After winter is over and spring is well on its way, turning your sprinkler system back on is just one of many tasks needed for your lawn. You will need to “startup” your sprinkler system to be ready for the season. We have included a list of tasks needed to ensure your system is up and running smoothly.
Turn on the water to your system
Turn on the main water supply for your system. This can be culinary water or secondary water. Culinary water comes from your home and runs underground to your system. This can be located in a basement or crawl space. You will need to locate the shut-off valve and open it fully.
The irrigation water main is usually near the street in an underground box. You will need to locate this and turn the valve fully open.
open the backflow valve / vacuum Breaker (if applicable)
Locate the backflow valve, this is usually a valve above ground located near the house. If you have culinary water as your main water source for your sprinkler system, this is a common valve that ensure water only flows in one direction, which prevents the water from the outside contaminating the main water supply. This valve has two pipes running on each side of the valve. You might need to install the backflow preventer if it was disconnected during winterization.
Test zones and inspect sprinkler heads
Turn on your system with the sprinkler controller, allowing a test for a few minutes on each zone. You will need to make sure all the sprinklers are popping up and turning on. Look for sprinklers with cracks, bubbles, leaks or any sprinklers that seem to be spraying in the wrong direction or directly in the air. Any of these thing are a sign that your sprinkler head needs to be replaced.
Adjust Timer Appropriately
Sprinklers should be timed according to season, you need to make sure that the schedule you program into your timer is correct. Each zone needs to be long enough to fully water the lawn while not consuming too much water. The amount of time you need to run each zone for varies depending on your sprinkler head and the time of year. Likely, in the spring you will set the schedule once to twice per week.
Adjust Sprinklers for coverage
You want to make sure that you do not have any areas that are not covered by the sprinklers, this will cause dry spots in your lawn. In order to do this, turn on your system and allow it to run through each cycle. You will need to make sure that no sprinklers are spraying in the wrong direction or missing any areas of you lawn.
Need Help? Give us a call
Let us take care of it, we will startup your system so you can have time for other tasks around your yard. Our experienced technicians will make sure that your system is up and running efficiently.
Don't Wait to Fix Your Sprinklers
Repairing your sprinkler issues, no matter how small, can prevent future damage to your whole system down the road. Your lawn and garden are dependent on an adequate watering system to survive, especially in the hot and dry summer months. Let us take care of your sprinkler issues for you, give us a call today!