Draining Sprinkler System Before Freeze

An installed sprinkler system frequently gets overlooked in a freeze and can cause a lot of problems if not protected.

Draining sprinkler system before freeze.

Here is how to quickly drain your sprinkler system to prevent freeze damage if you don t have time to blow it out before our first heavy freeze. Below the freezing point some of the most critical components of a sprinkler system can be damaged. An easy way to drain those irrigation lines is to install automatic drain valves. Outside your house or maybe in the garage locate.

Flush all the water from the system to avoid damaging pipes and fixtures. Draining a little water may not be enough to prevent pipe rupture. Once all of the water has trickled out replace the caps and open the stop and waste valve and the valves on the backflow device to drain the remaining water. Thanks to recent hot temperatures denver hit 101 degrees on saturday the ground is warm and 8 to 12 inches of dirt will act as an insulator for irrigation pipes.

A hard freeze is when the outdoor air dips below 0 degrees fahrenheit. That needs to be prepped before a freeze. Here is how to quickly drain your sprinkler system to prevent freeze damage if you don t have time to blow it out before our first heavy freeze. Don t blow out the system yet.

This is as easy as adding tee fittings in the lower parts of the sprinkler system. Outside your house or maybe in the garage locate. Simply shut off the main water supply to your system and open the drain valves at the end of each zone. In cold climates underground sprinkler systems can freeze and burst in winter unless the lines are drained or blown free of water.

Bart suminski president of. Since water expands as it freezes draining the system before cold weather strikes ensures that the pipes won t burst.