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Valves are an essential part of any sprinkler system. They are the link between the
"brains" of the system (the timer) and the sprinkler heads, to turn the water on and off.
Most automatic sprinkler systems are set up with two types of valves. A brass "gate
valve" or "ball valve" is usually located right after the "tee" where the sprinkler system
cuts off from the main source of water to the house. This valve, referred to as the
"shutoff valve," is used to shut down the sprinkler system for repairs or winterizing
without shutting off the water to the entire house. It is recommended that all systems
be equipped with a shutoff valve installed in a box for easy access.
The second type of valve is the sprinkler "zone valve." Each zone valve is piped to a
set of sprinklers. When the valve is turned on, either by hand or in response to an
electronic signal from the timer, all the sprinklers piped to that particular valve go on.
In most cases, there are several valves located together (called a manifold), each con-
Why are several valves needed? All systems are limited by a combination of the pres-
sure of the water (psi) and the number of gallons per minute (gpm) available. Each
sprinkler uses a certain number of gallons per minute of water. This release of water
through the nozzle reduces water pressure to a certain degree while the system is
working. For maximum performance, each zone is controlled by one valve and is set
up with the proper amount of sprinklers so that the psi and gpm capacity of the system
is not exceeded. The purpose of this information is to address questions and problems
related to zone valves.
VALVE
VALVE
SPRINKLERS
SPRINKLERS
CONTROLLER
INCOMING
SHUT
OFF
BASIC SYSTEM COMPONENTS
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