In a recent post, I mentioned accidentally mulching my neighbor's sprinkler head while I was taking care of her lawn when she went on vacation. I also fixed it. Here's how.
Tools & Supplies
- Replacement sprinkler head: this isn't the same brand, but it claims to be a universal replacement. More on that later.
- Shovel: I don't recommend this one,
- Plumber's tape: not pipe dope. The instructions were very clear.
Wrench:turns out I didn't need this!
Procedure
I used the shovel to cut a circle in the sod. Don't dig too deep, because the pipes are made of plastic and not very far underground.
I got that particular shovel on sale, and decided this was as good a test as any to see if it was good for camping. It looks like a slightly scaled-down military entrenching tool, but it is not well-made. Job's done, though.
I flipped the grass donut upside down and dug out the dirt and rocks by hand until I found the bottom of the old fixture. Then I braced myself for the task of unscrewing the thing. But before I went for the wrench, I decided to try it by hand. Turns out it wasn't stuck, and twisted right off. There was no sign of plumber's tape, either. I'm not impressed.
At this point, my hands were dirty and photographing the process on my phone got difficult, but there's not a lot to say. I wrapped the threaded pipe with some plumber's tape, making sure to wrap it so it wouldn't unravel when I spun the new sprinkler head on.
Replace dirt. Replace sod. Job's done, right? WRONG! Gotta set up the sprinkler. This unit came with good instructions, so I set it for 360° and left the included nozzle for now. The sprue of others, the adjustment tool, and directions were left behind in case anything needs adjusting later.
OK, now we replace dirt and sod. Success! I was done in about 15 minutes. Honestly, I'm waiting for news that something is wrong. No DIY repair project turns out to be this simple....
Ha, had fun with your E-tool did ya? Can't count how many of those I've had over the years, and I am convinced they don't work at all without incoming for encouragement. Finally got one that wasn't military surplus and it's marginally better but I still don't trust it for more than digging cat holes.
I have an older real surplus e-tool with a wooden handle. It's better. And I have a full-size knockoff e-tool folder that works OK, but this is smaller one is like trying to type on a keyboard from one of those netbooks from 15 years ago with the miniaturized keyboard.
My neice did worse. Yesterday my sister called and said our neice who is staying with her ran over the sewer pipe that has the cap on it, she broke the three way pipe connection and the 4 inch pipe in two places. I had to go with her to Home Depot and get the right parts, then go over to her house and fix it. That was a nasty job. I would rather fix a sprinkler head. FYI, PVC glue and the purple cleaner melts rubber gloves.
Yeah, that stuff is a solvent designed to melt the plastic and weld it together. Vile chemicals are vile.
Nice! Good job!
Great job tackling a practical repair. Your clear process and approach make it easy for others to follow. Hope your neighbor wasn't pissed. PS. Would have been nice to see more photos too. 😉
selected by @stevenson7
There's only so much I can do with muddy hands, and I do have a few more photos, but they were NOT in focus!
This is really awesome
I must say you did a great job
Great job very instructive, glad you were able to accomplish everything you set out to do with this shovel.