RainBird CP-100 Sprinkler Valve - A Sprinkle A Day Helps Keep Brown Grass Away
Written: Apr 05 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: RainBird reliability, fairly priced and easy to find
Cons: Absolutely none, zero, zip, nada, zilch
The Bottom Line: My only choice for new sprinkler system installs based on 100% reliability and fair price. Choose the CP-075 Automatic Sprinkler Valve for replacements with ¾" line.
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| michiman1's Full Review: Rainbird Cp-100 Automatic Sprinkler Valve |
The RainBird CP-100 Automatic Sprinkler Valve is another high quality product from a company from whom I’ve purchased countless worry-free products for over twenty years. When asked for my input regarding choice of valves, timers or sprinkler heads, the Rain Bird name is always my number one choice based on both quality and fair price.
I had helped install a good number of sprinkler systems prior to designing my own so I was pretty set in my choice of manufacturers and specific irrigation products as well as the layout of the entire system. My own system was designed with 1" PVC, 1" Schedule 40 PVC and 1" poly plastic pipe as well as including these RainBird CP-100 Automatic Sprinkler Valves.
An assortment of other manufacturers are also available, Toro and Orbit being the two most readily available. You will find only minimal differences in price between RainBird and the two I mention here. My experience is limited with Toro valves, I believe them to be of a fairly good quality but I have seen a number of failures with lesser quality options such as Orbit... certainly not worth the few bucks saved. On a new install with six to eight valves, the $20.00 to $25.00 savings will not cover the cost of one valve failure in both dollars, time and frustration.
The choice of 1" line, valves and poly pipe should be a gimme as a starting point when designing any new system for maximum water flow. When I start up my system in just a few short weeks, my CP-100 valves will begin their sixth season with absolutely no failures to date. As for systems currently designed with ¾" lines I would suggest the Rainbird 3/4" Electric In-Line Valve as a replacement valve.
These valves are designed for below-ground installation, usually housed in a plastic sprinkler box, for ease of installation and maintenance. It's generally best to connect these valves by designing a manifold, with each manifold box containing three or four valves. Most home stores such as Home Depot or Lowes have pamphlets available to assist in making your manifold. PVC, PVC cement and valves are all that are required to complete the construction which is extremely simple and usually done in less than one hour.
The Rain Bird CP-100 Automatic Sprinkler Valve is constructed with a reverse flow design for increased product life by reducing stress on the valve's diaphragm. The Buna-N diaphragm within the valve is also offers better performance in harsh water conditions. Our situation here attests to this claim as our well water is the some of the harshest of all, the fact the 1" valves in my system will be shortly beginning their sixth worry-free season seems to say it all.
Another nice feature of the Rain Bird CP-100 Automatic Sprinkler Valve is the fact that they operate either manually or automatically with the manual bleed screw. If installed per the instructions, the bleed screw should be located at the top of the valve. Simply remove the cover off the manifold box and turn the bleed screw ¼ turn counterclockwise until the system activates. When zone has received ample water, simply turn clockwise and finger-tighten the solenoid back to the closed position. This is an easy way to water zones that appear to need a bit extra moisture without having to play with timer settings.
These valves are not only simple, but safe to operate as well. They are powered form a low voltage of 24V from your sprinkler timer. These 24V valves are able to work with any standard sprinkler timer. I have replaced several valves of other manufacturers with these RainBird valves with a variety of timers with no problems in installation or operation.
As for my recommendation of timers, I suggest the Rainbird ISA-408 Automatic Sprinkler Timer or the Rainbird ISA-406 Automatic Sprinkler Timer depending on your needs.
In the design of my own system, I included the entire Rain Bird line of products from timer to valves to sprinkler heads and have been more than satisfied for years. I also highly recommend the RainBird T-Bird as the sprinkler head to trust for care of your lawn.
Your Rain Bird valve comes with a full 3 year guarantee(as quoted directly from the box):
If your Rain Bird product fails to function properly at any time within three years after date of purchase, simply return it, with your purchase receipt and this seal, and we'll repair or replace it free of charge.
Although I don't believe you will ever need to use this guarantee, it's nice to have the backing of the company.
Rain Bird may be reached via USPS or phone at:
Rain Bird National Sales Corporation
7590 Britannia Court
San Diego, CA 92173
1-619-661-4200 or 1-800-RAIN-BIRD
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
michiman1
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Member: Mark Dakhlian
Location: Hockeytown - Go Red Wings!
Reviews written: 190
Trusted by: 263 members
About Me:
Proud owner of four high quality domestically produced vehicles - Buy American!
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