Heads are the most-replaced part of any irrigation system. They live at grass level, in the path of mowers, plows, tires, and winter. The good news: a head is a small part. The catch: the wrong head, nozzle, or height turns a quick fix into a brown-lawn mystery. Here is how to get it right.
Broken, clogged, or just misaligned?
Not every bad head needs replacing. A head that mists weakly may just have a clogged nozzle or filter screen. One that waters the sidewalk needs an arc adjustment. One that never pops fully has debris in the riser or low zone pressure. Replace when you see a cracked body or riser, water geysering at the base (a broken seal or fitting), a head that no longer rotates, or a stem sheared by a mower or plow.
Head types, in plain English
Fixed spray heads throw a constant fan a short distance and suit small, regular areas. Rotors sweep one or more streams across larger turf areas. Rotary nozzles split the difference: rotor-like coverage from a spray-size body, with lower precipitation rates that many soils absorb better. The rule that matters: do not mix sprays and rotors on one zone. They put down water at very different rates, so one part of the zone drowns while the other stays dry.
The details that separate a good replacement from a quick one
A proper swap matches the new head's precipitation rate to the zone, sets it flush to grade (proud heads get hit, sunken heads get blocked), levels it square to the slope, adjusts the arc so heads throw head-to-head, and flushes the line before the nozzle goes on. Skipping the flush is the classic shortcut: the new nozzle clogs with the debris the break let in, and the fixed zone still runs weak.
What we install, and what we will service
We replace heads with Hunter components. If the rest of your zone is another brand, we match the precipitation rate so coverage stays even. We service every major brand and will source another manufacturer's part when a repair calls for it, but when a head has reached the end of its life, it is replaced with Hunter.
When it is more than the head
If heads on one zone keep failing, that is a pressure or design problem, not a head problem: pressure too high (misting), tree roots lifting pipe, or a zone extended beyond its flow. The same goes for recurring breaks along a driveway or plow line. The answer may be relocating the run, swapping to a different pattern, or protecting heads. A good technician treats the second visit to the same head as a design question.
Frequently asked questions
A straight body swap on an accessible head is a reasonable do-it-yourself job if you match brand, model, and nozzle. Where it goes wrong: a snapped fitting below the head, the wrong precipitation rate, or an unflushed line. If the head broke below grade, call us.
It is in the path of something (mower wheels, plows, tires) or set too high. The fix is placement and grade, not another identical head.
Quality heads commonly run well over a decade in our climate. Nozzles and seals go sooner; annual inspection catches them before the lawn does.
We service all major brands and match precipitation rates so a zone stays even. Replacement heads are Hunter.
Often it is spacing: heads were never head-to-head, and summer wind exposes it. Sometimes a nozzle change covers the gap; sometimes the zone needs one added head.