Pretty sure I have a sprinkler leak around my control valve box. Anybody know of a better way to find where the leak may be coming from other than just start digging?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

it is mostr likely the control valve itself. take the lid off, get the water out and watch for flow of water. ie the dirt in the water will swirl around or move near the leak

The best way to find that leak is to dig it up. It is probably a fitting leaking from a bad solvent weld joint or a cracked part. The valve itself could be leaking if the bleeder is open or the solenoid is backed off the threads. The valve may be cracked too, but not likely.

I recommend turning the water off at the double check device (DCA). It is located near the water meter in a rectangle green box. It will have two handles. Turn one or both until they are perpendicular to the device.

Let that area dry up. Then dig it up. Now turn the water back on at the DCA about a quarter way until you hear water flowing. Then go back to the excavated area at the valve and look for the water source.

Very good advice here.

if the water is standing in the valve box the controll valve is bad

Not so - water takes the least path of resistance and it may be ending up in the control valve box. Very seldom do the contral valves leak themelves as it is most likely the result of a fitting.

Start digging - no easy solutions. You'll need a siphon tool or a few plastic cups and some rags.

You'll first need to try and dry the area out - if it won't dry out then the leak is in the supply line before the water gets to the valve and you'll have to turn the double check valve off to stop the flow of water. Be very careful when moving the valve lever on the double check since they almost always rust away if they've been in there for any amount of time. If it is rusted out or breaks off, you'll have to turn the water to the house off instead. Once you dig things out, turn the water back on and look for the leak.

If the water dries out after turning the double check off then you'll need to dig things out real good and be very careful and use your hands often. Real easy to bust pipe or sever wires if you are in too much of a hurry. Turn the station on at the control box and watch for the leak. If you don't find it right away just keep an eye out for the water seepage and keep digging.

If you have to fix pipe make sure you dig out a large enough hole so that you have enough slack in the line to slip a fitting and the fix piece of solid pipe over the existing pipe. Otherwise you risk breaking off the original pipe, especially if it is schedule 80, or possibly causing further leaks at other joints.

You'll figure it out.

Not so fast shark. There could be a break in the main line and the water is traveling along the pipe highway to the valve box.

true but not likely. if nothing else you could always use more cowbell.

an old trick my dad taught me was to take dish soap and run it along the paths of the pipes, where you see bubbles being made, you may have found the leak.

Plus it'll let you know if there's bugs in the yard cause it ticks them off (no pun intended)

What if you do not know where the pipes are run?

I started digging from the control valve box towards where most of the wetness was. I was pretty sure that it was going to be in this area.
Unfortunately, I ran in to one of those little green holes and decided my sprinkler repair expertise had run out at hole digging and I have called Sprinklerman to come out and fix it.

Sometimes it is cheaper and easier to let the professional fix it.

A friend had a water pipe leak underground. He found it by hiring a guy in Austin. The guy shut the water off, connected a device to the input line and pumped helium (or some other gas) into the line. Then he walked around the yard with a reader / sensor. The read found the gas coming up near his door. That is where he started digging.


Another way, is to turn off all of your sprinkler heads. For rainbird sprayers, it requires the blue screen, not the white screen, in the sprinkler head. For shooters, you may have to unscrew them and put a temp capped pipe in the location. Then turn the zone on. Then go look at your water meter. If it is spinning, then you have a leak in that segment. This requires that you sort of know the topology of the sprinkler pipes underground. I took pictures of everything when my sprinkler was being installed.

The best advice I could give anyone getting a new sprinkler system is make sure the guy doing it gives you a very good drawing of the system. Where the lateral and main lines are as well as zone valve locations. It can save you a lot of time in the future.

snagola, pictures are fine for you as the homeowner. But all licensed irrigators should give you an irrigation design for your system.

And with the new state rules and inspector licensing, David will make sure all systems in his neck of the woods are done right. He's got some good irrigation stories too.

Just an FYI, Jeff's problem ended up being a blown solenoid o-ring.