Hate to say it but I think the big box store sprinkler valves are junk now

I put in one of those Orbit valves from the big store on Wyoming last May and it failed by August. Talked to three other guys at the hardware store who said the same thing happened to them. The internal diaphragm just warps after one hot Albuquerque summer. Anyone else switch to brass fittings and have better luck?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaretw4111d agoTop Commenter

...so my buddy down the street, he's a plumber retired now, he told me last summer he put in the same Orbit valve and it cracked at the base within three weeks. Water went everywhere, flooded his side yard, killed a patch of grass. He said the plastic threads just give out if you look at them wrong. He ripped it out and put in a brass Rain Bird, cost him like 25 bucks more but he said it's been solid for two years now. I helped him install it actually, and the brass felt way heavier, no flex at all when you tighten it. Made me think twice about buying those cheap plastic ones again.

lopez.brooke11d ago

Yeah, did you try tightening it by hand only? That's what fixed mine.

jaken2311d ago

Funny enough I had a similar issue with a different brand valve last year but it turned out the problem was actually my sprinkler timer sending too much voltage and frying the solenoid, not the valve itself. Took me forever to figure that out because I kept blaming the hardware.