How To Repair Crack Pvc Pipe For Yard Sprinkler

Bert spent 25 years working as a dwelling house-improvement and residential construction contractor in central Florida.

Just every bit there is with many problems in life, at that place is more than than one fashion to set up a broken sprinkler pipage. The appropriate method depends on the damaged section'due south location. For example, a make clean break before the valve usually requires a hard pipe repair, while easier repair methods work fine when the damaged area occurs after the valve.

This guide will break down five different methods to repair a buried sprinkler pipage.

Geysers often erupt when a sprinkler pipe breaks before the zone valve. — Geysers often erupt when a sprinkler pipe breaks earlier the zone valve.

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Locate and Expose the Damaged Pipe

Finding the leak is sometimes the well-nigh hard part of this projection. Patently some leaks are easier to observe than others, such as a geyser that rips through the soil. In less obvious cases, a homeowner may only find a pressure loss at the end of a zone. In this state of affairs, plow on the leaking zone. Stand back and compare the spray tiptop of each sprinkler caput. If you see a loss in water pressure between ii sprinkler heads, doubtable a leak between these two heads. Become to the suspected area and look for overly saturated soil.

Remove the soil covering the broken sprinkler pipe with a shovel. When the tool'south blade touches something difficult, cease digging with the shovel and betrayal well-nigh a two-pes-long section of the pipe with either your hand or small trowel. Clear a four- to six-inch deep trench under the sprinkler line. This gives the h2o within the pipe a place to bleed.

Identify the pipe size earlier shopping for repair fittings. The person at the hardware shop does not know what size pipe you have. Manufacturers impress the pipe size on the side of the piping. Unfortunately this is oftentimes hard to read when on older buried pipe. If this is the example, wrap a piece of string around the pipe and brand a marking where the end meets. Go the hardware store and utilize the string to identify the pipe size. If you lot experience the need to gamble on pipe size, choose 3/4 inch.

Saddle Repair Kit

Irrigation repair technicians use a saddle repair kit to prepare a croaky section of direct pipage, such as when someone punctures a sprinkler pipe with a shovel. The pieces in these kits hug pipe, not fittings; leaking fittings crave a difficult pipage repair. Some kits utilize a PVC saddle and cement, while others utilise a rubber gasket and metal clamps.

PVC Saddle style

Wipe the damaged expanse with a rag to remove mud and dry out it. If water continues to seep from the suspension, turn off the h2o source and remove the closest sprinkler caput. This releases the h2o force per unit area from the pipe.
Paint the pipe with a PVC cleaner or primer. Using a PVC cleaner or primer helps ensure the repair kit bonds permanently onto the piping.
Utilize a liberal amount of cement to both the pipe and the repair kit.
Position the kit's pieces over the damaged expanse and snap them together. Let the cement dry, using the time recommended by kit manufacturer as a guide, earlier leak testing.

Clamp Style

Clean the surface of the damaged pipe with a rag. Remove all clay and droppings.
Slip the clamp over the damaged area of the piping. Position the clamp'southward safe gasket over the damaged area.
Get together the clench. Tighten the clamp's bolts with the correct sized wrench. Turn on the h2o source to bank check for leaks.

Flexible Coupling

Many homeowners love the trees in their yard. Unfortunately, as the roots abound, they push button upwards on any irrigation pipes running above them. Somewhen the tension causes the pipe to fissure and leak. The root'due south upward strength creates uneven pipes that sit at odd angles to each other, making a difficult pipe repair difficult. To brand matters worse, removing the offending root tin damage or impale the tree. A flexible coupling solves this issue without cut the roots.

Lay the flexible coupling on the damaged pipage and center it over the split up in the pipe. Use the coupling to decide where to cut the pipe and mark the pipage with a pencil at the advisable spots.
Cut piping on the pencil marks with PVC cutters. Remove any burrs with a knife.
Let the h2o drain from the pipe. Dry and clean both ends of pipage with a rag.
Apply a liberal amount of wet-or-dry PVC cement to the both ends of the flexible coupling and the sprinkler pipe. Quickly move to the side by side step.
Slip both ends of the coupling over their corresponding pipe ends. Twist the coupling back and forth about 1/four to 1/2 turn. Let the cement dry, using the manufacturer's instructions every bit a guide, then leak test the repair.

Some technicians use a PVC compression fitting as a no-cement repair fitting. — Some technicians use a PVC pinch fitting as a no-cement repair fitting.

Pinch Coupling

Irrigation repair technicians looking for a no-glue plumbing equipment oftentimes choose to use a PVC compression coupling, sometimes called a dresser coupling. A PVC compression fitting uses safe gaskets as a mechanical sealant. When the technician tightens the plumbing fixtures's nuts those nuts strength the rubber rings into the void between the pipe'south outer surface and the fitting. If the fitting leaks, the technician simply tightens the nut another half turn. Unfortunately, a PVC dresser plumbing fixtures should non be used on a constant pressure pipe, such as the pipe feeding the valve. In that case, pick a dissimilar repair method.

Remove about two inches of pipage. This cutting does non demand to exist exact, simply close.
Slide both dresser nuts over their respective ends of the piping.
Work both safety bushings onto their respective piping ends. Button one condom bushing nearly 5 inches away from the cut end of the pipe. Position the 2nd rubber bushing well-nigh ane inch from the end of its pipe.
Slip one end of the dresser coupling over the piping with the bushing placed five inches from the end. Continue to conform the plumbing fixtures until the free end clears the remaining pipe.
Position the cease of the pinch plumbing equipment confronting the rubber bushing that sits one inch away from the pipe. This should heart the coupling over the two-inch gap.
Slide the distant bushing toward the coupling until it touches the fitting. Both rubber bushings should now touch the fitting. Tighten both nuts with a wrench.
Plough the water force per unit area on and leak examination. If the fitting leaks, identify one wrench on the coupling and a second on the leaking nut. Concord the coupling nonetheless and turn the nut approximately 1 half turn. Repeat every bit necessary.

An expandable coupling works well in tight spaces.

Expanding Coupling

An expanding coupling, sometimes called a telescopic coupling, works well when replacing a leaking fitting located in a tight space, such as within a valve box. The stationary end of this fitting attaches directly to a department of pipe and the fitting's movable shaft slides into another pipe fitting. Occasionally a repair technician completes a hard-pipe repair with an expandable coupling; however, this situation rarely happens due to the plumbing equipment'due south loftier cost.

Fully expand the coupling and mensurate its length. Subtract two inches from the measurement and transfer the calculation to the leaking sprinkler pipe.
Cutting the sprinkler line at the appropriate spot with PVC cutters. Let the water draining from the pipe absorb into the ground before continuing.
Wipe the PVC pipage in the repair area with a dry rag. Removing all the dirt and debris from the pipe helps ensure a leak-free connection.
Adhere a PVC plumbing equipment to the terminate of the piping that accepts the expanding coupling's shaft. The type of plumbing equipment depends on the repair. If the shaft connects to a threaded valve port, coat a male plumbing equipment's threads with thread tape before installing it on the valve. If the shaft slides into a coupling or other fitting, apply PVC cement to both the pipe and plumbing equipment. Install the fitting on the pipe, using a twisting motion.
Fully compress the expanding coupling.
Use cement to both the PVC pipe and the expandable plumbing equipment's coupling end.
Mount the expanding coupling onto the pipe, using a twisting move. The twisting move blends the cement.
Cover the shaft's mating stop and its plumbing fixtures with PVC cement. Rapidly slide the shaft into the fitting. Rotate the shaft back and forth slightly. Follow the cement manufacturer'south recommended curing time before leak testing.

Hard Pipe Bridge

Occasionally it makes sense to build a difficult pipe bridge using PVC piping and fittings, such as when a sprinkler line passes over multiple growing tree roots or when the leak is located in an area also modest for other methods. The exact type and corporeality of fittings needed depends on the situation, however, most pipe bridges employ iv 90-degree fittings and a section of piping.

Dig a ditch across the entire repair area. This exposes all obstacles.
Cut the pipe on both ends of the repair with PVC cutters. Allow the water drain from the pipe and soak into the soil. Dry out and clean the pipe ends with a dry out rag.
Adhere a 90-degree fitting to 1 cached sprinkler piping with PVC cement. Turn the fitting until its open up port faces up. Repeat this on the other buried pipe. Both 90-degree fittings must face the aforementioned direction.
Cut two risers from a length of PVC pipe. The length of the risers depends on the amount of height needed to clear the obstacle. It sometimes helps to lay a bit slice of pipage on the obstacle in the trench and measure out the distance from the bottom of the fleck to the pinnacle of the buried pipe. Attempt to keep the risers every bit small equally possible. Cement a 90-degree fitting onto each riser.
Measure the length of the removed section of piping. Transfer this measurement to a new piece of pipage and cutting at the appropriate spot.
Attach one of the xc-degree fitting on one riser to the new pipe with PVC cement. Cement the ninety-degree fitting on the remaining riser to the pipe's other end. Twist the xc-caste fitting until the second riser's position matches the first.
Employ a liberal amount of PVC cement to both of the ninety-degree fittings connected to the buried sprinkler pipe. Position the bridge in the trench and slip a riser into each buried fitting. Press the risers into their respective fittings. Let the cement cure completely before leak testing.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author's cognition. Content is for advisory or entertainment purposes only and does non substitute for personal counsel or professional communication in business organisation, fiscal, legal, or technical matters.