laborer90 said:
Five years ago we had our sprinkler system professionally installed. We have 40 total heads. Eight zones- five heads on a zone. When it was installed each sprinkler head had 3gpm nozzles. This year I Noticed we didn't have the pressure like we used too. I changed nozzles on each sprinkler head to 2gpm. After this was done pressure was good and they were spraying the proper distance again. This system is hooked up off of our 6inch drilled well and we have a RED JACKET submersible pump. I have iron in my water. My question is could the pump be plugged or nearing the end of its life? Will a good well driller try to repair or rebuild a pump or try to sell a new pump right away? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
I have replaced many a sprinler head that the screens were plugged do to iron and manganease buildup. Just a red/brown sludge. You might want to dig the sod away from one of your rotors, and use a couple sets of strap wrenches or large channel locks to unscrew the guts from the body ( so you don't have to dig the body completely up). There should be a large white screen at or near the base. If this is full of gunk, sometimes you can get them back to normal by blasting them with a hose.
If you are proficiant enough to change all the nozzles, you should be able to calculate your total GPM usage for each zone, and then test your well supply to see if it is capable of meeting that output. You can use a Toro Flow meter available at the home improvement centers, or stop watch a large bucket that you mark with 1 gal increments.