What gives? Rain Bird VAN Nozzles Do Not Fully Seat Into 1800 Series Sprayhead.

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vivona

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I have changed out some regular Rain Bird nozzles on 1800 series sprayheads with VAN adjustable nozzles. The VAN nozzles do not fully seat into the top of the sprayhead when the water is off. They sit about 1/8" higher than the sealing surface on the top of the sprayhead. I compared the VAN nozzle to the standard MPR nozzle and the sealing flange is indeed about 1/8" higher. The stem is fully seated into the sprayhead and the VAN nozzle is fully tightened, so there is no way to make up the 1/8" difference. How do I correct this?
 

vivona

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Doesn't the design of the VAN nozzle allow dirt to get into the spray slot? It also seems the flange is more susceptible to being crushed by a lawnmower wheel. Has anyone found a solution? It looks like leaving out the filter screen helps lower the nozzle a bit, but increases the possibility of nozzle clogs. In actual practice are these issues to worry about, or do the nozzles last as long as the regular MPR nozzles despite not fully seating in the sprayhead?
 

Teamo

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I have some of these 1800's on my system with vans and there is no problem. As far as debris sometimes I do get very small pebbles in the nozzle. Occasionally I remove the nozzles and clean out the filter and the nozzle orifice. You will notice a diminished spray volume when something gets in there.
 

vivona

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My guess is that because the nozzle is adjustable, Rain Bird wanted the flange easier to grip so you could pull the stem up and adjust it with the water off if you need to set it to a pattern that would get you wet if the water was on.

Anyway, I did modify one of my 1800 sprayheads to lower the nozzle by grinding the little tabs off at the very bottom of the stem where it sits in the casing. The tabs are there to raise the stem a bit to allow the water to get under and into the stem if you are using the side feed on the sprayhead. As long as you feed the sprayhead from the bottom grinding off the tabs won't affect operation but will lower the nozzle almost 1/8". I will monitor this sprayhead and see how it works and consider doing the same to the other sprayheads if their nozzles tend to get clogged with sand.

I should add that this is the first time I have removed the nozzles in eight years and none of the filter screens had debris, so leaving out the filter screen to lower a VAN nozzle is also probably worth trying.

My sprinklers run overnight, so I almost never see them in operation and only check them if I notice a problem with the grass. That being the case, I like a set-and-forget solution.
 
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