trex
June 2nd, 2008, 10:28 AM
We recently bought a house with an in-ground sprinkler system (quite old). The folks who owned it before us never used it and trying to get it working has been an experience. (For starters, one loop apparently is under a newer detached garage and one sprinkler was in the middle of a gravel driveway. Neat.)
As the photo will show, the controls are strictly manual, which is fine by us. An inlet pipe comes from the house (shutoff valve inside) and then goes through a manifold to the five sprinkler loops. The ball valves are rusty on the outside but work well. They marry up to the manifold via an internally-threaded 3/4" connector.
The problem is the manifold arrangement. It involves over a dozen hose clamps and there is a persistent slow leak which four or five skinned knuckles have not been able to cure.
I had thought of putting together a replacement manifold of ABS or equivalent, which would be less likely to leak. The specific problem is that my local hardware store cannot make any suggestions as to how to connect the manifold to the ball valves.
I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.
As the photo will show, the controls are strictly manual, which is fine by us. An inlet pipe comes from the house (shutoff valve inside) and then goes through a manifold to the five sprinkler loops. The ball valves are rusty on the outside but work well. They marry up to the manifold via an internally-threaded 3/4" connector.
The problem is the manifold arrangement. It involves over a dozen hose clamps and there is a persistent slow leak which four or five skinned knuckles have not been able to cure.
I had thought of putting together a replacement manifold of ABS or equivalent, which would be less likely to leak. The specific problem is that my local hardware store cannot make any suggestions as to how to connect the manifold to the ball valves.
I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.