Winterizing Your Sprinkler System
During the winter time the weather gets colder and will freeze pipes.
The water that is in the pipes will expand and crack the pipes or rupture the pipe walls.
If water freezes in the backflow assembly, the internal components will become damages and possibly crack as well.
For this reason it is important to winterize your sprinkler system.
It seems pretty simple at first glance.
The main objective is to get water out of your pipes.
There are two main ways to remove all water from the pipes and sprinklers so frozen water won't break the pipes.
You can choose to drain the water out through drain valves, or you can blow the water out using air.
Seems simple right? Well, there is a little more that is involved.
If you leave in a colder climate you will need to make sure the mainline shut off valve is freeze proof.
That means that it needs to be protected from freezing so it won't be broken when it comes time to use it.
And as far as the methods of removing water, they both have their advantages and disadvantages.
If you choose to use valves to drain water, they will need to be installed at each low point in the piping, and you will have to be out there manually opening the valves if you use the manual system.
Automatic drain valves open themselves whenever the pressure drops too low in the pipe, but they have a problem of staying closed if they haven't had a chance to open routinely.
This is why most irrigation systems choose the blow-out method.
With the help of an enormous air compressor, the water is blown out of the pipes so they won't damage them during the winter.
There are a lot of things that can go wrong with this method, however, which is why it is highly recommended that only professionals perform this method.
The blow-out method is not a "do-it-yourself" project that a homeowner should try to do.
One tiny mistake with this method and you will no longer have a working sprinkler system in your yard.
If you are considering blowing water out of your pipes during the winter, call a professional to service you.
If you do go against the recommendation of hiring a professional, however, be aware that there are certain things you need to stay away from.
For example, don't blow air through the backflow preventer or through the pump as you can damage them.
Also, never allow the air pressure in your compressor reach over 80 PSI for PVC piping, or 50 PSI for polyethylene piping if you don't want to break your pipes from too much pressure.
The water that is in the pipes will expand and crack the pipes or rupture the pipe walls.
If water freezes in the backflow assembly, the internal components will become damages and possibly crack as well.
For this reason it is important to winterize your sprinkler system.
It seems pretty simple at first glance.
The main objective is to get water out of your pipes.
There are two main ways to remove all water from the pipes and sprinklers so frozen water won't break the pipes.
You can choose to drain the water out through drain valves, or you can blow the water out using air.
Seems simple right? Well, there is a little more that is involved.
If you leave in a colder climate you will need to make sure the mainline shut off valve is freeze proof.
That means that it needs to be protected from freezing so it won't be broken when it comes time to use it.
And as far as the methods of removing water, they both have their advantages and disadvantages.
If you choose to use valves to drain water, they will need to be installed at each low point in the piping, and you will have to be out there manually opening the valves if you use the manual system.
Automatic drain valves open themselves whenever the pressure drops too low in the pipe, but they have a problem of staying closed if they haven't had a chance to open routinely.
This is why most irrigation systems choose the blow-out method.
With the help of an enormous air compressor, the water is blown out of the pipes so they won't damage them during the winter.
There are a lot of things that can go wrong with this method, however, which is why it is highly recommended that only professionals perform this method.
The blow-out method is not a "do-it-yourself" project that a homeowner should try to do.
One tiny mistake with this method and you will no longer have a working sprinkler system in your yard.
If you are considering blowing water out of your pipes during the winter, call a professional to service you.
If you do go against the recommendation of hiring a professional, however, be aware that there are certain things you need to stay away from.
For example, don't blow air through the backflow preventer or through the pump as you can damage them.
Also, never allow the air pressure in your compressor reach over 80 PSI for PVC piping, or 50 PSI for polyethylene piping if you don't want to break your pipes from too much pressure.
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