There are a few reasons why you might want to re-build one of these valves, the main two reasons are that you have a valve that won’t open or a valve that won’t close. In this guide I will attempt to take you through the process of ‘re-building’ your Solenoid Valve.

A valve that wont open simply presents as a station or zone that will not activate whilst all others are ok (unless of course the valve that does not open is actually the Master Solenoid Valve, in which case no station will work). Check out STATION WON’T TURN ON – VALVE NOT OPENING… for more information.

A valve that wont close will usually present as sprinkler heads not turning off when the controller has deactivated that particular zone or station (if the valve that is not closing is actually the Master Solenoid Valve then you may see things like heads in lawn slowly bleeding or leaking). Check out STATION STAYS ON – VALVE NOT CLOSING… for more information.

If you have a valve that won’t open or close then I highly recommend you try to open it manually. Check out MANUALLY ACTUATING A SOLENOID VALVE for more information.

If it opens then look at testing the electrical side of the system before doing starting the re-build process. Check out TESTING A SOLENOID COIL for more information.

So let’s assume you are 100% certain that you need to re-build your valve, there is a good chance it will look something like this 40mm Irritrol Valve (designs vary but the principles are all the same).

You’re first step is going to be to clean the area around the top of the valve out so that you reduce the amount of debris that may enter the Valve Body during this process.

The Valve should be installed inside a Valve Box of some kind for protection. Free free to dig this area out if needed to get enough area to work in and prevent debris from falling down and around the Valve Body.

Give the unit a good bath. The water will also help bind up any sandy material and prevent it from slipping into the Valve Body during this process.

Once you’ve cleaned up the Valve Box and Valve Body area remove the Solenoid Coil as below from the Valve Top and rest it on a nice clean surface if plan to re-use the Solenoid Coil.

Carefully crack open the screws on both valves, the old and the new using a screwdriver.

Once loosened you may use a drill to make the job faster.

If you do use a drill please ensure you select a low torque setting as below.

Remove the Valve Top

Once you open the old valve you will be greeted by the following, take note of the order of internal parts and take special care not to let the spring fire into the abyss.

Now you need to remove the Spring, the rubber Diaphragm and the Seat.

We will now open up the new valve in the same way we opened the old valve, we will take all the parts and replace them into the old Valve Body that we have already stripped. 

Making sure that as we strip the new valve we take every measure to keep all parts clean and free from debris.

Once all the parts have been placed into the Valve Body, attach the Valve Top and place the additional screws into the top and tighten with screwdriver. I like to tension them, with a torque setting of 3 on the drill, evenly around the top in a similar technique to changing a car wheel. Fit the old coil if that is still testing ok, if not retain the new one. Attach the flow control tap to the top utilising the retaining screw.

That’s it, test at controller to make sure the Valve is now fully functional. If not drop Rick a line on 0448 952 124 or Book Us Now

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