Draining irrigation system for winter

hucker

Active Member
I have my irrigation system all scoped out in my head and I have one nagging question. How do I efficiently handle draining the system. As I will almost certainly forget to drain it eventually I thought I could make a low spot in the system and put a valve there and when I want to drain the system just actuate the valve. Other than cost and a potential dumpage of water if the relief was actuated at the wrong time, why wouldn't I want to do this?
 
if you dont blow it out eventually you may freeze and break your backflow prevention device.... I speak from experience... One day a friend who was staying at my house called my office franticly trying to explain there was water spraying out of the side of my house. I immediatly realized what I did and had her shut off the main feed so I could turn off that branch when I got home. It was not an expensive fix maybe $30 because the backflow preventer used in my install has a freeze section which is intended to break when it freezes. But If she had not come home to walk their dog, I wonder how much water would have flooded my basement when my wife or I got home. (there is a window right around the corner from the backflow preventer!

Set yourself a reminder to blow out the system in your HA software!
 
Oddly enough, we don't have that problem here in Florida :) Maybe the question should be, how do I prep my irrigation system for the mother of all hurricanes.
 
David,

Id say add a ball valve where you have access to it in the house/garage where you can turn it off in case the valves get damages and they wont spray water everywhere.... but in the mother of all hurricanes who cares about the irrigation system run for your life!
 
I automate the draining of my system using a compressed air solenoid and MainLobby logic controlling a Rain8Net relay block. MainLobby coordinates opening air / water solenoids and runs thru the whole system a few times. All connected with quick disconnects.
 
What kind of irrigation system are you referring to? Is it mostly above ground? Or can you bury most of it except where it has to reach the surface?

Here in PA, for faucets way out in the yard, they use a kind of spigot where the handle opens the valve buried 3' below the surface, not at the hose bib itself. Then, when the valve is closed, all of the water in the vertical section drains back down to a sump below it (a pit with gravel in it). So this faucet can be used even in winter, since no part of pipe with water in it is above 3'. Maybe that helps with some ideas.
 
What kind of irrigation system are you referring to? Is it mostly above ground? Or can you bury most of it except where it has to reach the surface?

Here in PA, for faucets way out in the yard, they use a kind of spigot where the handle opens the valve buried 3' below the surface, not at the hose bib itself. Then, when the valve is closed, all of the water in the vertical section drains back down to a sump below it (a pit with gravel in it). So this faucet can be used even in winter, since no part of pipe with water in it is above 3'. Maybe that helps with some ideas.

This irrigation system will be completely below ground with the exception of soaker hoses that lie above ground.
 
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