How to Repair Your Sprinkler

Over time, wear-and-tear conditions may affect the performance of a sprinkler. A sprinkler may malfunction due to loss of pressure, geysers, dry spots or overly saturated areas. To save from costly landscape repair service, you can repair your sprinkler yourself by following these step-by-step instructions:

1. Determine the exact location of the leak by digging in the ground. This may take some time because the sight of water might not necessarily mean that the leak originated there. Switch off the water in the leak area. Prepare the necessary repair equipment -- the PVC pipes and the couplers. Make sure that the diameter of the repair pipe matches the one to be repaired. The dimensions are usually printed up and down the sides of the pipes.

2. Allow for some digging space around and under the broken pipe in order to move the PVC conveniently in the fitting process. Be sure to clean out any water, mud, and dirt in the area. With a PVC cutter, make a cut from approximately 4" to 6" of the crack on each side.

3. Brush purple primer on both of the clean sprinkler pipe ends about an inch from the lip of the pipe and the inner areas of the two straight couplers. Then glue one end of the pipe to the half of a straight coupler and twist until the pipe stops in the center of the coupler. Apply the same procedure to the other pipe end.

4. Cut a piece of repair pipe to match the cut in the sprinkler line, and the 1/2" or more of every straight coupler. Measure the length from the middle of each straight coupler with a tape measure. However, if you don't have a tape measure, place the piece of pipe onto the trench and then mark it with a pen or pencil for the proper measurement.

5. Insert the cut piece into the dry coupler, making sure that it fits perfectly to avoid bending of the repaired pipe due to inaccurate measurement.

6. Make any necessary adjustments immediately until the perfect fit is obtained. This means you have to disassemble what you did earlier. Apply primer to both ends of the cut piece while one of the ends is glued to the inside of one of the straight couplers. Twist the pipe into the coupler until it stops. Let this dry before gluing the other end of the pipe to the coupler. It is important that all pipe fittings and joints are completely dry before allowing water to pass through it.

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