Winterizing Irrigation Lawn System

How to winterize a sprinkler system.

Winterizing irrigation lawn system.

There are generally three methods used to winterize a pump system. Damage to an underground irrigation system is costly to fix and may require a large portion of the yard to be dug out to locate the problem. Many more will see freezing temperatures and snow through the winter months. But you can probably blow it out zone by zone.

In areas where winterization is mandatory irrigation systems are installed using one of three types of water removal. Manual drain auto drain and the blowout method air compressor. As temperatures outside drop below the freezing point of water water in your sprinkler system pipes can freeze into ice and expand causing your pipes to burst as a result. If you re into number crunching and you have the original irrigation layout showing the gallons per minute gpm of each sprinkler head just divide the total gpm of each zone by 7 5.

To minimize the risk of freeze damage you ll need to winterize your irrigation system. If you have a lawn sprinkler system and you live in a climate that drops to 32 degrees f. Keep an eye on the local weather reports in the newspaper or on television for when the first freeze of the year is expected. Most systems have a built in manual or automatic drain valve that uses gravity to move water from the pipes.

As a general rule you should winterize your system at least a week before the first freeze is expected. Your grass likes a deep drink every week to 10 days in most climates. Below the freezing point some of the most critical components of a sprinkler system can be damaged. Just be aware that even the largest home compressor isn t powerful enough to blow out the entire system at once.

Or lower in winter you have to blow water out of the system before the cold sets in. Most of the country will see at least one deep freeze during the cold season. Manual drain auto drain or blowout. You need to winterize your.

Here are some tips from rain bird on how to prepare your irrigation system for winter conditions if you live in a region where it freezes. Yet the thin tubing used in irrigation systems has a tendency to shift and sink over time. If you don t know your system type it is best to use the blowout method. But the question of when to stop watering your lawn and winterize your sprinkler system is a little more complicated.

Ways to winterize an irrigation system. Recommendations for blowing out an irrigation system. If you don t almost any part of the system can freeze bursting pipes cracking sprinkler heads breaking valves or damage to the most expensive part of all the backflow preventer the big brass and copper.