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Air seems to be getting into the irrigation system

Air seems to be getting into the irrigation system


  #1  
Old 06-26-22, 08:21 AM
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Air seems to be getting into the irrigation system

Hello,

whenever I want to turn on our irrigation system, I first have to prime the pump (or something) with the garden hose for about 10 minutes and afterwards, when I turn it off, I can hear air being sucked in, but I am not sure where that happens.

Below is a picture of most of the main thing, (the pump is hidden below the concrete block and since I am German I don't know some of the words)
and what I want to know is, what is the thing the red arrow points to? Is it a kind of a check valve? Could air be getting into the system because the check valve, if it is one, does not close properly any more?

Many thanks for any help, Richard
P.S. What I suspect to be a check valve, this thing is leaking/dripping a bit of water when the pump is running, in case that matters.




 
  #2  
Old 06-26-22, 08:44 AM
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The red arrow points to a valve. I do not see a check valve in your photo.

If you take a photo from an angle we can see what equipment you have and hot it is connected.
 
  #3  
Old 06-26-22, 01:12 PM
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What's with the saran wrap in the picture?
 
  #4  
Old 06-26-22, 03:42 PM
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What does the T connection between the 2 valves go to?
 
  #5  
Old 06-26-22, 05:49 PM
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Thanks heaps for all your replies, guys!!!

Okay, so the red arrow points to a valve. I guess I was wrong about that being a check valve.
Could air come into the system via that valve. I will check Tuesday, due to work not earlier, if the water dripping from there really comes from the valve or from somewhere else.

Will take a better photo on Tuesday.

The saran wrap (LOL) was an attempt to see if air comes into the system through that green thing. Can't remember the name of that right now. The valves maybe? I just wrapped the saran around the whole green thing, but it made no difference.

The T-connection goes to the lake where the water comes from.

Thanks again and more on Tuesday, Richard
 
  #6  
Old 06-26-22, 08:55 PM
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The green item is probably an indexing valve (are there multiple pipes under?), and the valve as identified is a gate valve. I'll venture the lower pipe to the right of the gate valve in the pump inlet from the well.

Hard to say what is going on but I doubt any of the valves are leaking enough to cause the pump to loose it's prime, google pump loosing prime, I'd check the foot valve first!
 
  #7  
Old 06-27-22, 04:36 AM
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Air will not enter via the leaky valve unless the pump pressure is less than 15 psia (pounds per square inch atmospheric). That valve is threaded on both sides. Disconnect the union and unthread leaky valve. Apply pipe joint paste to threads and reassemble. Pressurize and check for leaks. If the lake is the water supply for this system, where is the pump?
 
  #8  
Old 06-28-22, 11:58 AM
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Hello again,

so here is a complete pic:





# 1 indexing valve (There are 4 pipes under)
# 2 gate valve ?
# 3 water line from the lake to the pump (water intake pipe)
# 4 a valve to prime the pump
# 5 Goulds pump GT 15

Hello Marq1 - what is the foot valve please?
Hello beelzebob - so you are saying to take out the valve (labeled as #2 in the pic) ? How would I do that please? Just by turning it (with a big pair of pliers)?

Thanks heaps everybody, Richard
 
  #9  
Old 06-28-22, 01:35 PM
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If valve 2 leaks water with pump running, air will enter the leak when the pump is off. If the pump is higher than the lake and off, the weight of the water in the lake feed line and the air leak will allow the water in the lake feed line to flow back into the lake until equilibrium is reached. This is why it takes 10 minutes to prime. By fixing the valve 2 leak and installing a check valve in pipe 3 (near rectangle containing the number 3 in photo) the operation of the irrigation system should improve.
 
  #10  
Old 06-28-22, 02:28 PM
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Or, just repair/replace the foot valve out in the lake as it sounds like that is the core problem.
 
Marq1 voted this post useful.
  #11  
Old 07-01-22, 07:08 PM
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Hi again,

as you can see from the pic (bottom of post), I took that bit from the pipe out that is between valve 2 and the green thing (where the sectors are rotating) and could not find anything wrong with the valve. Unfortunately I put too much silicon tape around both windings, so that it was leaking heavily when I used the system today. It did however still water the lawn.
So on Sunday I have to open it up again and remove all that silicon tape..

Beelzebob - where the pipe goes into the lake, there is a check valve which I checked a few month ago and it was working fine. The leakage of valve 2 is not on the windings, but on the top where you turn it (to open or close it)

Pilot Dane - I will check the check valve again, but now I am thinking that maybe somewhere between valve 2 and the 30 yards of pipe under the lawn, there is a leakage and the hissing near valve 2 comes from the water leaking somewhere and sucking in air via valve 2.

I just dread having to dig up the whole trench again!

Thanks everybody, Richard


 
  #12  
Old 07-02-22, 12:46 AM
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Foot valve holds water in the line so prime is maintained.


 
  #13  
Old 07-02-22, 06:17 AM
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Repair/replace valve 2. This will prevent loss of water below the leak (if there is one) in the lake pipe and the foot valve is not leaking. You could also put a plumbing tee on valve 2 (the side pointing to the distribution device) and install a pressure gauge and tire valve and pressure check everything behind valve 2 (including it's stem seal). Pressurize to 20-25 psia. Should hold for at least 1 hour, otherwise a leak. If leak above ground, repair. If not you make the call.
 
  #14  
Old 07-10-22, 06:04 PM
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Hello Everyone,

sorry for the long pause, but the good news is that it is working again

So what I tried was that after getting the pump started the complicated way with priming the pump, I went down to the lake with a big pair of pliers and signaled to my wife at the other end to turn the pump off. Then I quickly 'unscrewed' the end piece of the pipe that goes into the water from the check valve. I wanted to see if there was water flowing back into the lake and indeed it did. Something was blocking the check valve from closing.

Now a few month ago when all that started, I did check the check valve as well, but in a different way. I didn't check immediately after stopping the pump and I guess by the time I unscrewed the end piece of the pipe all water had run out. But I did check the check valve and back then it seemed to work okay.
In any way I am fairly happy. Only fairly happy since now the indexing valve is not rotating. I have taking it apart a couple of times, didn't find a pebble that might stop it from turning, so my education as an irrigation expert shall continue.

Apart from thanking you all for your support, I will put a picture of valve 2 below here. When that valve is closed by hand, it is like a gate coming down, a bit like in the middle ages, where towns had an entry gate between two towers and at night they would let a vertical gate down. So valve 2 is nothing like a check valve.



Thanks again, Richard
P.S. Might open a new thread soon re the indexing valve.


 
 

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