How to test water irrigation system?

HowardNg

Hello all!

I was helping my friend with gardening set up and I found that their garden has already been installed a watering system that comes with a timer and pipes that run through the garden.

However, when I turned on the timer and used the manual mode to try out the watering system, nothing happened.

I am sure water is running through the timer, but no water is coming out from the suspected outlets as in the second photos.

What am I not doing correctly to make it work?

Thanks in advance.

MitchellMc

Hi @HowardNg,

Have you tried unscrewing the hose from the bottom of the timer to confirm that water is actually passing through it? That's a good first step to make sure the timer is operating correctly.

It's also worth noting that the brown pipe appears to be weeper hose. Unlike drippers or sprinklers, weeper hose only allows a small amount of water to slowly seep out along its length, so it can be difficult to tell if it's working. You may need to dig down and expose a section of the hose to see if it's actually weeping water.

If you're certain no water is flowing through the irrigation line, you'll need to do a bit of troubleshooting. I'd first check that there isn't an inline isolation tap somewhere in the system that's been turned off, as it's unusual for the entire system to stop working.

If that doesn't solve it, the simplest way to locate a blockage is to find the first section of pipe after it emerges from under the concrete and cut it to check for water flow. You can then reconnect it with an irrigation joiner and repeat the process further along the line. Once you find a section with no flow, you'll know the blockage is between that point and the last section where water was flowing. You can then replace that section of hose.

Please let us know what you find, and if you have any questions.

Mitchell