Home Sprinkler Systems: by M. Higgins and C. Swift 1 (1/09)
Preparing Your Sprinkler System for Winter - Prepare your
sprinkler system for winter by expelling all the water from the
irrigation system and equipment. - Do not trust manual or
automatic drain valves. The system should be blown out with
pressurized air. - To determine the best sized compressor for
your system, know the gallons per minute (GPM) that flow through
each zone. - If your irrigation system is attached to domestic
water, it is required to have a backflow prevention device. The
concept of preparing your sprinkler system for winter must be
done correctly to assure there are no costly repairs and
replacements to make in the spring at system start-up. The
process consists of expelling all the water from the irrigation
system and equipment. This is necessary because water freezing
in the irrigation system will break pipes, fittings, valves,
sprinklers, pumps, and other system components. Most substances
contract as they get cold; however, when