How do solenoids work sprinklers

If it is low head drainage, residual water will stop flowing after all the water has left the pipe. How do solenoids work sprinklers? Category: home and garden indoor environmental quality. The solenoid is a coil of electrical wire that, when charged with an electrical current from the controller, creates a magnetic force and pulls up a small, metal plunger inside the valve.

As the plunger rises, it dumps water from the chamber above the diaphragm to a lower downstream pressure area. What happens if a solenoid goes bad? Where are sprinkler solenoids located? Why my sprinkler system is not working? Is it bad to water grass at night?

How do you test an orbital sprinkler system? From the Timer Box. Why is my sprinkler valve box full of water? How much is a sprinkler solenoid? How does a solenoid work? How do I determine my sprinkler zone? Calculating Zones.

Can one sprinkler valve control two zones? How do you install a solenoid valve? Positioning of the solenoid valve. How sprinkler solenoid valves work. By John Edgar Park. John Edgar Park. Related Stories from Make:. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The process of opening solenoid valves starts at the controller. Controllers are attached to a set of these valves that are buried in a box at the beginning of the system. The main water source is tapped into the box. The controller tells each valve when to open and for how long. A solenoid valve has a diaphragm that opens to allow water to flow through the pipeline to the sprinkler heads.

When the solenoid coil that the wire is attached to is not energized, the diaphragm will remain closed. When the moment comes for a particular zone of your lawn to be watered, an electrical signal is sent from the controller. The moment that electrical signal reaches the solenoid coil, there is an electromagnetic field created in the valve.

Once the coil is energized, the resulting magnetic field is responsible for opening the diaphragm of the valve. That electrical signal from the controller is programmed to be active at a specific time of day and for a particular duration. The occurring pressure in the pipeline will raise the sprinkler heads and your lawn will receive the liquid refreshment it requires.

When that prescribed time is exhausted, the controller will break the electronic connection with the solenoid coil. That disconnection will remove the electromagnetic field from the valve and cause the diaphragm to close and the water will no longer flow to that zone.

Systems like this are an investment in the lawn or garden you have worked so hard to create. You have to ask yourself, are you always going to have the time and inclination to go outside and water the lawn the old fashioned way? In this day and age, the answer is probably not.

You might also want to prepare your entire setup for the winter depending on where you live. In addition to sprinkler system articles this site has a number of related guides that thousands of people read each and every month of the year.

Here are a few good ones that may be of interest to you:. Skip to content By Brian Mounts May 26, Some of the primary pieces to the puzzle of a sprinkler system are the sprinkler valves. Emergency Shut-Off Valve This valve needs to be placed as close as possible to your main water source.

Sprinkler or Irrigation Control Valve The sprinkler or irrigation control valve is responsible for turning the sprinkler system on and off. Manual Control Valve This is the most simple form of a control valve. Remote Control Valve This valve is either electric or hydraulic. Solenoid Control Valve The solenoid is the most popular design of control valve used in an irrigation system. Each solenoid is wrapped with an electric wire to receive the signal from the controller.

Different Valve Styles The style of the sprinkler valve you may choose for each of these varies. Gate Valve This style is used primarily in the emergency shut-off valve. Ball Valve The ball valve is well suited to work in the emergency shut-off valve as well. Do not work on your sprinkler system with the water supply on. You may accidentally injure yourself with pressurized water.

Writing professionally since , Amy Rodriguez cultivates successful cacti, succulents, bulbs, carnivorous plants and orchids at home. With an electronics degree and more than 10 years of experience, she applies her love of gadgets to the gardening world as she continues her education through college classes and gardening activities. By Amy Rodriguez Updated December 28, Related Articles.

Remove the screws securing the solenoid to the top assembly using a screwdriver. Inspect the solenoid's housing. Replace the housing if any damage exists. Reattach the repaired solenoid housing to the top assembly using screws and a screwdriver.