The first time I turned on the cycle it was worse than Sunday. Not only did the shitty head pop out from the pipe, one of the other heads didn't pop up and water. I presumed that this sprinkler system relies on pressure, so that when this shitty head popped out of its socket, there wasn't enough pressure for this other one to rise up and do its thing. But this shitty head popped out on Sunday, and that other head worked just fine.
Anyway, after putting a wood pallet into my second storage unit, I came back and took another shot. I made damn sure the sprinkler head was screwed into the pipe opening. I pulled it up to make sure it was secure. I turned on the system ... and I'll be goddamned, the head was just floating in its hole because it popped out of the goddamn pipe opening again. (By the way, the sprinkler head that wasn't working earlier in the evening popped up and watered like it was supposed to, so there's that.)
I'm beside myself right now. Swear to fucking God that thing was screwed in tight. So I'm working on another theory, though I might be doing so just because any alternative would drive me up a wall. Maybe, when I yanked the whole fuckin' thing off of the pipe, I broke the sprinkler head. I took a close look and it, well, looks like the thing isn't retracting completely. And for all I know, the threads (either on the bottom of the sprinkler head or on the pipe opening) were stripped, either through me or through years of wear and tear.
So what I'm going to do (possibly tomorrow since I work and presumably get home early) is take the old and busted sprinkler head and replace it with the old and busted sprinkler head I replaced in the backyard. Yes, it's not working, and yes, it's just been laying around the past several weeks. But what I'm worried about right now is if the issue with that sprinkler head is the sprinkler head or the opening it's supposed to be secured to. If it's the head, I can just buy another one, and many of my problems would be solved. But if the fucking thing pops out again ... well, I might need to call in the lawn maintenance company. There is a bunch of dirt in the opening, and try as I might, I couldn't completely clear out the pipe. It's possible that dirt is creating such a build-up of pressure that it's going to turn any sprinkler head that's screwed onto it into a projectile missile. And so if it needs to be cleaned out, that'll require equipment, expertise, and patience I don't have.
God, I just hope a new sprinkler head will do the trick. Fuckin' Christ, man, if I had just waited for the cycle to end, I think I could've kept the old sprinkler head and the cycle would have been perfect because there would be no water splashing onto the driveway or street. Fuck!
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