Berardi Irrigation

Irrigation & Landscape Lighting Installations

How to Repair an Irrigation System

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How to Fix a Sprinkler Leak

Leaks from an irrigation system usually start at the underground pipes. If this is the case, you’ll need to dig into the part of your yard where the leak is originating to expose that section of the pipe. Once that’s finished, they can replace the broken pipe with a new section. Depending on how bad the leak is, entire sections of the pipe may require repair. Once the system is turned off, make sure the sprinkler heads aren’t spraying or dripping, because that’s a sign that they need repair.

How to Replace Broken Sprinkler Heads

Over time, sprinkler heads are prone to crack and break, which makes this one of the most common repairs you’ll have to do. Luckily, it’s also quite an easy repair to do. First, check all the heads for any signs of breakage or cracking on the plastic.If any heads are completely broken off, that’s usually a sign that they’ve been mounted too high, which causes them to be knocked off by lawn mowers or even people walking. To replace a broken head, you’ll need to dig in the area surrounding the head while the system is off. Make sure to save the grass so that it can be put back once the repair is done. 

Removing The Sprinkler Head

Depending on the model of the sprinkler system, you may or may not need tools to remove the head. Often you can unscrew the head by hand off of the riser. From there you can replace the head and lightly tighten it onto the riser. Make sure to test the system with the new head before replacing the dirt and grass around the head.

Cleaning Clogged Sprinkler Heads

While replacing the head, you might realize that it is clogged rather than broken, but no worries, it’s also a quick and easy repair to make. When your head is clogged, you’ll notice that the sprinkler head rises but causes the water to spray irregularly or not at all.

Following the same steps as above, dig out the head and remove it from the riser. Then disassemble the head by lifting it out of the canister. Within the canister is a filter that ensures the water coming out is clear of debris. Check to see if it’s clogged and rinse it out with clean water, along with the rest of the head for good measure. Once it’s clean put the parts back together and return it to the riser.

Contact Berardi Irrigation

For any question about your irrigation system, or any repairs that need to be made, please give us a call at 781-828-2029, or contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

How To Get Your Irrigation System Ready For Spring

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The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, the grass… isn’t growing yet? While using an irrigation system is the best way to take the work out of watering your lawn, it still takes some work to transition from winter to spring. Dewinterizing and starting your sprinkler system is a fairly large time commitment, especially if you have a larger property with more sprinkler heads. This guide will help you through each step to ensure you get your system set up right for the spring.

Check Your Lawn for Frozen Ground

Spring, especially in the northeast doesn’t exactly all happen at once. While we might have a few warm days in February, it’s best to wait for more consistency before you dive into this project. Make sure to test your lawn to make sure the ground is completely unfrozen before you start your system, otherwise you may cause damage to your water lines during the startup process. If you simply cannot wait, you might need to grab the hose and start to irrigate the old fashioned way.

Check Your Control Panel

Ah yes, the all important control panel. Without the brains of the operation, your system couldn’t operate. Make sure to review all the appropriate settings for scheduling, date and time, and irrigation zones. It’s also never a bad idea to replace the batteries at the beginning of the season so that you don’t have to worry about it later. If you are having issues, a quick google search of the model number can help clear things up.

Service Each Sprinkler Head

Depending on the size of your property, you may have many heads to inspect and clean. This can be rather time consuming, especially if there’s damage from the winter weather conditions. 

Make sure to clean each nozzle, any blockage can interrupt the spray pattern, which could make certain areas of your lawn too wet or too dry. If there’s any damage to the nozzle, simply unscrew it and replace it. It’s a good idea to have at least a few spare nozzles on hand for this very purpose. If the damage goes deeper than the nozzle, you might want to call in a professional.

Slowly Open the Main Valve

The key word here is slow. Opening the valve all at once can be pretty harmful to your irrigation system as a whole. If water floods the system too quickly, it can generate some serious pressure that has the potential to crack pipes, valves, and sprinkler heads. 

Slowly open the main valve just a few degrees until water begins to lightly flow, and wait a few minutes while it reaches the main line. Then continue to open it up a few degrees at a time. If your system includes multiple branches, repeat this process for each one.

Pro tip: Remove sprinkler heads while opening up the valve to allow dirt and debris to flow out. Once the water runs completely clear, close the valve and reattach the heads.

Check Each Irrigation Zone

After working through each zone individually, activate your full irrigation program for one final walk-through inspection. If you like what you see, you’re all done until it’s time for winterization

Your irrigation system is nearly ready to go! But before you check it off your list for the season, it’s a good idea to check to make sure each zone is working as planned. This works best when each zone is tested one at a time using your control panel. Activate a zone, then monitor the spraying pattern of the sprinklers. Two things to look out for are low pressure and over watered wet spots in the lawn. These are the signs of a water line break that you will need to get repaired before you start the season.  

To adjust the spraying patterns, unscrew the nozzle, lift it out of the head assembly and reinsert it with the selector on the desired setting before screwing the ring back on. Rinse and repeat for each zone of your property until everything is just right. Now you’re finally good to go until next fall! 

While this might be a daunting task, it’s worth it to make sure there’s no serious damage to your system. Don’t have time to do it yourself? We offer a comprehensive Spring Startup Service that covers everything in this article and more! 

Contact Us

For any question about your irrigation system, or any repairs that need to be made, please give us a call at 781-828-2029, or contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Why a Sprinkler Irrigation System is a Great Investment

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Many homeowners may think that having an irrigation system installed is a luxury and not a necessity for them to have. But some people don’t know that an irrigation system can pay you back over time because of the amount it saves on water costs. Irrigation systems are easy and effective at evenly watering your landscape. An irrigation system offers multiple benefits that will leave you wanting one of you don’t already have one installed. Here are a few of them that might persuade you!

Environmental Benefits of an Irrigation System

Irrigation system manufacturers have enhanced the systems over the years as new technology arrises. The systems that are now available have moisture sensors, timers, and water gauges that work as a unit to give your landscape the right amount of water for each zone’s needs. Sprinkler systems are meant to save money while still making sure all of your grass and plants get effectively watered with wasting very little amounts. Hose sprinklers will end up not hitting every spot and wasting you some money.

Financial Benefits of an Irrigation System

Having a beautiful yard can increase your home’s curb appeal and bring up the price of your home if you are looking to sell. A sprinkler system can do a lot for you and your home. If you are looking to save money on keeping your yard always looking its best, you should be considering an irrigation system. Think about how much money is wasted on hose sprinklers that aren’t regulated. Take the time and money to have a system installed. It is a great investment and will last you many years to come. Think about how great your wallet will feel after using your system for a few seasons!

Aesthetic Benefits of an Irrigation System

When you have an irrigation system installed, it is very unlikely for anyone to even notice the sprinkler heads! They pop-up and go back down after they are done with watering for the day. Even when Berardi installs the system, we make sure to not dig a large hole that takes forever to grow grass back on it. Irrigation system installation is a pretty discrete process. Having sprinkler heads will look a lot better than pulling out the hose each day. Consider having a system installed for these aesthetic benefits!

Contact Us

​If you are interested in having an irrigation system installed in your yard, contact the professionals at Berardi Irrigation. We have worked with many irrigation systems throughout the years and can work with you to create one to fit your needs. Give us a call today or fill out our contact form to get started!

What are the Best Pop-up Sprinkler Heads?

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If you have a garden, you must water it so it grows well and looks fresh. However, keeping track of watering is a struggle. The easiest way to water your garden is with pop up sprinkler heads.

In this article, we will tell you about some of the best sprinkler heads you can find in the market.

5000 Rotor Sprinkler Heads from Rain Birds

If you are into gardening, you must know about rotor sprinklers. They are some of the most powerful sprinklers in the market right now.

 If you have a huge garden, in that case, these will suit you the best because they have arc rotation of 40-360 degree rotation. Rainbird features rotation in full circles with a 25-50 feet radius. Its strong motor ensures hassle-free watering.  

Their manufacturing is super strong, so you will not need to change them frequently. It has an advanced design that makes sure that water spread in multiple ranges. It is eco-friendly and saves. It has a very straightforward installation.

Ultra Rotor Sprinkler Heads from Hunter GPG

These sprinkler heads are also ideal for larger garden areas. They have a water spraying range of 50-360 degrees. You can put the sprinklers in a full-circle setting, and they will water your entire garden in no time.

They ultra rotor comes with gear drivers, which make them more resistant to dirty water. Maintenance is quite low because you will not have to clean the sprinklers often. The assembly of the sprinklers is straightforward.

A single unit of hunter comes with five heads with a few adjustable arcs and 2.5 nozzles and adjuster tool. If you still struggle with putting the whole thing together, then you can also get instructions from the setup instruction manual.

The model is water-saving because it comes with powerful motors. The sprinkler heads rise very high, so they throw the water efficiently. Even though it is adjusting angles in very difficult with these, they come with a ready-to-use pack that makes the work easy.

Final Feedback

The pop-up sprinklers will help you with watering your garden easily and more efficiently. When you water manually, you will be wasting a lot of water, since the sprinklers have high pressure, so you will also save water. The water sprinklers are more manageable, and they are very durable. The manufacturers use high-quality materials to make the sprinklers, which means they will last you very long.

Contact Berardi Irrigation

Berardi Irrigation can provide you with landscaping lighting that brings out the best in your yard! Give us a call at 781-828-2092 or fill out our contact form.

Winterizing Your Irrigation System

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To keep your irrigation system safe during a long and cold winter, you must take the proper steps. The main part of winterizing is removing all water from the irrigation system. Pipes can burst if water is left to freeze and expand, so in order to make sure it’ll work in the spring, you have to take precautions.

Water Supply

The main valve to your irrigation system needs to be switched off to avoid freezing, and wrapped as well. You can use insulation to protect the valve, just use a plastic bag and tape to go around it. If you don’t have a main shut off valve, you can always install one as a preventative measure. You also have to insulate any above-ground piping. For this, you can use foam insulating tubes or insulation tape found at home supply stores.

Automatic Systems

If you have an automatic system, you need to make sure you turn the controller (timer) off for the winter. Many controllers have a rain mode which simply shuts off the signals to the valves. The controller continues to keep time and programming information is still there. The only thing it does is that the valves won’t activate. If your controller activates a pump, you should remove the wires that are connected to the master valve, as a precaution.

Draining the Pipes

Once everything is shut off, water needs to be removed from the pipes and sprinklers so that it won’t freeze in the cold weather and break your pipes. There are a couple ways to do this such as a manual drain valve, automatic drain valve, or the compressed air blow-out method. This part should be left to a professional because of the safety risks.

Protect Valves

Make sure to insulate preventers and valves if they are above ground so they don’t freeze. You can use insulation tape for this, and be sure not to block the drain outlets or air vents on backflow preventers.

Winterizing your irrigation system can save you a lot of time and money in the long run. You don’t want to go to turn it back on in the spring and have it not work. Take the steps to make sure it is safe all winter long!R

Contact Us

Berardi Irrigation wants to make sure your irrigation system is safe this winter. Give us a call at (781) 828-2029 or send us a message on our contact page. We look forward to hearing from you!

 

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1049 Turnpike Street, Canton, MA 02021
781-828-2029
gberardi@comcast.net

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