One of my sprinkler head takes a few hours to release into the ground and I ran it over with my mower. I HOPED it was the head shielding but it pours water out. I've attached a picture. Is there a DYI for replacement?

 

Can't really tell what kind of head it is from the fragments... find a similar head and see if there is a brand or number on it. Changing heads is usually pretty easy. Cut out and save the sod, dig a hole around it, many will just unscrew from the riser.

 

I actually have a replacement from when I extended my deck and had to cap off 2 heads. I am not sure if they are the same sprayer but I should be able to just unscrew the broken and replace the head itself.

 

That sounds better yet.

 

I did a quick YouTube search and it seems as straight forward as using a pair of pliers to unscrew the head and screw the new (used in this case) on. Does that sound right?

 

Usually rotation arc and angle of spray are two adjustments required after replacing a sprinkler head. Should be able to find the info on the web once the manufacturer is identified.

 

You probably only broke the cap and riser portion of the sprinkler. You should be able to just screw a new cap and riser in place. You might want to turn on the water first and flush out the sprinkler body so you don't get any dirt trapped inside. Then once you have the body back together you can futz to get the emitter set for the correct coverage area and range.

 

Thanks. This is the best case scenario and what I hoped for. Assuming the cap and riser are broken, do I still just use pliers and unscrew it?

 

We still don't even know what kind of sprinkler head you have. Hard to describe the repair with no information.

 

I assumed they all screwed on. I'll see if there are any markings on the head.

 

Part #11 is the sprinkler body that's buried in the ground. Hopefully you just hit the top cap that screws on. You'll likely need to buy a whole pop up sprinkler assembly to get the guts but it will make the repair really easy if all you have to do is screw in the new guts.



If the sprinkler body is damaged get a bucket, garden trowel, channel lock pliers and some old newspaper. Cut out a section of sod around the sprinkler and lay the sod on the newspaper. Then with the trowel dig straight down putting the dirt into the bucket. You want the sod cut out so the sprinkler is close to one edge of the hole and then the make the hole long enough for your wrench or pliers to fit down in the hole. Reach down in the hole with the pliers and hold the fitting right below the sprinkler. With your other hand unscrew (counter clockwise) the sprinkler body. Pour a little clean water over the fitting in the ground to rinse it off and screw on your new sprinkler. Then pack the dirt back into the hole and place the sod you cut back on top. Gently step on it to get rid of air pockets and keep it watered well for the next couple weeks until the grasses roots are re-established.

 

Thank you -- This is very helpful. How much sod do I need to cut to make sure the opening is big enough? Would it be just a bit bigger than the diameter of the sprinkler body? This actually got interesting because I had to cap off 2 sprinklers to make room for my deck extension and they are different. Perhaps that's a good thing Can I pick either or or hopefully the one I have is a direct replacement? The system is RainBird so I cannot explain why the hunter exists -- Perhaps the mow issue occurred with the original house owners...

 

You only need to take out a little bit with that type of sprinkler head, assuming your replacement matches exactly. Pilot Dane described it very well. You will be able to just unscrew the cap (#5 in his illustration) and remove the "guts". Do the same to the new head and just swap the parts.

You are just removing enough sod and dirt so that you can unscrew the head while ensuring that no dirt falls inside the sprinkler head while you have it open.

If your replacement does NOT match exactly... for instance you have a shorter body, then you may need to dig a bigger hole, unscrew the entire sprinkler, add a new riser that you have cut to the correct length, then reinstall the sprinkler and new riser.

 

This assumes the guts are exactly the same in either of my 2 older heads, correct? If not, I COULD replace the body assuming it's exactly the same size. Does this also assume the spray is the same? Is the body screw-on universal?

 

The threads on the bottom of most sprinklers are the same (1/2" NPT). The big thing you need to watch is the height. If the damaged sprinkler had a 4" rise you should replace it with another 4" rise pop-up.

No, the spray pattern might not be the same as your old one. You need to think of pop-up sprinklers as two parts. There is the body that's in the ground that has the pop-up riser. Then on top you have the emitter. Emitters are easily replaced. So, if you can find a whole assembly that has the spray pattern you want that's easy. If the store doesn't have what you need you can buy any sprinkler body, say a 4" rise pop-up, and replace the emitter with what you need.

 

 

I use Rainbird 1800 heads a lot. There is a picture on each label so it's pretty hard to screw up. 1/4 radius, 1/2 radius, etc. Yes, like I mentioned you may need a riser if the hight has changed at all.

 

 

Well your bottom picture is a rainbird 1800, so... yes. Like Pilot Dane said,

 

Thank you. I believe I am making it more complicated than it should be. I'll head back to Lowes/Home Depot and see if I can find a sprinkler head of the same height or I will get a riser to match the same height. I couldn't find a sprinkler head with a fixed 180 degree spray so I might have to buy whatever head and replace it with a new emitter. The only other issue I am concerned with is a tiny bit of sand/dirt in the line. Should I just turn on the sprinkler to flush it out? The hole becomes flooded but I can drain that.

 

No doubt.

Here is one at Lowes that would work. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rain-Bird-2...-Rotor/3118645 Buy a couple of the trim-to-length risers in case you need them. Don't worry about a grain of sand, it will either wash out or get caught in the filter. You don't want a pile of dirt to fall in.

 

I am learning at least . I don’t think that’s a fixed spray pattern?

 

It is a 180 degree rotary head. The 1800 series is a fixed pattern popup. Good luck.

 

Thank you. I got the 1800 and everything went smoothly. I very much appreciate the help.

 

Glad you got it whipped.