Question
Hi Jim. I have about six zones set up in my backyard using Rain Bird pop-up spray heads. All the sprinklers in all the zones seem fine with good pressure, except one in one zone. It's the first in the line of about five. It pops up, but barely any water comes out. I've replaced the entire spray head about five times with either new ones or ones from other locations where they are working fine. A couple of times I've blown out the pipe and cleaned the filter and the pressure has improved when I test it out for about 60 seconds. The next time I turn it on, the pressure has diminished again. I can't find a permanent solution. My only thought is that there might be a leak somewhere, but since it's the first in the line, that doesn't make sense to me, since all the others have find pressure. Help? Thanks.

Answer
Hey Brad, I hope this helps. I would suspect that you have a restriction in the fitting down below the head that the nipple for the head screw into. I would dig down to the pipe, unscrew the nipple (or swing joint) out of the the female fitting, and look to see if you see anything. If it is a tee fitting, the restriction should be in the threaded portion of the tee. If it is a elbow (90 degree) fitting, the restriction could be further back in the pipe, or even back in the tee that tees off the main lateral line. To see if you are getting a good flow through the fitting, screw on a long nipple, or screw on a long piece of pipe with a female adaptor, and turn this zone on, and you should get a good fountain of water out of it. If you are not, then you need to further investigate where the restriction is. Let me know if I can be of further help, thanks and have a great day.