# eliminate a head from an existing zone



## mikaho (Feb 6, 2021)

We bought a house with an existing sprinkler system. We are now planning to expand a patio on the back of the house and will eventually add a pad for a shop in the back yard. To expand the patio we will need to eliminate one sprinkler head which is in that area.

The existing layout for this zone is: 4 180 degree multi-stream rotors (far right side in the picture), 2 180 degree rotors (along back of house in picture), 1 360 degree rotor (in the middle of the back yard) and 1 90 degree rotor.

The 90 degree rotor is in the corner formed by the back wall of the house and the existing patio. This is the one we want to remove in order to expand the patio and the patio will then cover the area of grass currently being watered by that head.

Can we just remove that head and cap the supply line? or will we need to make changes to the other heads?


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## burntfire (Dec 10, 2020)

Just cap and bury.

I would suggest running the zone with the cap exposed to ensure it's properly installed.


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## northwoods-lawn (Sep 9, 2020)

burntfire said:


> Just cap and bury.
> 
> I would suggest running the zone with the cap exposed to ensure it's properly installed.


 +1 agreed... If you cap and change your mind later, it can always be setup again to work.


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## VALawnNoob (Jun 9, 2020)

Sorry for a dumb question since this is my first time posting in irrigation. If I have Hunter Pro and want to cap that head, what do I buy? Can someone please link me?


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

VALawnNoob said:


> Sorry for a dumb question since this is my first time posting in irrigation. If I have Hunter Pro and want to cap that head, what do I buy? Can someone please link me?


First thing is, realize you can't leave a permanent dead-end in your piping. Mostly because of potential for freeze-damage. Just capping it off won't do; you'll need to actually remove the pipe leading to that head, and reroute the source pipe with a straight coupler instead of a T-coupler. If you're like me and that's beyond your current comfort level with irrigation repairs (you probably need a blow-torch to heat the funny pipe in order to make connections), you can have an irrigation technician do part or all of the job for you.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

VALawnNoob said:


> Sorry for a dumb question since this is my first time posting in irrigation. If I have Hunter Pro and want to cap that head, what do I buy? Can someone please link me?


If the head in question is not the end of the line, it really is as simple as digging out the head, and unscrewing it. I am assuming you have rigid PVC laterals and not the newer flexible lines (Blu-Lock, AquaPex, etc) or black poly pipe.

If your heads are screwed directly into the lateral, then plug/cap it there with a standard threaded pipe cap/plug available at your local fix-it store. Most are 1/2" NPT pipe thread, if it's a large rotor type (single-stream) head, it will prob be a 3/4" NPT. The plugs are priced ridiculously at about $0.22 each but even at that exorbitant rate, I'd prob bite the bullet and buy a cap and a plug in both sizes before I start digging. :lol: If your heads are on funny pipe or "swing-joints", then remove the flexible pipe all the way back to the lateral and install your cap/plug to avoid having a "dead-end" in the system.

In the event that the head is in-fact the last head on the zone, you could replace the sprinkler with a short piece of pipe (riser) and a cap located above ground, somewhere accessible so that you can blow out the line before winter.

Even though this is a very basic DIY job, a little education goes a long way. Multiple youtube vids out there on irrigation repairs, watch a couple to get an idea on what might be in the ground waiting for you.


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

Install a Rainbird 5000+ head for now which has a shut off valve in the head. This way you can open and close the flow to that head until you figure it out.


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