I just bought a brand new rain bird sprinkler valve with flow control and when I turn the valve on automatically or manually it makes a loud sound that resembles a muted horn and when I close it, it makes the same sound but thumps at the end. Is this normal? Or do I need to get a new valve?
Provided you are talking about the valve that controls flow from the constant on of water to the sprinklers, that also cuts it off, the turning on is a groaning of the built up pressure (normal) releasing into the sprinkler line. The thump only occurs at the end when you close it because it's slowly cutting off the pressure. Its more pronounced in the sprinkler valves because you are dealing with greater pressure than say when you turn on a sink or hose, in fact you can nearly mimic a more muffled version of the sound by using a hose, and kinking it or using a nozzle head. Having installed 20+ of these working with my Dad on his rental properties, I can guarantee they are not silent. Unless water is spraying all over the place, I'm 98% positive its a perfectly functioning valve.
It could be the solenoid. It could be actuating very slowly and hammering when it tries to shut off. The solenoids are only $5 or $6. Not a significant expense. I just had to replace an entire valve. Not costly but a good size hole while I was working on it.
