IRRIGATION
Winter irrigation system projects by Peter Robin, Origin Amenity Solutions Irrigation Product Manager
If you want your irrigation system to function better next season then winter is the time you can do some “housekeeping”. However, if you don’t do any corrective work, problems will be the same next season. My first suggestion derives from all the courses I visit where the pop-up rotors have sunk in the ground, often from years of topdressing. The top of a pop-up sprinkler should sit flush with the surface of the soil when it’s not operating. I have seen hundreds of sprinklers that sit several inches below the soil surface.
46 | TURF MATTERS | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2022
This means that when the sprinkler pops up, a huge amount of the water hits the turf directly in front of the sprinkler and makes a big mess. This affects the sprinkler’s ability to operate properly. Lifting a sprinkler is relatively simple if you have swing joints installed, although I’m not the one doing the digging! You’ll need to dig down far enough that you can pull the swing joint to lift the sprinkler. Use a straight edge like a rake handle across the ground surface to gauge the correct height of the rotor as you backfill the hole… leave half an inch difference to allow for the turf. Then pack the soil down hard around the swing joint and rotor. Finally, make sure the rotor is vertical; this can make a massive difference to its throw and uniformity of coverage. The benefit of this work is that you don’t need the irrigation system to be operating to make this important adjustment. You will also probably know of sprinklers that have been playing up or are just getting really old… it’s a chance to change them out for new ones. While you’re in the process of lifting sprinklers, take a look at your solenoid valve boxes. These house all your solenoid valves, isolating valves and cable connections under the ground. They are designed to take the weight of your machinery driving over them but
are notorious for having slumped over time and can become a hazard to players. Digging up the box, cleaning out the soil from the solenoid manifold and reinstating the box at the correct height will make the area look much better and safer. Rain Bird supply replacement lids so you don’t have to purchase a complete new box when the lids get lost or broken. However if valves or boxes are broken, now is the time to install new ones. Rusty gate valves can be replaced too. Lots of courses have automatic control systems that aren’t working properly anymore. If you have areas of the course that used to be automatic but now the system won’t talk to the controller, it’s likely to be a solenoid cable fault. Often this is caused by cable connections that have corroded over time. Use a cable locator }
