Question
We recently purchased a new home with an irrigation system.  It seems that maybe only the front yard was really hooked up, even though there are sprinklers in the back?  We don't mind this, but.

It looks as though it was set up for 4 zones.  We noticed it when we brought our trash from the back to the front after living here about a week - that the black tube (about an inch thick) carrying water was spraying essentially nowhere.  It's coming directly out of the ground, and is about 8 feet long, and stops.  The holes in the side of it have been plugged.  We found an identical inch thick hose on the other side of the house that has smaller hoses spouting off of it.  The end of this thick hose is buried in the ground, after doubling over on itself and taped so that the kink won't allow water through.

So I feel confident that the initial hose in question is either supposed to connect to something, or something is installed improperly.  The system was installed everywhere in our neighborhood in 2000 with the subdivision.

The controller is set up for 4 zones.  4 seems to only put water through this one inch hose, and nowhere else.  When stopped off and held by hand, I can't see or hear water anywhere.  Zone 3 seems to not do anything.  Zone 2 has our front yard sprinklers.  Zone 1 does nothing.

With this being said - is there any practical explanation?  Is there a normal way this is set up that would help make sense of this?  Are zones typically organized in a certain way?

We can't afford to put a lot of money into it right now, but would love to let it run and not worry about negative repercussions down the road.

Thanks so much.

Answer
Hi molly

The controller has 4 zones, make sure you have watering time at each zone. Run the test an see what happens.

A house with 4 zones usually has one zone for the front, one zone for the right side, one zone for the left side and one zone for the back. This is the logical way, but you never know.

The black hose and the hose with smaller hoses are for a drip irrigation system, to watering planting pots, small areas or hydroponics systems. If you dig a little you will find the hose attached to one PVC pipe. If you want to install sprinklers just buy a roll of funny pipe (50' cost about $18 at Home Depot and the sprinklers about $3. To add more than one you will need funny couplings and funny elbows #about .56c each one#

Your house should have 4 valves underground inside a valve box #usually with a green plastic cover#you can find it by following the wires path from the controller, each valve has a selenoid connected to the zone wire and to the common wire. If the selenoid is bad the valve will no open and no watering will be. The selenoids cost about $ 9.

If you need a manual for your controller go to www.rainbird.com and download your controller model.

Regards
Guillermo