Adjusting Sprinkler To Avoid Dry Spots

The whole point of installing lawn sprinklers is to keep your lawn emerald green while relieving yourself from the work required to keep it that way. An automated sprinkler system will relieve you of much of the work required to keep a lawn beautiful, but you will still need to maintain your system. Knowing how to identify and deal with problems will keep your system working. 

Adjusting for the Season

If your system does not put down enough water, dry spots will appear, and your lawn can burn up and die. On the other hand, if your system puts down too much water, your lawn can develop mushrooms. It would be nice if you could just set your system and leave it, but you need to adjust for seasonal changes. In the spring and fall, you don't need a lot of water, but under the heat of the summer sun, you will need to increase your system's output to compensate for the extra heat. 

What if You Still Have Problems?

Even if you have your water output adjusted properly, you might still have dry spots. If this is the case, your sprinkler heads are not adjusted properly. The first thing you should check is the arc of your sprinkler. Manually start your system and watch the heads. The gears in the heads can sometimes get out of adjustment so that the heads water more or less than they should. A head that covers too much area will put down too little water, and a head that covers too little area will leave dry spots in the areas it doesn't cover. If your heads get out of adjustment, you just need to use the adjustment key to readjust your heads. If the gears are stripped, you will have to remove and replace the insides of the sprinkler then adjust the new head. 

You should also check to make sure your head sits straight up and down. A tilted head will not cover your lawn like it should. It will shoot water into the ground on one side and up into the air on the other. To get proper coverage, you will need to dig around the head and make it vertical once again. 

Maintaining a sprinkler system is not really hard work, but it is necessary work. Homeowners who pay attention to the performance of their system and make adjustments as necessary will have the best results with keeping their lawn healthy and green. If you need professional help with your sprinkler system, contact a company like Krupske Sprinkler Systems.