All lawn sprinkler systems are a maze of pipes, electronic parts and sprinkler heads that work in concert to irrigate lawns and other landscapes with the water they need to grow.
One of the most vital elements of these systems is the remote control valve. Variously called a zone, station or solenoid valve, an automated lawn sprinkler system will include a remote control valve for every watering zone it has.
A watering station is composed of a group of sprinkler heads whose water supply lines are linked to that remote valve. When a watering station is activated from the timer, an electrical signal is sent via a pair of field wires to the connected `solenoid,` which opens the valve hydraulically, thus allowing the water to flow to those linked sprinkler heads.
Many homeowners will no doubt be scratching their head over their contractor's choice of remote control valve locations. The reason? Most contractors won't group all the remote control valves together because it's usually more practical to build in a solitary primary supply pipe, then site the remote control valves where they intersect each watering station around the irrigation area. If they sited all the remote control valves together in a single location, it might make finding and repairing them easier, but it would necessitate a separate water supply pipe from every valve to the water station associated with it. On big jobs, this would require many water supply lines in a very big excavation on the property, not to mention sizable pipe sizes. Not very practical, after all!
However, there are situations where grouping valves would be advisable. For example, if there is a landscape which will see a lot of traffic, either human, animal or vehicular, placing the valves together, at a protected location, would be a good idea.
Sometimes valve placement isn`t given that much forethought. For example, a particular spot may have been chosen only because that`s where the installer ran short of control wire. And an installer`s good intention of choosing a service-friendly place for a valve is often waylaid by an unplanned landscape feature to follow.
Of course, by definition, the remote control valve is just that -- remote control -- and thus finding it isn't all that critical. The contractor knows if he has to find it, he can, through a variety of different methods.
One of the most vital elements of these systems is the remote control valve. Variously called a zone, station or solenoid valve, an automated lawn sprinkler system will include a remote control valve for every watering zone it has.
A watering station is composed of a group of sprinkler heads whose water supply lines are linked to that remote valve. When a watering station is activated from the timer, an electrical signal is sent via a pair of field wires to the connected `solenoid,` which opens the valve hydraulically, thus allowing the water to flow to those linked sprinkler heads.
Many homeowners will no doubt be scratching their head over their contractor's choice of remote control valve locations. The reason? Most contractors won't group all the remote control valves together because it's usually more practical to build in a solitary primary supply pipe, then site the remote control valves where they intersect each watering station around the irrigation area. If they sited all the remote control valves together in a single location, it might make finding and repairing them easier, but it would necessitate a separate water supply pipe from every valve to the water station associated with it. On big jobs, this would require many water supply lines in a very big excavation on the property, not to mention sizable pipe sizes. Not very practical, after all!
However, there are situations where grouping valves would be advisable. For example, if there is a landscape which will see a lot of traffic, either human, animal or vehicular, placing the valves together, at a protected location, would be a good idea.
Sometimes valve placement isn`t given that much forethought. For example, a particular spot may have been chosen only because that`s where the installer ran short of control wire. And an installer`s good intention of choosing a service-friendly place for a valve is often waylaid by an unplanned landscape feature to follow.
Of course, by definition, the remote control valve is just that -- remote control -- and thus finding it isn't all that critical. The contractor knows if he has to find it, he can, through a variety of different methods.
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Learn more about automatic underground lawn sprinklers in St. Louis. Stop by MPR Supply's site and discover what this automatic sprinkler supply company can do for you.
