Extending sprinkler heads

[Kurt Ullman]

About 18 years ago when we built the house, we put in sprinklers right after the final grading. So, due to settling and other reasons over the years, some of the heads even at full extension are spraying much of the water into the ground nearby and not getting full benefit. Are there any extensions of an inch or two that I could screw in or other method of bringing the heads up a little? The are the spray heads and not the big ones that popup and have the arm that makes them move around. I tried to dig them up and move them up that way, but it did not work and they settled back down where they were before. These are Rain Birds.

[dpb]

They're just threaded connections aren't they? If so, a short nipple or coupling could be inserted.

I think the simpler fix is still to just raise the heads. Either need to pack down the ground more solidly underneath when you raise them or might consider placing a pad of some sort underneath to give them a resting point until things re-settle to the new location. Depending on how much you need, the corner of a paver or similar would be possibly be about right thickness.

[Kurt Ullman]

Okay. I suppose, now that you mention it, these are just standard pipe sizes. Probably making more difficult than it needed to be.

Tried the latter. It did not work either. Slipped off maybe?

K

[dpb]

I'm sure it's a standard NPT thread -- I've never had a system and although I've looked at fittings in passing, I don't recall offhand what they use at the head -- 3/8", maybe???

I'd guess that would be the problem or not large enough -- if a block underneath let it return to the same depth as before, the ground must either very soft or the size of the support pad quite small --

[jazon48]

Standard NPT pipe threads. Go to a Big Box store and figure out what you need using either plastic couplings and/or nipples. My Lowes has box after box of anything anybody might conceivably need to extend heads.

There's a cheap and very, very useful doo-dad in the same part of the store which allows you to unscrew a stuck nipple/coupling.

Make certain the pipes are free of dirt and debris when you do the final installation. You don't want to clog the filter or nozzle in the sprinkler head.

jason

[Kurt Ullman]

That is my first cut. I yearly go through and take the heads off each one, rinse out that little filter thingy and then run the sprinkler for a couple of seconds before putting the head back on. If that don't take care of the dirt and debris (g).

[J.A. Michel]

Why not just change the sprinkler-head risers to taller ones? You'd have to dig up each head to do this. You could install cut-off risers - which let you adjust the head to the exact height you want. I've had to raise/lower a few heads on my system and that's how I dealt with it.

[Kurt Ullman]

Why not indeed? Thanks for that tip.

[Norminn]

There are short extenders - 2"? - and there are also continuous threaded extensions you can cut to size. Another nifty is flexible tubing that you can put between the pipe and the head - special adapter at each end

- so you can offset the sprinkler head. These are nice if you are prone to running over the head and breaking the pipe, or if the head is too close to sidewalk.