Question
We have purchased a home that has sprinkler heads installed in the yard.  The previous home owners did not leave any information.  There is no control box located any where inside or outside of the house.  How can I find out the brand of system that was installed?  Our neighbor told us that the previous home owners used the sprinkler system.  Please help!
Thank you,
Stacey

Answer
Hey Stacey, I hope this helps. As far as a brand of system that was installed goes. The first step would be to look on the top of the heads installed in the yard, and see if you see a name (Rainbird, Toro, Hunter, etc.) This is only going to tell you what brand heads you have installed. Some installers might use brand X for their heads, but brand Y for their valves, and brand Z for their controller. There is no set brand for any sprinkler system, unless all the components installed are the same brand. I could not tell you what brand of system you have installed, without you knowing what brand heads, valves, controller, etc., and you letting me know. If you are not finding a controller anywhere in the house, #1 either the controller was taken from the house, #2 it might be hidden in a closet, garage, basement, etc., or #3 you have a manual system. The first 2 are self explanatory, but let me explain what a manual system is. A manual system, is simply a system that doesn't have a controller  or automatic valves that run the system, but manual valves that must be turned on by someone. If you have a manual system, look for a bank of valves above the ground. Or if the valves are in the ground, look for a sleeve or collar, that would have a tee handle valve in it, that is turned on by a metal key. The easiest solution would be if you could locate the previous owner, and see what they say. Otherwise, look around and see if you can locate any valves, and see if they are manual or automatic. Usually, automatic valves will have wires running to them with a solenoid on them and would be in a plastic box (valve box) in the ground. Let me know if I can be of anymore assistance, thanks and have a great day.