# Strange sprinkler event



## Haldir00 (Apr 25, 2021)

New to the forum. Was hoping someone might have some insight into this one. I have an irrigation system (Rain Bird, ~12 years old) in my yard. In the fall I purged the lines of water using the normal compressor process. I had not yet turned on my system at the control box when one of my pop-up heads in one of my zones fully popped up today and sprayed water for about 2 seconds. It then retracted and that was that. I checked the control box...it was still locked and the knob was in the off position, so nobody had turned on the system. I considered the possibility of a water leak into that zone, but of the four heads only one came up, and it came up all the way. If it was a leak at the valve into that zone, I would have expected the pressure to build just enough to cause the water to seep out, even if it was constant, not to fully actuate (only) one of four pop-up heads on the zone. That zone is not the farthest from the controls/water well, but it is one of the three more distant zones (of eight total), with that head being the most distant of the four on its zone. Very strange. I'm assuming there would have to be a leak causing pressure to build in that zone, but if that's the case it has manifested itself very oddly. If anyone has any thoughts on the matter, I'd appreciate your input. You're welcome to e-mail me at [email protected] if you have some insight you'd prefer to share privately. Thank you all for your time, and regards.


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## RVAGuy (Jul 27, 2020)

Sounds to me like you didn't get all of the water out of the line (just pay the sprinkler guys to do it, it's worth the cost and they do it correctly) and it caused a small crack. When you put pressure on that zone, it built pressure and the head rose long enough for the pipe to bust completely.


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## Haldir00 (Apr 25, 2021)

Thanks. I did it correctly...have done for years. I didn't put pressure on that zone to cause this. The system was off and had been for the entire winter. Nothing changed with respect to system configuration, when that single head spontaneously raised up and sprayed for a few seconds. That happened BEFORE I unlocked the control box to make sure it was still in the off position...it was. Nothing appears busted, as now that the system is on and operating, that sprinkler head comes up and sprays normally, along with the other three on that zone. That said, something certainly happened...just can't for the life of me figure out what.


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