Newbie question, irrigation not working correctly, system off but water still flowing

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jasper7821

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I just purchased a home and only living there for 2 weeks and got the water bill and we used 14,000 gallons.
I found the problem and it was a cut in the black irrigation line from a tree root bending it over time.

Question I have is I turned the Hunter system off and when I turn the sprinkler valve on the lawn is getting watered.
So basically the irrigation is running all day and night even with the system turned off.

I found this valve that's just after the main water line. I'm thinking somehow this thing is stuck on somehow.

I found out how to remove the solenoid and will try it tonight but what is the big black knob that turns that's on the other side of the valve.
Can someone tell me by my photo what to do.
Thanks
 

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jasper7821

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Thanks,
I have not yet tried to remove anything, I was planning on trying to fix it tonight after work.
is that long black round piece adjust the water flow by turning it ? Sorry for the dumb questions.
 

Jimbo

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You have two different valves there. On the left is the solenoid operated valve. The tiny square you see is a "manual on" screw...turn about 2~3 turns ccw to turn on the valve. The larger longer piece is a handle to unscrew the solenoid, which also will turn it on. I do not see any flow control on it. I can't tell from the pic what the cylinder on the right side is.

You probably need to overhaul the valve. It is probably Rainbird or Hunter. Repair kits will be readily available and easy to install, but you need to take your parts in because they make several models.
 

jasper7821

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You have two different valves there. On the left is the solenoid operated valve. The tiny square you see is a "manual on" screw...turn about 2~3 turns ccw to turn on the valve. The larger longer piece is a handle to unscrew the solenoid, which also will turn it on. I do not see any flow control on it. I can't tell from the pic what the cylinder on the right side is.

You probably need to overhaul the valve. It is probably Rainbird or Hunter. Repair kits will be readily available and easy to install, but you need to take your parts in because they make several models.

Thanks, is the little square manual screw supposed to be turned clockwise in off position normally and the solenoid is what automatically turns it on and off.
If so, maybe it's turned on somehow when the guy was messing with it and there's nothing wrong with my system. have to check when I get home.

So to be correct, with the solenoid in the off position and turning the manual screw CCW to on will open the valve and bypass the solenoid ?

Did some more searching and saw that the long round knob is a pressure regulator/filter combo and turning the knob adjusts the water flow from .2 - 5.0 gph.
By looking at a photo of a new one ( rainbird XCZ-075 on thew solenoid I see it says on/off with arrows.
 
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Jimbo

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The manual screw and the solenoid do the same thing: Mainline pressure is ported to the TOP of the diaphragm and combined with a small spring pressure, keep the diagphram CLOSED. The screw or the solenoid port water off the top of the diaphragm over to the outlet, thus allowing mainline pressure to push the diaphragm UP ( OPEN)
 

jasper7821

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The manual screw and the solenoid do the same thing: Mainline pressure is ported to the TOP of the diaphragm and combined with a small spring pressure, keep the diagphram CLOSED. The screw or the solenoid port water off the top of the diaphragm over to the outlet, thus allowing mainline pressure to push the diaphragm UP ( OPEN)

Great, thank you very much.
Did a few minutes or testing and couldn't get the valve to move. I looked in control panel and there's only one valve for the entire house. it has three wires but the red wire isn't connected. Maybe it's supposed to be that way since the controller is a Hunter and the valve is a Rainbird. I turned the swith from off to manual several times and did not see the valve handle move at all.
I'll take the solenoid out tonight when I have more time to mess with it and see if there's debris in it.

Weird thing though, when scrolling through the settings I saw that there's times set on valve one and valve two but only one set of wires are coming up through the hose and connected to the controller. I just bought the home so I have no history on the irrigation system.
 
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