If you have an irrigation system on your property, you’ve likely had to perform some sort of maintenance on it. If you’re dealing with something such as a sprinkler head above the ground, the job may not be all that difficult. However, when it comes to repairing a below-ground problem, simply trying to figure out where to begin can seem like an impossible task.
When it comes to an irrigation system, there are a number of parts below the ground that could require your attention when something malfunctions. One piece of the system you may need to investigate is the irrigation valves. If you’ve had to work on a valve before, you probably know exactly where they are, but if you’re just having an issue for the first time, you very well may have to locate where a valve is without having a whole lot of information.
Locating an underground irrigation valve could be problematic for several reasons. Even though the valves are supposed to be located in boxes that should make them easier to find, it’s possible a box got covered with mulch. There’s also the possibility that grass is overgrown where a box was placed. And, even though the valves are supposed to be buried with a box, someone may have initially just buried it straight into the dirt. All of these things may contribute to it being a really big challenge figuring out where an underground valve is.
There are different options for locating an irrigation valve. One thing you can do if you know generally where the irrigation valves are located is probe the soil. However, if you’re going to do this you want to be sure that the valves are buried in boxes, otherwise, you could end up damaging wires or a solenoid. Another option would be to hire someone else to help with the job — a convenient but costly option. Fortunately, Vu-Flow has made it so you can avoid either of these options, which will inevitably lead to problems, and do the job yourself in both a cost effective and efficient manner!
The Click-It system from Vu-Flow, designed for irrigation contractors, has made locating and identifying irrigation and solenoid valves a fairly simple one-man job. Instead of having to guess and hope that you’re looking in the right place, a Click-It helps you to know exactly where a valve is before you start digging. The most important thing is just understanding how to use the valve locator correctly.
The instructions for using a Click-It are pretty basic and begin with shutting off the water supply feeding the electric valves. If a relay is being used, you then want to disconnect the pump start or the master valve circuit at the controller. After this, you need to make sure to disconnect the valve common wire at the controller. You’ll want to note that if multiple controllers share a common that all commons need to be disconnected.
Once you take care of those items, it’s time to implement the Click-It into the equation. You want to start by attaching one of the leads from the Click-It to the valve common terminal on the controller. The second lead needs to be connected to the valve common wire that goes to the valves.
At this point, everything is set up and you can start the process of actually locating the valve that you’re looking for. You will start by manually activating any desired station at the controller. Once doing that, you can head toward the area where that particular valve will most likely be and that’s typically where the heads are for that zone. Assuming everything was setup correctly, you should be able to hear the solenoid plunger clicking up and down right where that valve is, eliminating all of the guesswork!
If you’re interested in more information about the Click-It system or our other irrigation related products, feel free to give Vu-Flow a call at 1-800-833-5171. A live customer service representative will be available to chat with you Monday through Friday.
