At one of my accounts we have a two zone irrigation system. Runs off city water and has two solenoid valves and a digital timer.
Lately, I've noticed a delay on Zone 2 in shutting down, after I shut it off. Typically this has something to do with the solenoid valve.
This morning I took with me a couple used/salvaged valves so I could rob them of their internals, if need be. These are Rainbird valves and can be serviced by removing 6 ss screws.
After clearing the soil away so I could work on the valves, I noticed the Zone 1 valve had a slight leak, so decided to take them both apart. That white stuff is what I found inside the Zone 1 valve. I scrapped as much away as possible and replaced both internal diaphragms with the ones I brought. Both valves working perfectly now and no leaks.
I will probably go ahead and replace both with new ones at some point soon and also raise their location up above grade at the same time. This location was there when I took the property over.
