Replacing watering system parts before they fail

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There's an old saying that goes, *if it ain't broke, don't fix it* and I tend to disagree. I saw a documentary many years ago about the, uh, sewer system underneath Manhattan. They have been, for many years now, replacing component parts before they fail, based on a schedule. Their engineers know how long each part of the system should last, and it is replaced before there is a catastrophe. The people of Manhattan don't know anything about this, of course, they just think that a system that is nearly 300 years old is still functioning.

When it comes to my watering system, I tend to take a very proactive approach. The temperatures here in the Phoenix area get well above 100 degrees in the summertime, and stays there for months. Any system will feel the strain! So this spring I am replacing a lot of the moving parts of my watering system. That includes the timers, the gaskets, the pressure regulator, even the the 4-way connector. I've inspected this stuff, and it looks like it's been through WWIII.

The weather right now is beautiful, so this is the time to do this type of maintenance, not when it fails in the middle of the summer!

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