The Gardena regulation and shut-off box is a practical and, above all, elegant tool. They are used to be able to separate a section of the pipeline from the pipeline or include it back into the pipeline if necessary. This can be an advantage, for example, if you want to temporarily exclude sections of the pipeline from irrigation, e.g. because this section only has to be watered later in the year, or because irrigation can be stopped earlier in the year. Another option is to use such shut-off boxes to manually control an irrigation system by manually opening and closing the individual sectors.

The box can stop the flow of water completely or only to a certain extent, the rotary control can be adjusted continuously. It can therefore also be used to specifically throttle the water flow.

Basically, the regulation and shut-off box is a simple valve, basically nothing more than a ball valve that you can open and close. The value of the box only unfolds due to its stable and stylish-looking casing, which makes it possible to install the valve in the ground and connect it directly to the irrigation pipeline. The valve controller remains accessible from above at all times, so the valve can be conveniently adjusted. To prevent dirt from falling into the box, it is equipped with a sealing flap. A dirt sieve is also installed, which catches dirt that falls in.

The valve controller and dirt sieve can be removed for cleaning. Below that is a second controller into which the one above is inserted. So this is only an extension of the lower controller. The controller can be turned a quarter of a turn.

If you look into the threaded connections of the box, you will see that the water runs through the box from one connection to the other. If you turn the controller a bit, this passage opening is reduced or completely closed.

The valve controller and dirt sieve can be removed for cleaning. Below that is a second controller into which the one above is inserted. So this is only an extension of the lower controller. The controller can be turned a quarter of a turn.

In addition to the regulation and shut-off box discussed here, Gardena also offers two other boxes with a very similar design in its range:

• The Gardena connecting point -> For connecting the water tap to the underground pipeline
• The Gardena water socket -> To create a water extraction point in the pipeline

The connection box has an orange cap, the water socket has a gray cap, i.e. the same color as the regulation and shut-off box described here.

The regulation and shut-off box has a threaded connection with a 3/4 inch external thread on both sides. Two connectors with a 3/4 inch internal thread are therefore required for the connection. Before connecting the box to the connectors, wrap the threads of the box with Teflon tape. Since the box is open at the top and rainwater can get into the box, it is installed on gravel. In this way, the incoming water can seep away quickly. The direction in which the water flows through the box does not matter during installation, since the box works the same way in both directions. If you want, you can make sure that the Gardena logo looks legibly in the preferred direction. But you don’t have to.

The box is placed on a layer of gravel

The regulation and shut-off box is installed flush with the ground surface or, even better, minimally, approx. 1 cm, above it. So that when the ground is wet, no mud spills into the box and the box is not damaged when mowing the lawn.

Box installed in the ground

The Gardena regulating and shut-off box is available in some hardware stores and from Amazon and other online shops.
The suggested retail price is approximately 35 USD.

I am not aware of a similar product to the Gardena regulation and shut-off box, i.e. a valve that is built into a housing and can be operated from above. A possible alternative would be to use a ball valve, which can be installed in the pipeline in the same way as the can with connectors.

However, this alternative has the disadvantage that the ball valve is not embedded in a housing. If you want to use the valve above ground, it doesn’t matter. When used underground, the ball valve can be installed in a valve box. This is an alternative that is particularly worth considering if you want to install shut-off valves for several pipeline strands in one place. Here you would need a separate Gardena socket for each pipeline line. In a valve box, on the other hand, a larger number of ball valves can be installed to save space.