What Does It Mean to Winterize Your Sprinkler System?
Winterizing your irrigation, or sprinkler, system sounds like a complex task, but it can be as simple as turning a few knobs. Your irrigation system is made up of a network of pipes. During the winter months, the pipes are susceptible to cracking or bursting. This can cause damage to your system as a whole and cost you a lot of money or even damage your grass while it’s dormant. To protect your pipes, winterizing is essential.
Considerations
Before winterizing your home irrigation system, you should evaluate your location and the severity of the weather during the colder months. For locations farther north, you’ll want to get a jump-start on this process in case a surprise winter storm hits earlier than expected. The weather in Southern regions can be a bit more forgiving. If you’re in the South and have above-ground sprinklers, you can simply cover them with insulation if a cold snap is coming and then winterize them later in the season.
You’ll potentially save time and money on expensive repairs during the spring by winterizing early. Doing this can even extend your sprinkler system’s life span.
How to Winterize Your Sprinkler System
Winterizing can be as easy as closing a valve. Here, you’ll learn three general methods of winterizing your sprinklers based on the type of sprinkler system you have. Always follow the specific instructions that come with your system.
Automatic-Drain Method
This is the easiest method of draining your pipes and winterizing your system because the valves automatically drain. The first thing you’ll want to do is make sure the water supply is off. This allows you to open up one of the sprinkler heads, relieving pressure in the system. The pipes should automatically start draining and removing any excess water from the system. Now you can prepare to clear the valves by following these steps:
- Locate the solenoid. This is a control unit that electrically energizes or de-energizes to shut off the water or allow it to flow.
- Loosen the top.
- Allow air to flow into the system. This will cause the water to flow out and drain the valves.
Manual-Drain Method
Some sprinkler systems are designed to be manually drained. This is a fairly simple process that allows you to drain the pipes by opening a valve.
Follow these steps for a manual drain:
- The first thing you should do is shut off the water supply.
- Make sure to look for the manual valves located at the ends and low points of the piping.
- Open each valve slowly and let the water drain out before moving to the next valve. It’s important to drain the backflow as well.
- Once all the water has been drained, you can close all of the open valves.
Blow-Out Method
The blow-out method of winterizing your sprinklers is the most efficient way to guarantee all water is removed from the piping. Even the smallest bit of water can put you at risk of cracked or ruptured pipes. If you have an underground irrigation system, this works wonders because over time your underground pipes move. When the pipes move, the angle of drainage can change, causing excess water to pool.
Since this method involves forcing the water out of the pipes with compressed air, you’ll need to be very careful not to damage the pipes or cause injury to yourself. Wear protective eyewear while you work and stay aware of your surroundings.
- First, ensure that the water supply and power supply are completely shut off.
- Assemble your air compressor and put on your safety glasses.
- Connect the air compressor to your sprinkler system with the correct coupler. Make sure you don’t push compressed air directly through the backflow device.
- Locate the sprinkler station that’s the highest and farthest from the compressor and open the sprinkler head.
- Close all the backflow valves.
- Open the valve on the compressor slowly and gradually add air pressure. This allows you to pace yourself and makes it easier to shut off the air supply quickly if you need to.
- You should start to see water come from the active head.
It’s important that you don’t stand near an active head or exceed the threshold of 80 pounds per square inch (PSI) for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes and 50 PSI for polyethylene.
Once you see water leaving the sprinklers, proceed to the next steps:
- Work your way closer to the compressor starting with the farthest sprinkler head. You’ll want to open each head in turn.
- Once you’re done draining the sprinkler heads, you can disconnect the compressor and release any remaining air pressure. You can do this by opening and closing the valves on the backflow device and drain valves.
- Make sure all the valves are closed once you’ve finished.
Tips for Maintaining Your Sprinkler System
Winterizing your sprinkler system is important, but you should also maintain your system year-round. Here are a few tips:
- Be sure you know the proper amount of water needed to support your vegetation. To measure your water, place a container in each zone. Run the system for a cycle and monitor the amount of water collected in the container. This will tell you how long you need to run your irrigation system to deliver the appropriate amount of water to your lawn or garden.
- Watch out for clogged sprinkler heads and clogged pipes. Look at your grass: If you have brown spots in your yard, that may be an indicator of clogged heads or pipes. Check these regularly to clear any clogs before the brown spots appear.
- Along with draining, to properly winterize your home irrigation system, you must also protect the exposed backflow preventers and valves. Cover them with insulation until cold weather has passed.