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Hello @Scraggz
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about your reticulation system.
One of the best ways to find out if the system works is to link it to a garden hose. If the PVC is white you'll need to possibly attach and glue a Holman 20mm x 3 / 4" Press PVC BSP Male Thread Adaptor in combination with Pope 12mm Universal Tap Adaptor. This will allow you to clip your garden hose straight onto the PVC pipe.
Three things will happen, either the system will operate properly or you will see which of the risers is failing and the last is that you will find a leak in the pipework. The last two possible events can easily be repaired. Would it be possible for you to post a photo of the end of the PVC pipe? This will allow our members to assess the pipework. We can then make recommendations on how to proceed.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
Eric
Thanks Eric.
The remanant of reticulation is from a system that was decommissioned before we bought this house and for some time didn't realise it was there. Seems like a good idea to reuse it.
I have actually already connected a normal hose from the tap and only getting a dribble out of 5 half sprinkler heads. If I take the sprinklers heads off I get water bubbling out of basically just two of the risers nearest to the hose. I have run a 25 foot drain auger down the pipe clearing 4 to 5 blockages. So I'm guessing I have a leak. As it's been there for some considerable time there is a mass of roots around most of the pipe. Trying to fix a leak seems somewhat daunting.
The attached photo is of one end of the pipe (the upper bit) which I have cut as the remnant I want to use is on the raised bed. The lower pipe was the feed from the older system on which there was only one sprinkler to be found.
Hi @Scraggz
That is a spot-on recommendation coming from @Sammywench. You can also use rags wrapped in plastic as temporary plugs to determine where the leaks are. Troubleshooting old systems is involved and requires a fair bit of patience. I suggest mapping the layout of the pipework and looking at the ground to see if it's wet. That's often a good indicator that there is a leak in that spot.
You can also try a reverse flow and stick the garden hose into one of the sprinkler slots. You can also try doing spot checks every meter on the ground to see if the pipework has been crushed or bent.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
Let us know how you go @Scraggz.
I think it might be easier to simply start again from scratch with a new system as it's a relatively easy D.I.Y. project and not expensive. These posts might help:
Jason
Hi @Scraggz
Thank you very much for that update and congratulations on finding the broken piece in the system. It's always good to hear when reticulation systems are repaired and salvaged. Can I please request for a picture of the system working? I'm sure our members would be keen to see it.
We look forward to seeing your next project.
Eric
Difficult to supply a photo of the system working as it's kind of behind an almost six foot wall within about ten feet of the rear fence. The two attached are the closest I can get to it. I now have a couple of the risers to reposition as they're not clearing some of the vegitation.
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