Winterize Your Irrigation System

In the 6.5 billion dollar turf irrigation industry, winterizing an irrigation system is probably low priority on the totem pole. There are many areas that seem to be more important; however, if you live in those parts of the U.S. where winter weather goes down to the freezing level, not only can you protect your clients from repair bills in the spring, you can also provide yourself with an excellent source of additional revenue.

The key to avoiding unnecessary problems and added expenses due to broken pipes or clogged heads is preventative maintenance. It is important to take a little time — and it truly takes just a little time — to prepare your client’s system for winter weather while ensuring that the system will run routinely when the elements permit.

I have outlined a few tips for prepping your client’s old or new system for the chilly winter months. I have divided the country into two areas, the Southern region and the Northern region. Although winter comes to both regions, there are some slight variations in handling the winterization of an irrigation system.

Northern regions:

In the Northern freeze zones, prior to the ground freezing, the first thing that must be done is to shut off the water

supply to the irrigation system. It is important that this winterization process be done by a licensed irrigation specialist. Discourage your clients from tackling this job on their own.

It is critical for every irrigation system’s main shut off valve to be protected against freezing. For further protection against the freeze, it would be a good idea to wrap the valves with insulation.

If your client’s irrigation system has an automatic controller, you will need to shut it down. Not only will this protect against a system’s accidental start up, but it will reduce electricity, saving your clients money in the long run. Clients love to save money, so why not point this out, as it will only enhance your client’s perception of your service. It is also important at this point to drain the backflow prevention device.

Now comes the most grueling but most important part of winterizing an irrigation system. You will need to remove all the water from all of the pipes and sprinklers, so that it won’t freeze and cause the pipes to burst. Because water expands when it freezes, pipes will give way and burst if they have water in them, as they do not contain enough volume to hold the frozen water. There are two ways to effectively do this. You can either install automatic drain valves prior to the winter months, or you can completely blow out the system.

The automatic drain valve helps by reducing overall labor time for the contractor, which, in turn, benefits the customer. Most contractors use a pressure-activated rubber valve that closes when the psi reaches 9 or 10. Here’s how the automatic drain valve works: when the zone cycle ends and shuts off, the valve reopens and a portion of the water drains, providing protection against freezing. These “freeze drains” can be used on polyethylene and PVC pipes, and there are typically three per zone.

The use of automatic drain systems can be very beneficial to you because you can offer a warranty against any freeze damage. Automatic drains also allow for a longer fall and an earlier spring watering season, protecting against early freezes. Although expensive, automatic drain systems can save money in the long run, because they require fewer service calls.

However, many contractors believe that completely blowing out irrigation systems is the best and only way to winterize them. They feel it is the best way to be totally certain that the pipes will not freeze. With automatic drain valves, not all water will be drained out completely. Absolute drainage of irrigation equipment will take a while to do. Winterizing an irrigation system by blowing it out is best done by a professional.

When blowing out an irrigation system, it’s imperative that you use low pressure and high volume. If the air velocity is too great, heat friction will cause damage to the irrigation system. Be careful when using compressed air to blow out the systems because many pipe manufacturers do not warranty their products when subjected to compressed air.

Southern regions:

Since the ground does not usually freeze in the Southern regions of the United States, the winterizing work is all above ground. Unless your client fully understands what problems can be caused by cold weather, it will be difficult to sell the job. Here are some tips that contractors in Southern regions might communicate to their clients with regard to maintaining their irrigation systems:

Reduce the station run times on the system’s controller. Since many plants and grasses go dormant during the winter months, only fifty percent of the summer watering times are necessary.

Since most parts of an irrigation system are water lubricated, it is important that you operate the system at least once a month. This will prevent seals and other rubber parts from drying out, thus preventing cracks and leaks.

Inspect your system once every other month. This will allow early detection of plugged nozzles, broken risers and improper sprinkler head settings, which will help prevent larger problems from occurring.

Insulate your system. Because pipes need only be protected above ground with insulation, we recommend wrapping inlet pipes and valves on your backflow device with foam pipe wrap. Additionally, the system may need to be drained before a “hard freeze” situation. To do this, you first need to shut the inlet valve off at the backflow device, then simply open the two valves that are on either side of the unit (test cocks) and allow the water to drain.

Since these tips and guidelines for winterizing must be performed while the weather is above 30 degrees, it is important to know that watering prior to a freeze actually helps insulate your plant material.

Early detection of potential problems will enable you to make repairs while the system is down, so it will be in top operational form when spring arrives.

It is important to take all the necessary steps to effectively winterize your clients’ irrigation systems. If you don’t, your customers could be forced to make repairs, new pipes may have to be laid and damaged equipment either repaired or replaced.

The key to keeping your clients happy with regard to their irrigation systems is to consistently keep them informed. If

they don’t want help from a licensed irrigation professional to winterize their system, give them the information needed to protect their investment. This can turn into business down the road.

It is also necessary to note that when you turn your client’s sprinkler system back on in the spring, it should definitely be flushed out. During the winter months, pipes will collect dirt and bugs, and it is important to clear out the pipes before initiating the first watering cycle.

If you were in the lawn maintenance business, you would be used to routing your crews to maximize their time by minimizing the drive time from one client to another. You too can set up a route; the only difference is that you’re working on irrigation instead of mowing turf.

Now you have another service to provide — you can set up and sell year-round service contracts not only to your existing clients but potential new ones as well. By doing this and establishing “service routes,” you can develop a steady income stream. It will help your bottom line. Editor’s Note: George Burtch, who has more than 40 years of experience in the irrigation business, is founder of Irrigation Station, a wholesale distributor of landscape-irrigation products in the Southwest United States and international markets.