How to Winterize Your Irrigation System

Learn how to put your system to bed for the season to avoid the costly damage of freezes

When I first move to Colorado , I learned the hard way about the demand to winterize myirrigation system . Never having had a organization , I had no idea how it go or of the maintenance it required . Several hundred dollar sign later , after the backflow preventer had block , I learned my moral .

How to shut off and drain your irrigation system

If you ’ve lived in the Mountain West for any period of time , you know we are notorious for an early freeze monition or blizzard that is quickly succeed by twenty-four hour period or week of warmer weather , extending the growing season for the many flora that survived the quick burst of winter . In this case , it is important to temporarily protect the system . Fortunately , this is easy to do .

1)Set the irrigation comptroller to “ off . ”

2)Turn off the water at the mainline . This is usually found indoors in the basement .

3)Open all valve on the backflowing preventer to let it run out . Do this by turning any screw or valve that is vertical to the pipe so that it is parallel to the pipe . piss should drain out .

4)Near the mainline shutoff there should be a line drain . unfold that using a pail to hoard the piddle if needed .

5)Cover your backflow preventer with an insulating cover , a blanket , or something similar .

6)While they are n’t connected to your irrigation organisation , verify any hose attached to tap on your home are disconnect so that they do n’t freeze .

Taking these steps should get your irrigation system through a temporary freeze . Once the cold snap has pass , you may reverse the process and keep tearing as necessitate .

Consider calling a professional to blow out your pipes

Where you live in the Mountain West will see when you should permanently winterise your organization , which involves following the above steps again . The clock time to winterize should be correct before you start to have freezing temperatures at night . However , if you missed that , winterizing as before long as possible is better than not winterizing at all . Most irrigation systems in the Mountain West are blown out to decimate as much water in the lines and sprinkler heads as potential . I extremely recommend hire a master to do this , as family compressor do not yield enough air pressure sensation to completely empty the organisation and even small amounts of water can get serious damage . Take it from me ( as I memorise many year ago ) that the annual expense of this criminal maintenance is well deserving it .

For more on irrigation , stop out :

And for more Mountain West regional reports , cluck here .

— Michelle Provaznik is executive director of the Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins , Colorado , and the CEO of the American Public Gardens Association .

picture : Michelle Provaznik

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