Roots in an irrigation box

LVSteve

LVSteve

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Looks like I had a leak at the input to the irrigation box that serves the back yard and now a whole mat of roots is in there.:mad::eek: I spent 90 minutes (when my knees gave out) clearing one side of the box so I can at least partially see two of the three valve housing. I have two questions.

1) Is there a quick way of getting these matted roots out. Right now I am hacking with a sharp object, breaking it up then pulling fine roots out followed by troweling out the loose earth.

2) How do I stop the roots getting back in there other than risking weedkiller and hoping it does not kill any of the nearby trees and shrubs.

I have not even found the leak yet. I hope one of the valve housing has not cracked or the white PVC input pipe given up. At that point it will be Call The Man What Like Does.

One slight benefit of the box having been half full of water for a while, no roaches, spiders or killer bees.:p
 
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No real advice for you, just sympathy.

Here are some thoughts that are not advice, since I cannot see precisely what your problem is. I suspect that I would use pruning shears to simply clip away inside the box. After the leak is fixed, there'd be no reason for the roots to return, of course. You probably should consider a replacement box if the plastic is compromised, and you might consider rigging something metal.
 
Copper sulfate, we add it to our sewer lines to keep roots from clogging the pipe. HD has it, not expensive. I think the cal it root kill or something like that.
 
Comrad said:
Copper sulfate, we add it to our sewer lines to keep roots from clogging the pipe. HD has it, not expensive. I think the cal it root kill or something like that.
Click to expand...

Another vote for copper sulfate. We used to call it bluestone years ago when we used it to keep moss out of irrigation ditches.
 
Will copper sulphate kill any plants that come into contact or will it just discourage the roots from further invasion?
 
Dig up the box, the entire thing plus a little bit more. (Gives you more room to work)

Use pruners to clip away the roots, try to find the largest roots and clip them close to the edge of the hole. ( you can waste alot of time just picking and cutting a little at a time)

CAUTION: watch for wires and pipes. Obvious I know but still be carefull those wires that used to be bright red or blue look alot like roots after a few years. ( Dont worry if you clip one they are easy to fix)

When you work area is clean, and free of obstructions you can now find the leak. Check all joints, and where the box might of contacted any pipes. Remember it may only leak under pressure. This is true for most home irrigation systems.

Repairing these is usually very easy and usually fairly cheap too, if you do it yourself.

Your local hardware store should have all you need. Or a Lowes or Home Depot if you prefer.

A few hints dont cut yourself short, leave enough pipe and/or wire to work with. I suggest useing a sligtly larger box and using gravel to bed it with. I am unsure of what to use to kill back the roots, I use regular maintenance it seems to work.
 
Thanks, guys. If it gets to digging out the box time I will have to contact my landlady. I fix small stuff for her but I have to draw the line at that point.
 
I don't blame you, thats the best part about renting. Its really easy to fix but I didn't say it wasn't a pain in the ***.
 
Rintimtin said:
I don't blame you, thats the best part about renting. Its really easy to fix but I didn't say it wasn't a pain in the ***.
Click to expand...

I carried on getting the crud out of the box. My knees, thighs and glutes will not be thanking me in the morning.:eek::eek::eek: I got quite a stack of earth and root fuzz out of there.

I turned the water back on and found the center valve was leaking quite a bit up through the screws and the right hand valve was weeping a little. I took a WAG on the cause and replaced the diaphragm on the center valve as that was creating most of the water. The old diaphragm was very dry at the edges and where the screws go through the edges the holes were not all that round. This appears to have fixed that valve and I will do the other one tomorrow. Touch wood that will put a stop to the water and the roots will have no cause to return.
 
Last edited:
ok. since nobody asked. what the heck is an irrigation box?
 
perrazi said:
ok. since nobody asked. what the heck is an irrigation box?
Click to expand...

It's the box in the ground that houses the control valves for the sprinklers and dribblers. I guess you live somewhere it rains.:)

The other diaphragm was replaced today and all appears dry. I am now doing a "no water use for an hour" test in the house to see if there is still water leaking somewhere. Before the fix it was trickling at about 1.5-2 gallons/hour according to the meter. That looked about right for the visual leakage.
 
Those diaphragms dry out from time to time, especially in your arid environment. That should stop the leaking. I usually replace the entire valve, its a prevenative measure. Some times you can over tighten the screws and it will weep, and some times they just arent tight enough. I suggest you tighten them all a little at a time like lug nuts and in cross pattern. This way you will put even pressure around the gasket for an even seal.

I also suggest installing a shut off valve between your meter and the valve manifold, that way you can shut it off and not have to worry about it running up your water bill if you can't get it fixed right away.



Well I hope you got it fixed!

Give us an update.
 
Last edited:
Rintimtin said:
Those diaphragms dry out from time to time, especially in your arid environment. That should stop the leaking. I usually replace the entire valve, its a prevenative measure. Some times you can over tighten the screws and it will weep, and some times they just arent tight enough. I suggest you tighten them all a little at a time like lug nuts and in cross pattern. This way you will put even pressure around the gasket for an even seal.

I also suggest installing a shut off valve between your meter and the valve manifold, that way you can shut it off and not have to worry about it running up your water bill if you can't get it fixed right away.



Well I hope you got it fixed!

Give us an update.
Click to expand...

Looks like it is fixed. The test showed a miniscule (<.1 gallon) change and that could have been down to something in the house. I'll let the system cycle a couple of days and then do another test, this time with the shut-off valve open and then close. Fortunately there is a shut-off valve for the irrigation system.

Now I just have to sort out the box itself. It looks like a root has pinched it so the lid does not fit properly. This means digging, but bag that noise in the 104°F heat.
 
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