Brief sounds of running water in Eichler
The past several weeks, something strange has started happening in our
Eichler. We get these short (about 1 second) noises, that sound like
water turning on quickly, running for a second, then turning off.
We've only heard it at night - perhaps because it is quieter then.
But nothing is on or in use at that time that should require water...
We have an irrigation system that is supplied by an outside faucet
right outside our bedroom. It almost sounds like the sprinkler system
is turning on/off quickly - we just got a new timer installed, so I
checked that but that doesn't seem to be it. Perhaps the individual
valves are turning on for a second because some part is wearing out?
But it sometimes sounds as if the sound is coming from inside the
house. Does anyone have a guess as to what this could be? I have no
idea if calling a plumber would even be useful - the plumber would
have to sit for hours, waiting for a one second sound...
thanks
Check your toilets. A leaky flapper valve can cause a slow leak from the tank into the bowl. When the water in the tank drops far enough the fill/float valve opens to refill the tank. Typically the refill takes only a few seconds and you can hear water running when it happens.
It turns out the problem was with our irrigation system. I heard this sound again this morning (when it was light out, I was usually hearing it at night - when things are quiter). I quickly went outside, and I saw a little bit of water next to all the emitters from one of our lawn zones.
I've also heard this noise in a different part of our house, so I think this is happening to at least one other zone.
The timer is clearly not set to come on Sunday morning, so either:
- The new timer is faulty
- There is something wrong with the ??solenoid?? (or whatever you call the black plastic thing that has the wires connected to it - that you can turn to start the water flow and bypass the timer).
- Some other possibility?
Has anyone ever had a situation like this where a solenoid wears out (and has to be replaced)? Or is it more likely to be the new timer?
thanks
I'm curious to see if your sprinklers still have the mysterious 'ON' cycle.
I have had a bunch of zones at home for 22 years. I have never seen a single unwarranted drop. I have never replaced any of the valves.
However....
I installed a new sprinkler system at our Office/Warehouse and have seen recently seepage at the lowest point sprinkler head from at least 3 of the 5 zones. The seepage seems very regular. It's so little water, that I maybe won't worry about it...maybe. Our water pressure is normal. I never witnessed the seepage last fall, or over the winter. Maybe I'll turn off the system and see if the seepage stops. This would indicate that the control unit was the culprit.
I love the new Sprinkler Control. It has a separate remote control. Adjusting the heads is sooooo easy, since I don't need to go back to the main box to turn zones on or off.
Randy from Dura-Foam Roofing and Solar Center
