Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Need Water Leak Help

My apologies for not catching. Without sounding like a smart ass why? I’m curious. That’s a lot of water for a 1 acre lawn lol.

because we run big heads - like on a golf course so we could get more coverage with fewer heads - and the lot is a bit over an acre.

What size meter if you have 2” pipe? I apologize if that’s been ask

I believe the new meter they recently installed is a 1.5", but I'm not certain.

Today I discovered that the diaphragms in 2 valves are worn causing small leaks at several heads. Getting new diaphragms today. Not a huge leak, but every little leak repaired certainly helps.

If you have 8 circuits, can’t you just shut the system off and pressurize each circuit with a compressor by taking off a head and tying in? Whichever circuit doesn’t hold pressure has a leak.

Yes. Hoping it doesn't come to that. PITA.

Kevin, having been in a similar situation, you have my prayers.
It took me over 2 months to find a water leak -100,000 gal + per month above normal.
Drilled holes in asphalt, pushed in rods - no luck.
Called in a plumber with the leak detection equipment - no luck.
Dug up the line at intervals, through asphalt - no luck.
Finally dug up the yard alongside the house, found it.
Broken 4" line, water never even turned the grass green (spring time), and never surfaced under the house.
Desperation found it! I went down nearly 2 feet, through hard clay - and it turned to mush!
Line at that location was nearly 5" deep - and a major ordeal to work on. We had to go down another 2" to solid ground, build up a compacted base, then repair the line and backfill. Freezing temps, had to re-work connections, heat lamps and heaters involved.
Folks in the park were without water for 3 days - would drive by, look, and say "We're sorry for you, it'll get done sooner or later", and drive on.

New definition of PITA!

Praying your ordeal goes better!

You can calculate the Gallons Per Minute used by each sprinkler head by looking at the chart each manufacturer has in their product catalog online. Look up the sprinkler model and then there will be a chart that shows the GPM for each nozzle size at a given PSI. So for example if you had a valve with 10 Hunter PGP rotor heads on it and they were using red #11 nozzles and you measure 50 psi at the head. Then book value is supposed to put out 8.9 GPM per head at 50psi then you should be using about 90GPM round up a little for leaking at the head where the stem pops up unless they are brand new. Then turn off the water to the house and anything else and record the reading on the water meter and run the valve for ten minutes and then re record the water meter reading should be 900-950 gallons used. Simple if meter is calibrated to Gallons most around here are cubic ft so if that’s the case 1 gallon is 0.134 cubic feet (just use the google conversation calculator)
Would be faster and less labor than capping each head and pressure testing

He'd have to cap every head in the circuit.

Mark, that does sound like a terrible ordeal. Part of the problem here is that when I think I'm closing in on the problem, Dad throws a wrench into the works and stymies me. He and I have a very, very different way of thinking and solving problems, though, his method very rarely meets with success and invariably takes 10-20 time as long to solve - not to mention is 10x the expense. C'est La Vie.

Huntingfool270: while that certainly sounds like a good idea, the system is 40+ years old, has 60+ heads, and has many, many different brands that have been replaced over the years - some are bronze heads that are over 40 years old, most are not. Trying to catalog each head and nozzle, if applicable, and determine the flow rates would be a huge project, if it's even possible.

I certainly admire your patience in dealing with all of the replies.
I'll be interested to see the resolution you come to.

Water utility came out - didn't accomplish anything. Checking under the house next b/c water meter for the house indicates there's a leak. I knew about it since the meter was running slowly, but I thought it was the water tower for the AC.

I still think that the sprinkler system meter is a faulty chiner POS, but the Water did not bench test it, which they were supposed to do. I wasn't at home when they came out.

More to come.

Mark, were you able to get a credit from the water company after you repaired your massive leak?

After one of those bills, I'd say hell with the sprinkler.

Mean while, $ching$,ching$,ching$,ching$,ching$,ching$.

Plumbers just cost too much.....

At our deer camp there is 1 1/2" PVC buried 3 feet deep in Rocky clay. the water comes from a spring 7 feet higher than the house 600 yards away from the house. It has glued slip couplings that crack at the couplings and when the cracks get too big the water doesn't make it to the house. We hose clamp a plug at the spring over the pipe. dump a bottle of dawn in the pipe at the house and air the line up with an air compressor regulated to 60 pounds. soap suds pile up on top of the ground where the leak is like a bath tub full of bubble bath.

Water utility has been out twice now and said that the meter for the sprinkler is fine - this is the meter the city replaced with a chiner model when they destroyed it repaving the street, which is when the water bills increased substantially. They did not bench test the meter as we requested on two separate occasions. I guess another hour-long call to the utility is necessary - fuggin' morons.

Had a plumbing company out Friday of last week they were crawing around under the house for at least 2 hrs. They found damp areas under the house, but no puddling. They should be coming back out on Monday to locate that leak, which will save some money but since we have 2 meters (one for the house and one for irrigation) will not make much of a dent.

I still maintain that the replaced irrigation chiner meter is the culprit and is reading incorrectly - showing far more water used than we actually use - the meter does not run when the sprinkler is turned off.

The saga continues.

Hogwild: I may utilize your soap method at some point.

If you really think it's the meter, hook up a hose connection wherever you can & measure 100 gallons into whatever size containers you might have (obviously multiple times unless you have a 50 gallon container) & then see how the meter compares to the measure volume.

MM

How often do you water the lawn?

Any chance the new meter is actually accurate and the old one was faulty?

And now I see 2x a week.

Hmmm, I've never heard of a Chiner Water Meter, but have worked with many others. You didn't state if it was a direct read meter, or an electronic digital meter??? If it's just an old-fashioned direct read mechanical meter, they don't typically read MORE than what flows through them, but LESS as they were out, which is in favor of the customer. As you stated they just replaced it, I suspect that it's not worn out yet.

Add in the clues that you have zero usage with the valve off, and I'm afraid it all points to a leak on your side that is the culprit. I know we typically run 70-80 psi on our mains and a 2' line at those pressures can discharge a LOT of water very quickly.

Hope you find the leak soon!