Landscaping - Solenoid wiring

Hey all-

My wife and I just bought our first home together and it came with an irrigation system; we're still in the phases of unpacking and tinkering with other things, so I hired a landscaper that was recommended to me to replace the damaged solenoids and sprinkler heads, etc and just generally test the system out.

After he left yesterday I noticed that they neglected to finish the wiring job on the solenoids. They were wired up to run the system, but they just left the bare wire! Anger and disappointment aside, I used some wire nuts I had along with some good outdoor electrical tape to seal them up for now. Does anyone have a recommendation to wire these things up so they are a) sealed and b) look neat and / or are just out of sight?

{edit} I can provide photos of the system if need be.

I know how you feel...thats pretty common to just leave the wires hanging..since its low voltage. Doesn't look Pro to me...but I've seen it a lot.

Any way you want to cover the valves will work...the fake stone covers, the green and black plastic ones...whatever. I even saw someone use one of those oak 1/2 barrels and then a potted plant on top.

They do make connectors that waterproof the wire connection...don't know the exact name or what to search for. I normally use self vulcanizing rubber tape over regular wirenuts on low voltage.

Pictures might stimulate some folks creative brain cells. You can't post directly here, you'll need to use a hosting site like photobucket and then link back to it.

Oh...and no expert here..but lived in some places that were done by "experts" and thats what they left.

you want grease packs to go over the wire nuts. If they are not protected from the moisture they will eventually corrode and cause you problems over time. They are available at local home centers but they cost a bundle at those places. If you need a lot of them, shop around a bit. Last time I got some at a home center I found them to cost more than $2 each. Better than corrosion, but kind of costly.


Try to avoid grease nuts. These are different and do not work as well in my experience.

edit: oh, if they left some wires not attatched to anything, it could be the "downstream" side of the wire. That could mean the wire does not actually go to anything so there was no need to protect it.

Thanks for the replies; I went through the irrigation section at the local HD and found the grease packs. They were a bit on the high side so I skipped them until I came back to read this thread. I'm really surprised there isn't a better solution available. I'm thinking about rewiring everything and routing into an old otter box sealed with some silicon. At least it won't cost me $25 and some change.

From your post I can't tell if it was the wires connected to the solenoid that weren't capped or the extra wires from other zones or spares. Only the two wires connected to the solenoid need to be capped. The extra wires have no current running to them. You can get wire nuts with silicon sealant inside them for the solenoid wires and they are very inexpensive and most big box home stores have them.

From your post I can't tell if it was the wires connected to the solenoid that weren't capped or the extra wires from other zones or spares.

Thanks for the reply; it's been a few days since I've checked the thread.

They were the actual wires connected to the solenoid that were left uncapped, thus my general disgust at the job. There was a spare zone wire, but I just wrapped it and taped it to the main sleeve. This is a good reminder that I need to get back to that and take care of it!! I don't know how well that electrical tape is going to hold up.

if that wire that you taped up is not going to be used then it will be of no consequence leaving it alone. Even if you go to use it way later on, just cut off the first few inches and you will have good wire again.