In most parts of the country, lawn irrigation is put on hold during the cold winter months. Should water be allowed to remain inside the pipes and it freezes, it may cause them to expand and break or crack. If any water freezes in the back-flow unit, this may cause significant injury to the brass fittings. There are three basic approaches used by Winterization Services in Wichita KS to get water irrigation systems ready for a winter break. These are the manually draining, automatically draining, and blowing the system out.
1. Manually Draining – If the irrigation system is equipped with manual values the manual drain method can be used to prepare the system. The first step is to shut off the water supply. Once the water is turned off, every drain valve in the line must be opened to facilitate water draining from the main line. To assure that no water remains in the lines, the boiler drain valve is opened and when the main line drains, the shut-off valve is re-opened.Some systems have checked valves and with these the sprinkler heads must be elevated so that water can drain freely from the body of the sprinkler.
2. Automatically Draining – This method is used for systems that have automatic valves. Automatic valves are situated at the lower points of the piping and automatically drains the water when the pressure dips under 10 PSI inside the pipes. To accomplish this, turn off the water supply, turn a sprinkler station on and the pressure is relieved.
3. Blowing Out the System – This is by far the preferred preparation method used by Winterization Services in Wichita KS, like Rain Link Inc. The blowing out process utilizes compressed air to blow out every single drop of water. Once the main line is emptied, any water remaining in between the back flow device and the shut-off valve is drained. The critical aspect of this method is the amount of pressure used, which is why it is important that it be done by a qualified contractor.
Your irrigation system has been taking care of your lawn all summer; now it is your turn to take care of it by having it properly prepared for the winter. Having it professionally winterized might avoid large repair bills when spring arrives. For those that do not prepare their irrigation system by properly winterizing it, come spring, they may regret that decision.