Rain Bird MAXI-PAW and LG-3 Sprinkler Repair and Install

Rain Bird Maxi and Mini Paw impact sprinkler repair. Replace guts without digging. Replace sprinkler and reinstall correctly. Using the sprinkler wrench and lifting tool part number 42064. Changing nozzles. Top broken or missing? Easy fix.

[@SteveDavis890]

Hey Mr. Wade thanks for the great video and tutorial on the Maxi-Paw and Mini-Paw (LG-3) sprinklers. I've been changing mine out for a number of years now as they develop operational problems and never thought to simply change the guts out on them instead of doing all the digging for nothing. What a great tip. I also didn't know that these two models have interchangeable guts, another good tip from you! Thanks again.

[@marindasdad]

I’m so glad I found this video! I’ve got one I cannot unscrew, but now that I know how to remove the cover, I’ll have more room to get inside the bowl and get that sucker out!

[@paulamaroli7347]

By far the best video on the subject. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.

[@smileysun9212]

I have a few Maxi-Paws that are still working after 30yrs & the ones out front by the street I have to replace occasionally. The thing I hate is you can’t buy just the pop-up sprinkler without the pod & I have a collection of empty pods that I put in the old sprinklers for parts. I do have one pod with a short garden hose to work on them. I sometimes hold it or I use a portable work bench to clamp it in. My neighbor didn’t know you could unscrew these & replaced them. I took his old ones when he was moving & got them working again for spares. Most of the time they’re dirty & I have found rocks in the flapper. I had the stem crack & I take the screen off the bottom to use a socket with long extension to take the nut off below the sorinkler head. There’s plastic washers in there that gets gummed up & worn out that I replaced from broken ones. I’ve had that tab break off that keeps the lid on & I replaced it with another sprinkler that the stem was cracked. A lot of the sprinklers now has that cap missing but works fine with out it. I don’t know if the lawn mower sucked it off or fell off on its own. I even replaced the flapper with flip mechanism that is for the direction. There’s a forward that moves slower & the reverse moves faster. Some people don’t know there’s a setting on the bottom of main spring for high & low water pressure. Just need to move the end of spring that has a hook on it to the right notch. Sometimes this spring gets moved & sprinkler won’t turn at all. Just need to keep grass & weeds clear of it. If a sprinkler gets stuck I now tap it with my cane & to help clean it I push down on the sprinkler a few times when it’s on to flush it out. I did buy a battery powered wet vac to clean the mud out when unscrewing them but haven’t used it yet. I did replace my sprinkler timer with a remote that I can use anywhere in the yard. No more getting up or having someone turn them off an on for me. Now you can control them with your phone. When I installed them 30yrs ago I put self draining drains on the bottom of each pod & installed funny pipe on the side that connects to the PVC pipe. Now days black pipe is being used & a machine is pushing the pipe into the ground. I have never blown out or opened the valves in the box to drain it but I do shut the main valve off & never had problems. Did put in a bunch of self drains & the yard is on a slope. I had to fix a broken line for a neighbor & used a oscillating saw. I finally have a battery powered one & don’t need to make the hole bigger for hack saw. I have cut PVC with sting before. I am thinking of replacing all my Maxi-Paws because the pods are always full of water being wasted. I do like the sound of theses sprinkles the best but I want to save water with less maintenance. I did see you can buy the sprinkler head with the tab on top for the lid & there made to screw onto a pipe but I haven’t tried it yet but looks like you could make it work for the pod.

[@countrylivingwiththewades8784]

Thanks for all the additional information.

[@Sernaabq]

Awesome video, I have the tool already and you showed me how to use , thanks for creating the video.

[@GerardenPropertiesLLC]

Phillip this is an absolute amazing job well done.

[@gharr1405]

Best video i've seen on rainbow maxi paw very informative thanks for uploading

[@gharr1405]

RAINBIRD*

[@matthewmathis62]

Thank you, Mr. Wade! This is very helpful to me! :) (I'm trying to cap ours, maybe temporarily, because they are currently turning on when we simply turn our pump on, which is not our desired behavior). God bless you, and your family! Thank you,

[@arhedler]

When removing the core, if the bottom is full of dirt (and it always will be), hold up the internals and spray a strong jet of water into the sprinkler body to stir up and wash out all the dirt and sand and grit. If there are small pebbles, you may need to pull them out by hand so they don't block the core wrench. Once you have all the dirt out, it should be very simple to remove the core.

[@countrylivingwiththewades8784]

@@arhedler I've started using a wet/dry vac. Just started going through each zone one by to clean them out and replacing/repairing as needed. A very long extension cord.

[@LtDan1747]

Phillip this is an absolute amazing informative video. I don't comment much but I found this video looking for information on the Orbit sprinkler heads and stumbled onto this and it appears that the Rainbird is the new replacement (LG3)??? Any how your presentation is legit. Thank you and I had my LLC subscribe to so that the team has all your wisdom. God Bless.

[@stevevlahos1]

Thank you. This was a tremendous help. I bought a few of them and replaced just the innards and didn’t have to remove the whole shell. A massive time saver. Bought the tool and it made it easy. Thank you. ☺️

[@countrylivingwiththewades8784]

Enjoy it. The helps a lot.

[@codybaker36]

Great video. The maxi paw is still a great sprinkler if you have challenges with dirty water or low water pressure. My advice is to abandon the impact sprinklers and switch to gear drivin rotors. Highly recommend using the Hunter PGP Ultra or the Rain Bird 5000. I like your idea with the flexible hose. Especially with the lawnmower. The only thing about those is that they are so flimsy they tend to start leaking overtime if you’re moving heavy equipment over them. I recommend using a Hunter SJ swing joint instead of a flexible hose. Great video on explaining the maxi paw.

[@katiemackelprang9505]

Thank you for sharing this information!

[@thembakhumalo7400]

This is great. Thanks you helped me a lot.

[@danparkerguitarist3178]

Great informative video and just what I needed!

[@Myoldiesrecordings]

Super helpfull I'm still not figuring out why 1 of mine won't turn It worked for a few minutes

[@countrylivingwiththewades8784]

Weak spring or dirt buildup

[@Myoldiesrecordings]

@countrylivingwiththewades8784 Any point in attempting to wind the spring around for another loop?

[@ok2x]

Excellent Video! thx

[@khureh1850]

I do have the rainbow impact sprinkler is broken

[@georgemurray3002]

Nice video. Very informative! 4 questions: (perhaps I missed these answers) 1. You said you prefer the LG3 sprinklers over the Maxi Paw. Why? 2. Are the nozzles interchangeable between Mini Paw and Maxi paw? 3. Do they both use the same head? Is it the P5R 4. Where do you find the covers. I have 4 broken covers and every where I look it says "indisponible" or "out of stock" Any answers you can provide would be helpful thank you, george

[@guesshi1826]

Seems like this is the only vedio that tells me the LG-3 also has a chance to change the nozzle. Don't know why it's not supported in the product manual? Thanks anyway. Best in the similar videos.

[@edwardnagrant8377]

Of it's full of mud I use channel locks around the stem to turn it out

[@tjshively01]

My Rain Bird AG-5 / Maxi-Paw Pop-Up Impact Rotor Sprinklers are leaking out the top when running. A LOT of water is flowing over the top. What seals the water when the sprinkler is up. Also, when screwing it downhow tight should it be. I don't know what seals the water flow. Hope you know and will answer.

[@johnThornton-t9b]

Question..because I added a fence it messed up my sprinkler coverage. My problem is I have a large area to be covered with only 3 sprinkler heads. I saw these and said maybe I'll swap out my 3 rotary heads for the LG3'S My question is can I have these LG3'S in the front to help with the large area, and keep my pop up rotary heads in the back (behind the fence) Appreciate your help

[@thereaintnofnchocolate7571]

thanks!

[@justinbowles4671]

How many heads do you have on one solenoid?

[@countrylivingwiththewades8784]

Actually all mine are manual. I have 8 heads on a line from the well. That still keeps 40 psi in the house. This would be too expensive to use with county water.

[@justinbowles4671]

@@countrylivingwiththewades8784 ok I got’cha! I was going to run a 2” line in a loop and T off of it. I’ve got about 55 psi on that 2” line. I figure I can run about 6 of them.

[@countrylivingwiththewades8784]

if you are on a well, you will be limited by your pump capacity. Most residential wells can handle 6 heads. You can also go to a smaller nozzle size if your pressure is dropping too low.

[@garyharper2943]

Wow, what’s your water bill?

[@countrylivingwiththewades8784]

We have a well, 20 gpm, just the cost to run to pump.

[@garyharper2943]

@@countrylivingwiththewades8784 Nice, I have 7 acres and could use a well.

[@fiouable]

With the rigid pipe it will still crack if a fat jerk walks on it. I always use a flexible pipe. Duh.

[@NoMore4YearsofFailur]

Good job. Lots of good info....... Show us your dog next time. I heard him in the background......

[@countrylivingwiththewades8784]

@@NoMore4YearsofFailur that's Peaturkey. Funny name but it's just an old Southern term for something that's not worth much. We love him.