2 Questions on valve removal/replacment

[sglusk]

1) I have Irritrol 2400t valves/solenoids. I have 2 zones that are not working by using the timer but do if I manually turn them on. I want to disassemble the valves to see what the diaphragms look like and replace if necessary. Issue is that when I start to twist off the lid to the valve, water starts to come out of the valve. I did shut the water off at the spigot and at the backflow device. Any thoughts?
2) How do I know if the solenoid is bad? Is there any visual inspection I can do? Such as removing the solenoid and looking at the plunger? Should it be in/out? Hopefully these 2 questions make sense.

Edit to this post - I just finished cleaning out the valves..well 3 of the 4. Now those 3 zones stay on, even if the control box is off . It is too dark now to investigate but I will tomorrow some time. Again, any help is appreciated.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts!
Shawn

 

[WorthFlorida]

To check solenoids you'll need to disconnect the wires and check for continuity with an ohm meter. Another way is with that zone turned on and you're sure you have 24 v AC to the solenoid, disconnecting and reconnecting 1 one lead you'll feel a little click as the plunger is moved back and forth. The movement is so short that you may not be able to visually see it operate.

It doesn't take much debris to prevent the diaphragm from completely closing. The solenoid must be completely threaded to the bottom of the valve to keep it closed. A manual test of the valve is accomplished by turned the solenoid about 1/4 to 1/2 turn counterclockwise. Below is another post and I have link to the video on how these valves work. They all work the same regardless of the name on them and they may be exactly the same of another brand. If you have a source there are rebuild kits available.

There is a thumb screw right next to the solenoid to also manually operate the valve. Remove it and the water so be flowing and allow the water to flush out any debris from this threaded hole. Place it back in and turn it all the way down and the water flow should stop.

https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/irrigation-system-startup.70481/