So the home repair du jour is an irrigation valve. Now, granted, the thing has lasted for 25 years without fail so it's being surviving better than expected.

1. the valves were covered in dirt from rains and soil movement over the years. Had to completely remove the plastic weather protective box covering them (good job it did) which was a hassle and involved a lot of digging around the perimeter and then a lot of water spraying to wash away all the soil that had completely buried the valves.

2. figured that the diaphragm was shot given the symptoms. should be relatively easy remove and replace but the small piece of rubber cost $13!!!! Yeeesh. Found a local dealer and picked it up.

3. replaced the diaphragm, turned on water and water is now spraying out of the body. turns out there is an o-ring on some nipple below the solenoid. it must have come apart and disappeared when I removed the bonnet. No o-ring to be purchased anywhere. Not even sure what material or size - the parts diagram just says o-ring. Would it kill irritrol to make a parts kit of typical parts - diaphragm, gasket, o-ring, valve spring? Anyway, since I don't know what o-ring to get or where to buy it, I go back to the supply store and buy a whole valve. $25 to obtain a $0.50 part. Well, at least now I'll replace the entire bonnet - the valve is basically all new parts except for the lower body.

How long after one retires does house stop breaking?

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:

How long after one retires does house stop breaking?

Never, It builds character.

Seriously? All your valves are in one location?

I envy you. House we moved into last December has 12 zones and every single valve off by itself. On top of that, a dozen sprinkler heads are next to the road or driveway such that at least one gets run over and busted every other week.

It's never ending.

Simple things , eh? I have 3 together on the east side and another 3 on the west side. In retrospect, I should have done all valves together on the east side near the controller.

Would do MANY things differently with irrigation. Stupid “professionals” who designed the layout.

Sorry about the troubles. Here in semi-rural WI, Mother Nature is my irrigation. This summer has been wet, grass is still very green.

I do understand in many areas, lawn irrigation is the norm.

As to the other repairs, can I do it without making the problem worse? If I have to I can call the pros after I give it a go.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
Seriously? All your valves are in one location?

I envy you. House we moved into last December has 12 zones and every single valve off by itself. On top of that, a dozen sprinkler heads are next to the road or driveway such that at least one gets run over and busted every other week.

It's never ending.

LOL, the fun part must have been locating all 12, my neighbors system was built that way, valves all over, one problem is a few are in behind hedge rows and after 30 years, roots are all over them.

Mine are all in one location, yes dirt and sand built up over time, nothing you can do even though they are all in a box like Konata's

I have learned while fixing the valves at my daughters, just buy a new one, remove the guts and transfer from the new housing into the old housing. Easy to do, do fishing for odd parts, unless you drop something.

Do the same with Pool valves, just buy a new one, swap the guts, no cutting, gluing and it's done in a few minutes.

Water Tractor

Just saying - it works and is entertainment

In the category of it could be worse...

I had an irrigation zone stop working and the original installer used the identical colored wire to every zone so trouble shooting was extra fun. On top of that, the installer buried valves next to the valve box (i.e. one wasn't big enough and didn't use two).

I was wearing leather gloves to dig up the valve box, but took them off to reach down into the wet ditch. I felt a bite on my thumb and it was a brown recluse spider. Urgent care won't deal with brown recluse bites so I had to go to full blown ER to get antibiotics, corticosteroid, and anti-itch. It was my 2nd brown recluse bite and it sucked a little less than first time as the anti-itch was very effective. After insurance paid their portion, my remaining portion of the ER visit was $1200.

On top of the medical bill, my thumb and hand was swollen so bad I couldn't complete the job so had to call the neighborhood sprinkler guy so that was another $200.

YIPES!!!! Thankful my jobs have been somewhat cheap annoyances and not costly, painful or otherwise more affecting. As failures go, I guess I shouldn’t complain. Much. . Except for the water heater which maybe doesn’t count since I’m being proactive. We’ll see what entertainment comes of it.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

LOL, the fun part must have been locating all 12…

I looked for a bit, the neighbor saw me wandering aimlessly and struck up a conversation. He said the former owner used the same irrigation guy he did and he gave the guy’s number. Guy comes out and he had a map with Xs all over, arrows showing direction, and how many paces. Like four paces from the oak tree heading SW, and X marks the spot like a treasure map.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

LOL, the fun part must have been locating all 12…

I looked for a bit, the neighbor saw me wandering aimlessly and struck up a conversation. He said the former owner used the same irrigation guy he did and he gave the guy’s number. Guy comes out and he had a map with Xs all over, arrows showing direction, and how many paces. Like four paces from the oak tree heading SW, and X marks the spot like a treasure map.

That was a lifesaver, what was the charge to make a copy LOL

Heck that's a cheap and easy fix.

well, i came home last month to a broken garage door opener. It's at least 30 years old. I did replace the circuit board (with an old one I got off ebay ten years ago). But I finally bit the bullet and went to buy a new one. No one local had any of the overhead track ones. They all have that fancy new side opener.

So I ordered a cheap one off Amazon.
Then it sat for a month because I was lazy. I kept looking at it and dreading climbing a ladder. On Saturday, i got ordered to work a shift and a half (16 hours) and when I got home, i was too angry to sleep. I threw that new opener up in less than an hour. It's sooo quiet.

Now my garbage disposal finally stopped. I bought that replacement back in February. lol

Couple weeks ago, closest to house tall pine tree in back yard took a humongous lightning hit, which induced a big power surge.

We have had several visits from "Garage Door Phil" and those problems seem to be solved.

Visits every two or three days from "Air Conditioning Joe," several problems found and solved including fried conductor in cable bunch between air hander and thermostat, new thermostat, replacement of line between outside compressor and inside air handler, and we continue to lose cold air. Compressor is judged to be OK, we are waiting for delivery of new air handler, supposedly this coming Friday.

TiVo DVR is dead, Jim. This is up for adoption if anybody here wants it. A power supply circuit board, available for $99, will likely fix the TiVo, according to the experts who sell and service these units. This one has the $549 lifetime subscription, so the $14.99 monthly fee does not have to be paid. The lifetime subscription is attached to the TiVo box, not to the owner, so it might very well be worth someone's time to replace the power supply board.

Free for pickup in my area, or I will ship on your nickel.

quote:

TiVo DVR is dead, Jim. This is up for adoption if anybody here wants it. A power supply circuit board, available for $99, will likely fix the TiVo, according to the experts who sell and service these units. This one has the $549 lifetime subscription, so the $14.99 monthly fee does not have to be paid. The lifetime subscription is attached to the TiVo box, not to the owner, so it might very well be worth someone's time to replace the power supply board.

Free for pickup in my area, or I will ship on your nickel.

Wow sounds like it would be a good candidate for fixing if you still use it since it has a grandfathered plan....

Find an electronics repair shop in your area that can put the board in.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

Wow sounds like it would be a good candidate for fixing if you still use it since it has a grandfathered plan.... Find an electronics repair shop in your area that can put the board in.

No, I'm not going to bother with it. I opted for a Spectrum DVR instead. Path of least resistance.

If you want this TiVo, the grandfathered plan is tied to the unit, not to the owner, so you would get the lifetime subscription. The price is right -- free. The circuit board will cost hundred bucks.

https://www.weaknees.com/cart/...or-Premiere-XL..html