Last updated · Taft, FL

Irrigation repair in Taft often turns out to be two problems: the sprinkler system and whatever feeds it. Taft is an older unincorporated Orange County community in ZIP 32824, south of Orlando International Airport, where many systems were added to existing yards over the years and some lots draw irrigation water from a private well instead of the utility. Knowing which kind you have saves a lot of guessing. Questions: (407) 674-2841.

Well-fed systems

If a pump starts when the sprinklers do, the fault may sit upstream of every zone:

  • Nothing runs at all. Check the pump’s breaker and the pump start relay the controller switches. A controller that clicks through its zones while the pump stays silent points to the relay or its wiring.
  • Pressure fades mid-cycle. A failing pump, a clogged intake screen or a pressure tank that has lost its charge can all starve the last zones in a program.
  • Orange stains on walls, walks and the driveway. Iron in well water leaves rust-colored marks wherever heads overspray. Re-aiming heads off hard surfaces limits it; an iron filter or treatment is a separate decision.

Faults on older add-on zones

Systems that grew one zone at a time tend to break in predictable places:

  • Spliced wire buried without waterproof connectors corrodes, so a valve works one week and not the next.
  • Mixed head types on one zone — spray heads beside rotors — overwater one patch and starve the next.
  • Roots from mature trees crush shallow lateral lines or lift heads out of level.
  • Heads buried by turf that grew up around them over the years spray sideways into the grass instead of over it.

Rain sensors and the county days

A rain sensor or shut-off is required by Florida law on automatic systems, and one that never trips is a common reason a Taft lawn gets soggy in summer. Orange County watering days apply whether the water comes from the utility or a well: odd addresses Wednesday and Saturday, even Thursday and Sunday through October 31, one day a week from November 1 (odd Saturday, even Sunday), never 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and no more than one hour per zone. After any repair, reset the controller to the current season’s days.

Repair or replace

A single broken head or one stuck valve is a repair. When several zones fail together, the wiring is a patchwork, or the yard has changed enough that the layout no longer fits, a full system replacement typically runs $2,500–$5,500. Fix the water before replacing any grass; new sod on a dead zone fails in the same shape.

Nearby pages

Sod installation in Taft, sod replacement in Taft, and irrigation repair in Meadow Woods next door.

Quick answer

Irrigation repair in Taft (32824) starts by finding out whether the trouble is the sprinkler zones or the well and pump feeding them. Then fix the wiring, heads and rain sensor, and set Orange County’s days. Questions: (407) 674-2841.