Sprinklers make lawn maintenance significantly easier and more convenient. With a sprinkler system in place, watering your lawn is one chore you can check off your to-do list.
Of course, you will need to monitor your sprinkler system if you decide to install one. At some point, those sprinkler heads may start to malfunction. It will be your job to replace them.
Here in this article, we’ve detailed the things you need to do if you want to carry out a successful broken sprinkler head replacement by yourself. Make sure to follow these steps the next time your sprinkler system has some issues.
Step 1: Gather the Necessary Items
Before you start wondering how to fix a sprinkler head, you may need to do some shopping. For this project, you’ll need a trowel, an adjustment tool, a flexible hose and some tape.
You should also take this opportunity to shop for a suitable replacement sprinkler head. Check out the specs of the sprinkler head you currently have and just find a replacement with similar features.
Step 2: Remove the Old Sprinkler Head
Next up, you need to remove the old sprinkler head. In some cases, you will need to expose the sprinkler head first before you can remove it.
Use your trowel to remove the soil around the sprinkler head. Set the soil aside carefully because you will need it later.
You should also expose the supply line leading to the sprinkler head.
With the sprinkler head now exposed, you can work on removing it. Attach the adjustment tool to the sprinkler head and twist it counterclockwise to remove the fixture.
Step 3: Clear the Supply Line
Don’t install the new sprinkler head just yet. If you do that now, you may experience some issues that could cause your sprinkler system to malfunction. Your sprinkler system could malfunction because your supply lines are clogged.
To prevent that from happening, stick a flexible hose in the spot where the busted sprinkler head used to be. After that, turn the water on so it pushes out any clumps of dirt that have fallen into that exposed pipe.
Keep the water running for about one minute to make sure that the pipe is clear.
Step 4: Attach the New Sprinkler Head
Grab the new sprinkler head and put it into position. Screw the sprinkler head in clockwise so it locks in.
Try to move the sprinkler head a bit to see if it is firmly secured onto the supply line. If it’s not moving around, you can proceed to the next step.
Step 5: Adjust the New Sprinkler Head
You can now work on adjusting the new sprinkler head so it matches the rest of your system. Use the adjustment tool for this.
Keep tweaking the positioning of the sprinkler head until it is lined up just right. You should also test the sprinkler head to see if it is indeed spraying water in the right direction.
Step 6: Seal the Connection
Once the position of the sprinkler head is where you need it to be, you can go ahead and seal it. Grab the seal tape and use that to close the connection between the sprinkler head and the riser.
Step 7: Cover the Sprinkler Head
To finish up, you can now bury the sprinkler head if that is necessary. Just use the soil you dug up earlier to fill in the hole for your new sprinkler.
Replacing a broken sprinkler head is a manageable task even for an inexperienced DIYer. Simply follow the tips we laid out here and you should have no trouble completing that job.