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My sprinklers acts like they don't have enough pressure when they are turned on. If I start closing the heads, from the upper part of the lawn down to the lower part, the pressure seems to build up high enough for the rest of the sprinklers after the third one gets closed.

Now, If I go back and open all the sprinklers, then they all start running fine. I would think that if there was not enough pressure to run the system, then when I reopen the top 3, the other ones would lose pressure again, and the ones that I reopen would also be experiencing the low pressure. But instead it's like doing that little procedure of closing then reopening fixes the problem. Does anyone have any ideas?

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  • Hello, and welcome to Home Improvement. It sounds like the initial surge of water is causing something to block the line; if you build the flow up gradually it doesn't happen. Don't know what to suggest, though. And, you should probably take our tour so you'll know how best to participate here.
    – Daniel Griscom
    Jun 21, 2019 at 1:50
  • Start looking at the control valve. Back-pressure is required for diaphragm type valves to operate properly. It kinda seems like the valve is partially opening at full-flow (low or zero back-pressure); when some flow is restricted there is a rise in back-pressure causing the valve to open all the way. Test by bypassing the control valve and testing the system. May be that thevalve just needs a rebuild...
    – Jimmy Fix-it
    Jun 21, 2019 at 6:18

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Jimmy Fix-it is right. If you decide to try to disassemble the diaphragm valve, make sure there is no water pressure or the diaphragm will break (my experience).

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  • Hello, and welcome to Home Improvement. Thanks for the answer; keep 'em coming. And, you should probably take our tour so you'll know how best to contribute here.
    – Daniel Griscom
    Jun 22, 2019 at 19:10
  • Thank you. Would shutting off the water and leaving a head open be enough to ensure there is no pressure in the line?
    – Warren McCarthy
    Jun 24, 2019 at 21:53
  • shutting water off will be fine.
    – Polypipe Wrangler
    Jun 24, 2019 at 23:02

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