Winterize Sprinklers With Air Compressor | EASY Step by Step for Beginners!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ต.ค. 2024
- Need to blow out your sprinkler system to get ready for winter? Do it yourself! Follow along with this easy step-by-step tutorial for beginners to learn how to winterize sprinklers with an air compressor.
Supplies needed to winterize sprinklers (affiliate links within):
Adapter (also called "sprinkler system winterization kit" or "quick connect blowout adapter") rstyle.me/+swy...
Air Compressor amzn.to/3ChTlY8
Air Compressor Hose amzn.to/3FlBdyu
Wrench
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Thanks for this video it is so informative for first-time home owner
Nice! A real person giving helpful advance vs an AI voice and script which comes off like an automated phone system. Thanks. Thumbsup\subscribe.
Thank you so much Chelsie, my husband and i own a pretty big business and we are always extremely busy and sometimes is hard for us to keep track of all the many things you have to take care of at home, and winterizing the sprinkler is one of those things we are behind of taking care of, i have been asking my husband to help me out because the few companies here in our little town are booked out and we can also save some money, and since we have everything we need to do this task by ourselves without to have to spend money on something we can do i decide to do it myself. Anyways, Long story short my husband has been very busy, he hasn't been able to help me out with the sprinklers so i am doing it myself right now, is getting very cold and i dont want to deal with any damages so i want to take you from my heart for updating this helpful information, because kw im taking care of this while im learning of how to winterizing the sprinklers by doing it myself. Again, thank you so much for sharing this helpful information with all of us.
Hugs from idaho
seems like it'd be easier to carry the air compressor out to the valve box and just use an extension cord instead of running the air compressor hose out that far
Ya, you could do that too! We just happened to have a long air compressor hose and didn't have a long extension cord handy!
extension cords, at least right now, are more expensive then air hoses. so use what you got and what youre willing to spend.
Most air compressors, if you read the manual, recommend that you get a longer hose rather than run an extension cord. If the extension cord is not highly rated it could damage the motor. Having said that, I've run extension cords and air compressors. Lol
Thanks for this video. It's extremely expensive to have a landscape company to do this in my area.
Glad it was helpful!
I bought a house with a 12 station system, almost a acre of lawn! I paid someone for the last two years to blow out the system and now I’ll save the money by DIM!! Thanks for the video!!
How did it work out?
I haven’t done it yet.
Glad this video was helpful!
@@watchmebarf how much would they charge for 12 stations ?
Did the air compressor drop pressure quickly in 1 min. And did you have to turn on/off the regulator valve to build the pressure each time through out the process? I have craftman 150 psi 6 gallon as well
Fairly certain pvc will not "corrode" if you let water sit in the pipes
Your example of how to blow out the sprinkler system with the small air compressor was very good, however you failed to explain that the water pipes from the inside of the house to the irrigation blow out valve connection needs to also be drained out or it will freeze. This is a very serious oversight if people live in an area where it freezes.
I was waiting for them to turn the valve off inside the house but maybe they forgot to show that. Def a crucial step
@@pujo28 my first year doing this myself. I shut the water valve off inside home in basement that supply the sprinkler system and then blew the sprinkler zones out individually all from the irrigation control valve. By doing so have I also blown out the area between shutoff valve in basement to the irrigation control in theory?
thnx for sharing. looking for sprinkler system to install and was curious on how people are draining it with the compressor. Also looking to get some extra filters, cause our water for some reason killing the grass.
Glad you found it helpful!
I have a single stage compressor. Last year it did nothing to blow out my system. I was hoping the opposite would happen. Building up pressure in your compressor and then opening it up in one blast. Is not good for your conduit. So my question is.....did anyone have success with their single stage compressor? And if so....tips
Could maybe at a cheap regulator from harbor freight if you are worried about your sprinkler line? Our is 1" schedule 40 pvc which is rated to 450 psi so I usually don't worry about letting it rip. Pancake only hits 120 psi.
I keep seeing online. Rexommendation is to have 20 CFM. But many people are doing it with much less. Getting a 20 CFM product is much much more expensive
Or just use a large tank compressor or a large tank to hold the air as a reservoir. Doesn't have to be expensive at all.
@@adamr8628 my zone is super large, so I dunno if I can DIY it. The same zone does both the front and back yard.
What about blowing out the backflow preventer? Is that not necessary?
Yes, they usually have drain screws on them.
Checking if I understand you. Turn on compressor, wait til it’s up to pressure, turn off water, hook compressor hose up to system, run zone1 for 2min, turn compressor off 2min, turn on, run zone 2 for two min, continue through all zones, then repeat entire process a second time?
Here's the entire process in bullet point format:
- Shut off water to sprinkler system
- Manually drain the excess water from the sprinkler’s water supply line
- Connect adapter to water line opening & water supply line
- Connect air hose from compressor to other end of adapter
- Turn on compressor and adjust settings
- Allow compressor to come to full pressure (once the noise stops)
- Turn on sprinkler system from control box manually, 1-2 min or until there is no more water coming out of sprinkler heads. Alternate between zones so it allows a few minutes of cool down for the spinkler lines to avoid melting. When the water has stopped coming through, turn off the system immediately. Do not continue to blow out the system with air as you will melt the sprinkler heads and interior pieces.
- After each zone has been emptied of water completely, head back to the sprinkler control valve box where the air compressor is plugged in and remove compressor line from the adapter.
- Allow excess air to flow from the pipe. This will make a loud hissing noise as the air comes out.
- Remove adapter and place cap back on water pipe.
- Be sure to leave the water off for the remainder of the winter.
Where can I purchase the attachment used to attach to air compressor and irrigation system?
There is a link in the video description
Thank you for the helpful video! Question: I’ve viewed several videos that refer to the backflow preventer, however I don’t see anything obvious on my system and does not appear on yours either. I would appreciate your thoughts on this.
The big brass piece with multiple valves is the backflow
Usually a big brass piece like @benbigh said, always at the start of your sprinkler system and they have a vale before and after the big brass with bleeder valves.
👍⚾️Thx you
Welcome 👍
Hello Chelsea. This year I installed a small area sprinkler system. I live in Northern Illinois close to Rockford. I'm just learning. So which month/date would be a good time to winterize the system? Thank you very much.- Joseph
Before lows hit freezing. Blew mine out today, as night temps are dipping into the 20s this weekend in my area. Please watch several videos if it's your first time.
What's with the garbage bag. Did that have insulation in it?
Yes, its full of insulation.
Must to set the pressure to no more than 40psi. It is most important thing.
thanks for the tip, haven't blown a head yet but I'll try this in the fall this year.
Who brings a little baby compressor to a sprinkler blowout job? LOL
worked for me for 15 years.
Agree, this has worked for us for many many years.
Where did you bought the adepter?
We got it at Home Depot. There's a link in the video description.
Where did you find this adapter and what is it called?
Here's the link to purchase on The Home Depot. rstyle.me/+-r2v6rEpEe9MZPvVApH1jA
It is called a "sprinkler system winterization kit" or "quick connect blowout adapter".
Your adaptor may vary based off the type of connection on your air hose and what is needed for your system. I would not blindly order the same one as the content creator.
Does that work on large 12 -20 station systems?
Should work fine, just need to run each zone individually...so it may take you a while!
Why each zone? A 4-6 gallon air compressor doesn’t have enough power to blow the entire sprinkler system at one time.
Doubtful
this makes no sense to me.. "melting sprinkler heads" from pumping air through them too long? this seems like a misconception.. please someone explain to me how this is possible..
Not a misconception, just science :) Air heats up as it gets compressed (or pressurized), so the air coming out of your air compressor can be hot...When applied into the sprinkler system without water, it can cause the plastic sprinkler heads to melt. Although it is unlikely to happen, don't let your air compressor to continue to push air through the system once the water is gone.
@@MakingManzanitaCompressing the air will make it hot yes, but releasing it makes it cold!?
@@lavilev9961 plus this is far more likely to kill the air compressor from overheating than damage the sprinkler heads. That air compressor is way to small for this sort of job.
Over simplfied: the sprinkler heads are driven by a hydraulic gear. Running air through them changes it to a pneumatic system. Typically, the air flow will be (much) faster than the water flow, which is how the little plastic gears in the head "burn out."
So you can't just hook up a compressor, let the system cycle normally, and go watch the football game. You can't / shouldn't trade less CFM for more time, unfortunately.
But I'd be more concerned about burning out the motor on the compressor. Those little pancake compressors are designed for a low duty cycle - charging the tank in short infrequent bursts. Not for continuous use.
The explanation that the compressed air will stay hot when released isn't how I'd describe what's going on. Expansion is a cooling process. But I agree that leaving the air flow on too long can do harm, as they warned.
@@user-my5ey6ow7m So you will kill an air compressor by simply running it for an hour? 🤣
Backflow
Where the link for the adapter?
Links to sources are typically in the "Description" in TH-cam. Here it is: rstyle.me/+swy2TAr3fMEcm-FQa1qMXA Thanks for watching.
Thanks for the reply
My system is weird. Valves are on each head.
What size of air hose do I need?
We have 5/8" and its worked for the last 10 years.
Give it a few minutes in between to just let the sprinkler heads cool down 😂
It would take an hour to do a proper winterization with that little compressor lol
Haha! It does take me about an hour but sometimes we just got to use what we have. One day I'll get a proper sized compressor.
“Cool down”. As if you are pumping molten lava into the system and not ambient temperature air. Absurd.
@@benbigh Do a little research before commenting, because he is absolutely correct and you are wrong!
@@rickreallylikedthevideobut7899 I have done my research by winterizing hundreds of systems over the last 20 years.