Our sprinkler system has many daisy-chained sprinklers -- not the way to
do it, I understand, but that's the way they were.

A week or two ago I managed to chew up a sprinkler with the mower, and
when I unscrewed the damaged sprinkler dirt and stones fell into the
Tee. I cleared away all I could reach, then turned on the water to blow
out the rest. Unfortunately, it seems as though some continued straight
on -- toward the next sprinkler -- instead of blowing out from the one I
was working on. Now there is barely a trickle from that next sprinkler.

What would be the best way to clear the line? It's 3/4-in poly pipe.
I've thought of unscrewing that next sprinkler and trying to push stiff
wire back along the pipe, but is there a better way?

And is there a good way to prevent the problem in future? How does one
stop dirt and stones falling into the open line?

Perce

On Wednesday, June 22, 2016 at 10:56:48 AM UTC-4, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
Our sprinkler system has many daisy-chained sprinklers -- not the way to
do it, I understand, but that's the way they were.

A week or two ago I managed to chew up a sprinkler with the mower, and
when I unscrewed the damaged sprinkler dirt and stones fell into the
Tee. I cleared away all I could reach, then turned on the water to blow
out the rest. Unfortunately, it seems as though some continued straight
on -- toward the next sprinkler -- instead of blowing out from the one I
was working on. Now there is barely a trickle from that next sprinkler.

What would be the best way to clear the line? It's 3/4-in poly pipe.
I've thought of unscrewing that next sprinkler and trying to push stiff
wire back along the pipe, but is there a better way?

And is there a good way to prevent the problem in future? How does one
stop dirt and stones falling into the open line?

Perce

I'd try removing the offending head, then turn the water on briefly.
The heads typically have a screen at the entrance, that could be the
problem too. Some heads, eg rotor type, you can unscrew the head
from the shell, remove it, without removing the shell from the ground.
That can help avoid getting new dirt in there. It's always a problem
when you have a hole and are working on the pipes and wind up with
water filling the hole.

On Wed, 22 Jun 2016 10:57:25 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

And is there a good way to prevent the problem in future? How does one
stop dirt and stones falling into the open line?

Depends. I added ~2 inch risers on the tee and used a shorter pop-up
sprinkler head.

If debris fails in the line, before you turn on the water, use an
older turkey baster to lift dirt out. YMMV

You might try putting temporary longer risers on and the flush them
out.

On Wed, 22 Jun 2016 10:57:25 -0400, "Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote:

Our sprinkler system has many daisy-chained sprinklers -- not the way to
do it, I understand, but that's the way they were.

A week or two ago I managed to chew up a sprinkler with the mower, and
when I unscrewed the damaged sprinkler dirt and stones fell into the
Tee. I cleared away all I could reach, then turned on the water to blow
out the rest. Unfortunately, it seems as though some continued straight
on -- toward the next sprinkler -- instead of blowing out from the one I
was working on. Now there is barely a trickle from that next sprinkler.

What would be the best way to clear the line? It's 3/4-in poly pipe.
I've thought of unscrewing that next sprinkler and trying to push stiff
wire back along the pipe, but is there a better way?

And is there a good way to prevent the problem in future? How does one
stop dirt and stones falling into the open line?

Perce

Drag a hose out there and blow back the other way. You might have to
break the line to clear it and put it back together. It might just be
one big rock.

On 06/22/2016 12:42 PM, wrote:

Our sprinkler system has many daisy-chained sprinklers -- not the way to
do it, I understand, but that's the way they were.

A week or two ago I managed to chew up a sprinkler with the mower, and
when I unscrewed the damaged sprinkler dirt and stones fell into the
Tee. I cleared away all I could reach, then turned on the water to blow
out the rest. Unfortunately, it seems as though some continued straight
on -- toward the next sprinkler -- instead of blowing out from the one I
was working on. Now there is barely a trickle from that next sprinkler.

What would be the best way to clear the line? It's 3/4-in poly pipe.
I've thought of unscrewing that next sprinkler and trying to push stiff
wire back along the pipe, but is there a better way?

And is there a good way to prevent the problem in future? How does one
stop dirt and stones falling into the open line?

Drag a hose out there and blow back the other way. You might have to
break the line to clear it and put it back together. It might just be
one big rock.

I just tried blowing water back, but without success.

And when I said in the original message, "Now there is barely a trickle
from that next sprinkler." I should have said, "There is barely a
trickle from the next sprinkler body even when the popup is removed."

Perce

On 6/22/2016 10:14 AM, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
On 06/22/2016 12:42 PM, wrote:

Our sprinkler system has many daisy-chained sprinklers -- not the way to
do it, I understand, but that's the way they were.

A week or two ago I managed to chew up a sprinkler with the mower, and
when I unscrewed the damaged sprinkler dirt and stones fell into the
Tee. I cleared away all I could reach, then turned on the water to blow
out the rest. Unfortunately, it seems as though some continued straight
on -- toward the next sprinkler -- instead of blowing out from the one I
was working on. Now there is barely a trickle from that next sprinkler.

What would be the best way to clear the line? It's 3/4-in poly pipe.
I've thought of unscrewing that next sprinkler and trying to push stiff
wire back along the pipe, but is there a better way?

And is there a good way to prevent the problem in future? How does one
stop dirt and stones falling into the open line?

Drag a hose out there and blow back the other way. You might have to
break the line to clear it and put it back together. It might just be
one big rock.

I just tried blowing water back, but without success.

And when I said in the original message, "Now there is barely a trickle
from that next sprinkler." I should have said, "There is barely a
trickle from the next sprinkler body even when the popup is removed."

Perce


Do you have an electrical fish wire/tape (or whatever they are called
these days)?

On Wednesday, June 22, 2016 at 1:13:40 PM UTC-4, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
On 06/22/2016 12:42 PM, wrote:

Our sprinkler system has many daisy-chained sprinklers -- not the way to
do it, I understand, but that's the way they were.

A week or two ago I managed to chew up a sprinkler with the mower, and
when I unscrewed the damaged sprinkler dirt and stones fell into the
Tee. I cleared away all I could reach, then turned on the water to blow
out the rest. Unfortunately, it seems as though some continued straight
on -- toward the next sprinkler -- instead of blowing out from the one I
was working on. Now there is barely a trickle from that next sprinkler.

What would be the best way to clear the line? It's 3/4-in poly pipe.
I've thought of unscrewing that next sprinkler and trying to push stiff
wire back along the pipe, but is there a better way?

And is there a good way to prevent the problem in future? How does one
stop dirt and stones falling into the open line?

Drag a hose out there and blow back the other way. You might have to
break the line to clear it and put it back together. It might just be
one big rock.

I just tried blowing water back, but without success.

And when I said in the original message, "Now there is barely a trickle
from that next sprinkler." I should have said, "There is barely a
trickle from the next sprinkler body even when the popup is removed."

Perce

If normal water turned on won't clear it and blowing it won't I guess
it's time for a small snake.

On 06/22/2016 12:23 PM, Oren wrote:

And is there a good way to prevent the problem in future? How does one
stop dirt and stones falling into the open line?

Depends. I added ~2 inch risers on the tee and used a shorter pop-up
sprinkler head.

If debris fails in the line, before you turn on the water, use an
older turkey baster to lift dirt out. YMMV

You might try putting temporary longer risers on and the flush them
out.

The one I was replacing was a RainBird MaxiPaw, so there isn't a shorter
version I could use in conjunction with a longer riser. And IAC, the
riser remained attached to the sprinkler and unscrewed from the Tee, so
even a longer riser wouldn't have made any difference.

Perce

Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
Our sprinkler system has many daisy-chained sprinklers --
not the way
to do it, I understand, but that's the way they were.

A week or two ago I managed to chew up a sprinkler with
the mower, and
when I unscrewed the damaged sprinkler dirt and stones
fell into the
Tee. I cleared away all I could reach, then turned on the
water to
blow out the rest. Unfortunately, it seems as though some
continued
straight on -- toward the next sprinkler -- instead of
blowing out
from the one I was working on. Now there is barely a
trickle from
that next sprinkler.
What would be the best way to clear the line? It's 3/4-in
poly pipe.
I've thought of unscrewing that next sprinkler and trying
to push
stiff wire back along the pipe, but is there a better way?

And is there a good way to prevent the problem in future?
How does one
stop dirt and stones falling into the open line?

Perce

If its a popup, you should be able to just remove the head
or cap. Then just turn the sprinklers on and take a spring
clamp to the pop up sleeve so that it doesn't retract when
you turn the water off, then replace the head after you've
blown it out

On 06/22/2016 01:17 PM, Taxed and Spent wrote:
On 6/22/2016 10:14 AM, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
On 06/22/2016 12:42 PM, wrote:

Our sprinkler system has many daisy-chained sprinklers -- not the
way to
do it, I understand, but that's the way they were.

A week or two ago I managed to chew up a sprinkler with the mower, and
when I unscrewed the damaged sprinkler dirt and stones fell into the
Tee. I cleared away all I could reach, then turned on the water to blow
out the rest. Unfortunately, it seems as though some continued straight
on -- toward the next sprinkler -- instead of blowing out from the
one I
was working on. Now there is barely a trickle from that next sprinkler.

What would be the best way to clear the line? It's 3/4-in poly pipe.
I've thought of unscrewing that next sprinkler and trying to push stiff
wire back along the pipe, but is there a better way?

And is there a good way to prevent the problem in future? How does one
stop dirt and stones falling into the open line?

Drag a hose out there and blow back the other way. You might have to
break the line to clear it and put it back together. It might just be
one big rock.

I just tried blowing water back, but without success.

And when I said in the original message, "Now there is barely a trickle
from that next sprinkler." I should have said, "There is barely a
trickle from the next sprinkler body even when the popup is removed."

Do you have an electrical fish wire/tape (or whatever they are called
these days)?

I do have an electrician's fish tape, but the folded-back end is too
large to get round the corner of the Tee. I was able to poke a piece of
10-ga wire around the bend and the problem at that location is solved.
But then the next sprinkler after that was not working either; it's at
the end of the "daisy chain" and is fed through the side, which has a
smaller opening: From the inside -- after unscrewing the MaxiPaw
mechanism -- I could feel a pebble wedged against it, but I was able to
undo the side connection and unblock the line.

Perce