I have a 3/4" PVC sprinkler system, and one of the nipples has snapped off inside the 1/2" threaded fitting. I have a nipple extractor which has worked very well in the past but I guess this time I didn't press hard enough at the beginning as all it does is shave the inside of the nipple. How do I get this thing out without pulling the whole pipe up and replacing the fitting?
How to extract a snapped off PVC nipple
pvcsprinkler-system
Related Solutions
If you can hear water running, my guess would be nothing is wrong with the solenoid (diaphragm vale), but there's actually a broken pipe in your system somewhere. If there is water moving, it has to be going somewhere.
It sounds like in your case, none of the sprinklers in the zone are coming on at all? If that's the case, it means the leak is between the solenoid and the first sprinkler. If there are some sprinklers coming on, but not all, then the leak is between the farthest one that's on, and the closest one that's off.
Once you've isolated the section, there's no really quick way to find the actual leak. With two zones leaking, they could be related and leaking in the same place, so I'd look right close to the solenoids first. Beyond that, run the water for a while, and there should be a wet patch in the grass eventually. Once you find that, start digging, and then you should be able to repair it.
A picture would make it easier to help, but I would guess the white "nut" you see is probably the PVC female adapter that is glued to the pipe.
If you can do it, the fastest fix is to unthread the nipple from inside the hub, then just replace it with a new nipple.
If you can't do that, you'll have to cut the adapter off, and then glue a new one on (PVC glue is permanent -- once it sets, it's never coming apart). If there is enough room you can just glue a new adapter on, and then get a slightly longer nipple to keep the sprinkler head at the same height.
If there's not enough room, you may need to dig it up some more, cut the elbow or T below off, and replace everything.
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Best Answer
My solution was not ideal; it might have been less work just to dig out the section of pipe. With that in mind, I followed the suggestion of another site to use a mini hacksaw similar to this one to cut several notches in the body of the nipple (stopping short of the threads). Then I gently pounded in the larger size nipple extractor with a small mallet and twisted. The nipple broke in half, and from there it was a simple matter to pull out the two pieces with a pair of pliers.