Thoughts on air coming out of sprinkler head.

[MarkV]

I have a zone that has a rotary head and two fan heads. When that zone turned on the rotary head always sounded like a lot of air was coming out before water would come out. I never thought much of it the two years we've lived here.

Today I adjusted one of the fan heads because I could tell it was leaking at the base of the sprinkler. I put it all back together and the head I adjusted would not shut off. So I assumed that there is a problem with the valve. Since I don't know where the valve boxes are I just capped it off for a quick fix. When I tested that zone to make sure my cap was good the rotary head popped up right away and started spraying water. No air came out.

Was the air coming out of the head a sign that something was wrong with a valve or an indicator of something else?

Thanks.

[tlinden]

Air coming out just means the water drained. When you winterize all the water should be out so all of them should have air. When they first come on each time after then it's normal, especially for the low points. Some systems even have an auto drain in the lines so after it turns off the water naturally drains.

[MarkV]

Sounds good. Thanks.

[LoneRanger]

An indicator of draining at the lowest head is puddling around said head. The seals may also be worn, as well. Do you have steep grades on your property?

[MarkV]

I wouldn't say it's steep but the head that was leaking is lower than the one that had air coming out of it.