In a recent post, I mentioned accidentally mulching my neighbor's sprinkler head while I was taking care of her lawn when she went on vacation. I also fixed it. Here's how.
Tools & Supplies
- Replacement sprinkler head: this isn't the same brand, but it claims to be a universal replacement. More on that later.
- Shovel: I don't recommend this one,
- Plumber's tape: not pipe dope. The instructions were very clear.
Wrench:turns out I didn't need this!
Procedure
I used the shovel to cut a circle in the sod. Don't dig too deep, because the pipes are made of plastic and not very far underground.
I got that particular shovel on sale, and decided this was as good a test as any to see if it was good for camping. It looks like a slightly scaled-down military entrenching tool, but it is not well-made. Job's done, though.
I flipped the grass donut upside down and dug out the dirt and rocks by hand until I found the bottom of the old fixture. Then I braced myself for the task of unscrewing the thing. But before I went for the wrench, I decided to try it by hand. Turns out it wasn't stuck, and twisted right off. There was no sign of plumber's tape, either. I'm not impressed.
At this point, my hands were dirty and photographing the process on my phone got difficult, but there's not a lot to say. I wrapped the threaded pipe with some plumber's tape, making sure to wrap it so it wouldn't unravel when I spun the new sprinkler head on.
Replace dirt. Replace sod. Job's done, right? WRONG! Gotta set up the sprinkler. This unit came with good instructions, so I set it for 360° and left the included nozzle for now. The sprue of others, the adjustment tool, and directions were left behind in case anything needs adjusting later.
OK, now we replace dirt and sod. Success! I was done in about 15 minutes. Honestly, I'm waiting for news that something is wrong. No DIY repair project turns out to be this simple....
