Rainbird Max-Paw sprinkler head not rising


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Old 05-28-18, 08:17 PM
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Rainbird Max-Paw sprinkler head not rising

My sprinkler system is about 20 years old. I have had no major problems with it.

The sprinkler in question has not been damaged in any way I can tell. Nothing heavy has dropped on it, or anything like that.

I live in Colorado. We shut the system down in the winter. I turned the system on a few days ago. The entire system works except this one sprinkler.

Water is coming out, but the head will not pop out.

When the sprinkler is supposed to be working, I can pull the head up, but water gushes everywhere, instead of being sprayed.

Any help appreciated. Thank you in advance.
 
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Old 05-29-18, 01:54 AM
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When a head does not rise it's due to a leak or break in the head or pipe, not enough water pressure getting to the head to raise it up.

Need to do some digging to inspect!
 
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Old 05-29-18, 05:18 AM
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First, with the system off go out and manually pull up on the riser. Do you feel any binding? I have occasionally seen the plastic housing deform over time which can bind the riser. You can just dig a small area around the sprinkler, unscrew the unit and screw on a new one. 15 minutes start to finish.

If the riser isn't binding it's not getting enough water volume and pressure. If it never did it before it's probably a leak in the line leading to that sprinkler though a leak anywhere else in that zone can cause it.
 
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Old 06-01-18, 03:42 PM
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I think the problem the riser would not work is because of sediment at the bottom. There was a lot. I dug out as much as I could, and the head would rise.

Still not out of the woods. Although the head would rise, the water would go everywhere. After inspection, I noticed that the arm that the hits the water stream, and is supposed to bounce back, does not bounce back - it closes and stays closed. I have racked my brains, but I can find no reason for that.

I bought a new head, and installed it. But it is set to turn 360, and I need 90. I know you are supposed to adjust those trip wires, I have tried that, and nothing seems to happen - except I get drenched.

I cannot hold the head up, and adjust the wires, there is a strong spring pulling the head down. I try to adjust the trip wire while the sprinkler is running. I just does not seem to work.

I don't have one of those special wrenches, so I try to adjust those wire while the sprinkler is running. They seem to do nothing. I hate to spend $14 on of those special wrenches, when I know I'll never use it again. I don't even know if it will help.

This video explains how to adjust those trip wires, but it does not seem to work for me. If you start watching at 5 minutes in, he spends a few seconds explaining how the trip wires are *supposed* to work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfiH...ature=youtu.be

One thing I really hate about RainBird: there is practically no documentation. I even called the company. The documentation they sent me is just specifications, nothing about how to set it up.

I tried to adjust the way this guy does - after it is installed. But for me, it did not work. Start watching at two minutes, 30 seconds in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXKdHTEmsK4&t=213s
 

Last edited by walterbyrd; 06-01-18 at 03:46 PM. Reason: additional information
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Old 06-01-18, 03:49 PM
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So with the new head is it popping up as it should??

Adjusting the stops is very simple, one stop for the left, one for the right, just takes a second to zero it in.

I really miss those Maxi Paw heads, have the smaller gear driven heads but not as much fun to sit on the patio and listen!
 
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Old 06-01-18, 05:30 PM
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The new head pops up just fine. I just could not figure out how to make it stop turning 360 degrees.

I finally got it. I had to put the trip pin down.

Watch this video at 5 minutes and 30 seconds, if you don't know what a trip pin is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdeL7QQN650&t=321s
 
 

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