Some ideas...
1. For "party mode" or "rain lockout" a master solenoid on the water source will work well. It isn't an independent zone on/off control, but it does solve certain problems.
2a. I think Pete is correct about the trenching machine, I've seen the one that looks like a ride-on tractor pulling a (new style) boat anchor on a chain to bury sprinkler pipe. I think this is fairly "clean" in running new pipe; you don't have to make a messy trench everywhere. And remember, you're not going to pull wire underground, you're going to pull a new sprinkler pipe that you will use as a wire chase.
2b. I know you say there are many obstructions between the water source location and the sprinkler boxes, but think about it, you're not trying to add water to the sprinkler boxes, you're trying to add power and control. You don't have to follow the existing water line path (with all of it's obstructions), you can go out the front of the building back to the street and then follow the property line to where the boxes are. Yes, some break-points for pull boxes will be needed, but that's really nothing. The perfect way to sell this to a homeowner (or even yourself!) is to put the break-point pull boxes in strategic places where other add-ons will work - like low voltage landscape lighting, Christmas lights, driveway lights, driveway sensors, cameras, outdoor speakers for audio, etc - would be installed. Then you accomplish two things by pulling the "conduit" out to the sprinkler boxes.
3. My crazy idea would be to use the existing water feed to the first sprinkler box as the wire chase. Maybe some kind of rubber encapsulated wire? Or pre-run the wire in a rubber hose, then run the rubber hose through the existing feed pipe? There are many difficulties here, like water and electric don't mix, any kind of pipe coupling in the line is going to be difficult to get past, how much water flow will be lost by reducing the pipe diameter, etc. Overall, this would definitely not be my way to accomplish this.
4. And my out of this world idea would be... hey, isn't water conductive? Imagine running 110V through the water in the pipe and then using UPB control? It would require a bunch of plastic to de-couple the pipe and water from the source, and things like spigots would have to be plastic... and you would need a local ground rod for the neutral. Of course I am completely joking, don't try this one.
I like options 1 and 2. Option 1 is the immediate fix for rain, party mode - anything where you have to turn off the entire water feed. Option 2 is the ultimate, adding water box control becomes secondary, lighting, audio and cameras become primary!
Hope this helps. Let us all know what you end up doing!
Doug
1. For "party mode" or "rain lockout" a master solenoid on the water source will work well. It isn't an independent zone on/off control, but it does solve certain problems.
2a. I think Pete is correct about the trenching machine, I've seen the one that looks like a ride-on tractor pulling a (new style) boat anchor on a chain to bury sprinkler pipe. I think this is fairly "clean" in running new pipe; you don't have to make a messy trench everywhere. And remember, you're not going to pull wire underground, you're going to pull a new sprinkler pipe that you will use as a wire chase.
2b. I know you say there are many obstructions between the water source location and the sprinkler boxes, but think about it, you're not trying to add water to the sprinkler boxes, you're trying to add power and control. You don't have to follow the existing water line path (with all of it's obstructions), you can go out the front of the building back to the street and then follow the property line to where the boxes are. Yes, some break-points for pull boxes will be needed, but that's really nothing. The perfect way to sell this to a homeowner (or even yourself!) is to put the break-point pull boxes in strategic places where other add-ons will work - like low voltage landscape lighting, Christmas lights, driveway lights, driveway sensors, cameras, outdoor speakers for audio, etc - would be installed. Then you accomplish two things by pulling the "conduit" out to the sprinkler boxes.
3. My crazy idea would be to use the existing water feed to the first sprinkler box as the wire chase. Maybe some kind of rubber encapsulated wire? Or pre-run the wire in a rubber hose, then run the rubber hose through the existing feed pipe? There are many difficulties here, like water and electric don't mix, any kind of pipe coupling in the line is going to be difficult to get past, how much water flow will be lost by reducing the pipe diameter, etc. Overall, this would definitely not be my way to accomplish this.
4. And my out of this world idea would be... hey, isn't water conductive? Imagine running 110V through the water in the pipe and then using UPB control? It would require a bunch of plastic to de-couple the pipe and water from the source, and things like spigots would have to be plastic... and you would need a local ground rod for the neutral. Of course I am completely joking, don't try this one.
I like options 1 and 2. Option 1 is the immediate fix for rain, party mode - anything where you have to turn off the entire water feed. Option 2 is the ultimate, adding water box control becomes secondary, lighting, audio and cameras become primary!
Hope this helps. Let us all know what you end up doing!
Doug
