Rent to own tips for sprinkler care

Sprinkler procedures for Winterization and Spring

Being vigilant with winterization of the system is one of the most important parts of sprinkler maintenance

The water that goes to the system must be turned off at the main valve.

Turn off valve in the house and outside at the shut off valves. Then drain water in pipes and leave the drain cap on loosely to allow expansion during cold and warm winter conditions.

The automatic irrigation controls should be turned to off or to the rain setting. Each of the valves on the sprinklers themselves should be turned on to release the pressure in the pipe and drain out the water. All water needs to be drained out to avoid freezing in the pipes, which could cause severe damage to the system.

When it is past the frost point in the season, the sprinklers can be started up for the spring. The system needs to be flushed through to be sure that any pests that have made winter homes in the pipes are gone. Nozzles should be removed to provide an open flushing hole. Run the water for a minute or two to make sure all nuisances are removed from the pipes.

After the pipes have been flushed through once, replace the nozzles and start the system up. If any nozzles are not running, they can be replaced or cleaned. If there is calcium buildup on the nozzle, it can be cleaned using a standard calcium remover product. If any valves appear to be leaking, these also need to be replaced or repaired with appropriate piping glue.

The controller needs be checked as the last part of springtime sprinkler maintenance. Batteries should be replaced even if they don't appear to be dead. If it is a rechargeable system, or has no battery system, simply observe the controls to be sure that they are functioning properly.

Besides these two major parts of sprinkler maintenance, there are a few things that may require attention. Sometimes a head seems to be spraying in the wrong direction. Usually, this is just a matter of turning the head. If that does not help the situation, sometimes overgrowth can be to blame or an obstruction like a rock or soil deposit. If the area is cleaned up and the sprinkler head still does not work properly, it may need to be replaced.

Sprinkler Maintenance Checklist

Once a month, turn on each valve of your sprinkling system during daylight hours and perform an inspection. Some automatic timers allow you to set a test run, or you can program each station to come on successively for one minute. Check the following:

General Maintenance:

YES NO

¨ ¨ Is any water being sprayed on the street or sidewalk?

¨ ¨ Are there obstructions preventing the water from reaching the desired areas?

¨ ¨ Are there any observable leaks or breaks in the pipe?

Sprinkler heads:

YES NO Are any heads…

¨ ¨ missing?

¨ ¨ broken?

¨ ¨ clogged?

¨ ¨ pushed too far into the ground?

¨ ¨ tilted or spraying in the wrong direction?

Pressure:

YES NO Is the pressure…

¨ ¨ too low?

(spray is not reaching all desired areas, spray is forming large water droplets, there are
doughnut shaped dry areas, rotor speed is too slow, rotors are not rotating)

¨ ¨ too high?

(spray is overshooting desired areas, spray is misting and there are dry areas between
heads, rotor speed is too fast, rotors are not rotating, heads are leaking)

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If you would like a PDF version of this check list click here: http://www.conservewater.utah.gov/outdooruse/checklist.pdf

This information on sprinkler maintenance and more details can be found at these websites:

http://www.conservewater.utah.gov/OutdoorUse/MaintenanceCheck.htm

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-proper-sprinkler-maintenance.htm

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