone) since you brought up the idea of loosening the connection between the elbow and sprinkler body...Even holding the cap, do you think now that the sprinkler isn't anchored, adjusting the right stop in the manner above might accidentally unscrew the sprinkler from the elbow?


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## ken-n-nancy

Green said:


> Here's a question for ken-n-nancy, (or anyone) since you brought up the idea of loosening the connection between the elbow and sprinkler body...Even holding the cap, do you think now that the sprinkler isn't anchored, adjusting the right stop in the manner above might accidentally unscrew the sprinkler from the elbow?


I don't know quite what you mean by the sprinkler being "anchored" -- the sprinkler body isn't really "anchored" in the soil - it just is sitting in the soil, with the soil pressing against it from the sides, and the plumbing fitting connecting the spinkler body from the bottom. At least with my sprinkler heads, the only thing "anchoring" the sprinkler body into the ground _*is*_ the plumbing fitting.

So yes, if one turns the entire sprinkler body to adjust the right stop, one is actually likely tightening or loosening the plumbing fitting. The connection between the fitting and the sprinkler body can usually tolerate about 1/4 turn of overtightening or loosening before it starts to leak, which is usually enough to fix alignment of a sprinkler head which was previously aligned properly but has shifted a little. (The video I link to below actually shows this is a fine way to make a minor adjustment.)

There's a youtube video by Hunter showing how to properly adjust the right stop, presuming you have Hunter rotors. If yours are from a different vendor, adjustment is probably a little different. (I can't remember what manufacturer rotors you have.)


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## Green

@ken-n-nancy, that's what I was thinking as well. I think your're right because in doing so, we aren't ratcheting the gear drive like on a spray head (which rotors don't seem to be made for but Hunter claims theirs can tolerate to a degree...but the arc return is a feature to help prevent that).

I believe I watched that same video a few years ago. For small adjustments, the method I mentioned above seems to work ok. But if I change a head in the future, I'll make sure I set the arc on the right side before filling in the soil.

The arc is only a tiny bit off toward the right, and it's probably because I tightened the sprinkler a tiny bit. It won't hurt to loosen it a tiny bit again.


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## Delmarva Keith

Another way to raise a head is inject water into the ground around the head using a piece of 1/4" or 3/8" pipe fitted up so it will connect to a garden hose. No digging or surface disturbance needed. As you poke the pipe in and out of the soil around the head, the soil around the head and funny pipe will liquify and you can raise up the head by gripping it with oil filter pliers (or just your fingers). Turn off the water and hold the head where you want it as the soil settles back under the head and the injected water filters down into the soil. If the head remains loose after the water recedes, pack sand down alongside it using a thin piece of wood like a paint stirrer. Done.


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