Sprinkler Manifold

Alright plumbers, here is my sprinkler manifold that blew apart when I tried turning the water on (previous owner's fault, not mine!)
If you owned the place, what would you rebuild this with? Solder some copper together again or use something else? I plan to replace the old shutoffs inside the house and add a check valve so I can run anything outside while I'm at it.

 

What kind of valves are you going to use? I like 1/2 turn valves, works much better than knob type. What is that on end looks like a schrader valve? I would solder a new 45 ell and add a threaded fitting and go PVC from there.

 

Are you going to install zone control valves outside? Because of your climate I would see if there is room for union fittings so you can remove the valves & manifold and bring inside during winter.

 

pugsl,
I like ball valves, although they aren't really meant for throttling to use as a zone control valve. I don't hate the PVC idea. Cut and paste is easier than soldering. I think that end piece was intended to be a plug for doing a blowout.

Dane,
Manifolds stay out year round. Around here you just blow your lines out before winter. I'll end up adding a piece I can stick my air compressor on. I don't have a ton of room to add fittings anyways.

 

That's why I asked about the control valves. Normally the valves and manifold would be located inside but your photo appears to be outside and no control valves. Where are your zone valves located? Are they going to be at the manifold?

 

Dane,
There used to be ball valves attached here. When I bought the house and turned the water on, they literally blew apart. So I soldered caps on for now so I could at least hook a hose up until I rebuild this thing.

So PVC is the only suggestion on material to use?

 

So you are doing a manually controlled sprinkler system. Now is a good time to consider adding a controller and valves if you want to automate it. The valves are low voltage DC and you might be able to sneak the wires through the same hole as your pipe.

If you want to stick with a manually controlled system ball valves are best for quick and easy off and on (only 1/4 turn) but they are not great at dialing down to a lesser flow rate. It can be done but they are finicky to adjust. A gate valve requires more handle turning to turn off and on but it allows more control over the flow.

No, PVC is not the only material but it is the cheapest and easiest to work with. You can also use copper. With either material you may find it helpful to put in union fittings to help allow you to fit everything together more easily. Without them you might have to disassemble some of the existing copper fittings to be able to get your new pieces fit together, then sweat everything after you have it assembled.

 

No problem using copper pipe and brass valves if you're happy with soldering. Though I would stay away from PVC valves regardless, they tend to fail over time

 

Thanks guys. I'll look into an automated system, but will stick with copper out there.