Rainbird 32eti

[Wilson01]

I have 5 zones of the 32 eti sprinklers and now I have one zone that won’t pop up for some reason. All zones are run off orbit timers. The zone that isn’t working is on a three zone timer and I tried switching the hose lines around and the same zone won’t pop up so it’s not a timer or water pressure issue at the bib. I pulled all the heads apart and cleaned the filters and nozzles. When I pressurize the zone a couple of them come up half way but that’s it. If I pull up on a couple of the heads they all pop up and it works fine. I also tried changing a couple of the heads with new ones that I had. It’s been working every since I put it in last June and nothing has changed. I don’t see anywhere on the lawn that’s getting saturated from a leak. I wish there was a way to pressurize the zone without the heads popping up and to actually hold the water pressure in the lines. Any thoughts on what to try ? How can I tell if the seals are bad in one of the heads ?
Thanks for any help

 

[WorthFlorida]

Not sure what you mean it's "on a three zone timer"? Is it city water, well pump from your home, or just an irrigation pump?
If the head pops up halfway and seem to work OK even when you pull them up, there is not enough pressure behind the pop up. You know which heads are part of the trouble zone. At the first pop up remove the sprinkler or just the spray head and turn on the zone. Water should shoot up 10 feet or more. If it doesn't show much pressure there is a blockage somewhere before it or a cracked pipe. Keep going around the entire zone doing this check. Usually something is blocking the water flow like a stone. But since you are in NY, a pipe could have cracked from a freeze and depending on the amount of pressure, it could be gushing below ground and you don't see it. Another is the valve for that zone might have been damaged from a freeze.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Wilson01]

It’s a water timer with three outlets. I’ll post a picture. It’s running off a well pump but I have plenty of water pressure. The zone that doesn’t pop up has 7 heads and I have another zone with 9 heads and it works perfectly. I also have a whole home filtration system with high flow cartridge filter. I removed each sprinkler head one at a time and put them in another zone that’s working to see if they all pop up. I had two that didn’t pop up so I replaced them with new ones and the zone still doesn’t work. On the timer I moved the hoses around to make sure it wasn’t the outlet itself on the timer and the zone still doesn’t work. As far as freezing I blew the lines out and dumped RV antifreeze in and blew the antifreeze through the zone. It’s also been working since the beginning of May with no issues. I will do what you suggested and pull each sprinkler out to check pressure for a blockage or a cracked mainline. Thanks for the help