If you are someone who fancies a lush green lawn, you must be thinking of winterizing your sprinkler system at the onset of fall. The irrigation system in your lawn goes a long way in maintaining the health of your plants. However, they deserve some maintenance from experts. The last thing you would expect is to get the pipes of your sprinkler system damaged in freezing conditions. Winterization involves some strategic steps that would secure your sprinkler.
At DN Sprinklers, we deploy the most practical and advanced mechanisms while winterizing sprinkler systems. If you are looking for a professional hand, we would be glad to lend ours.
How to winterize your sprinkler system?
Here’s how you should get your sprinkler system winterized.
- Turn off the water
Make sure to put the water supply off from the main valve. You can locate this valve somewhere close to the water meter. Some systems come with valves meant to prevent backflow. You need to put these valves off too. Some sprinklers have two such valves leading to the backflow device. To prevent any sort of water flow, it’s wise to turn both of them off. Also, you can get a backflow preventer in case the sprinkler doesn’t work on portable water.
- Adjust the rain mode
Advanced sprinkler systems have an automatic timer. Before you operate the system, make sure to put this timer off. Besides, some systems come integrated with the rain mode. This feature enables households to get the timer powered down. However, they don’t lose any programmed mechanism in the system. It is usually safe to let the sprinkler run in the rain mode in winter. It shouldn’t increase your energy costs. You can turn this mode off at the onset of spring. This way, you can save your energy bills.
- Draining the water
While it’s necessary to prevent water from flowing into the sprinkler, you also need to remove the accumulated water. This step can take a lot of time, which explains why you need professional support. Depending on the sprinkler type, you have three drainage methods.
- Manual drainage: In some sprinkler systems, you can drain the water manually. These are sophisticated systems and come with shut-off valves at the ends of the pipes. This step calls for expertise, and you need to secure your eyes. The water remains under high pressure, and you need to open the valves slowly, one at a time. After you let the water out, simply close the system.
- Automatic drainage: In sprinklers with automatic drainage systems, the water would drain out automatically when you shut the main valve off. The water pressure would also come down. When you run the sprinkler heads after putting the water supply off, the system gets activated.
- Insulating the components
The final step involves insulating the parts above the ground from the weather. We deploy foam covers and insulation tapes to wrap the exposed pipes and main shut-off valve. Also, do not block drain outlets or air vents on the backflow preventer.
Reach out to DN Sprinklers for a professional hand in winterizing your sprinkler systems. You can contact us at (210) 765-8667 or fill up this contact form for us to call you.