OT - Winterizing Irrigation System

npowell

Member
Preparing (very early) to winterize an irrigation system. Aside from some Google searching and a few YouTube videos, I have no knowledge of irrigation systems generally, or this irrigation system specifically.

I have attached two pictures of the inside of the box containing the zone valves. One picture is clean. The other picture is marked up. In the marked-up version, I have annotated the water lines I have found (some of which are obscured by dirt in the picture). I expect there are other lines extending from the valves in the box, but I have found it challenging to unearth all the equipment inside the box, preventing me from locating all of the lines.

I think I need to find a threaded port downstream of a backflow preventer valve, so that I can connect the air compressor to that threaded port. I thought I would find that threaded port inside the pictured box. But so far, I have failed at that.

My first, very specific question- with the limited information in the pictures I've given, can anyone identify the two items I marked with a question mark?

More generally, any thoughts to get me on the right track here? Do I need to keep digging out the contents of the box to find the connection point for the air compressor? Or do I need to look elsewhere?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

Neil
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Do you know how many years it has been since the system was used?

The system looks neglected and overgrown, and there may be things
you want to fix or get fixed before further damage happens.

The first thing I would do is get out a shop vac or dig out some
more dirt and then blow the dirt out of and off of everything in
that box down to the bottom of the box itself. There may be some
identifying marks on some pieces in there you could use to find
a manual online.

Failing that, I'd call any and all local irrigation or lawn
maintenance contractors to find out if anyone wants to claim that
masterpiece.
 
(quoted from post at 16:44:45 08/10/20) Do you know how many years it has been since the system was used?

The system looks neglected and overgrown, and there may be things
you want to fix or get fixed before further damage happens.

The first thing I would do is get out a shop vac or dig out some
more dirt and then blow the dirt out of and off of everything in
that box down to the bottom of the box itself. There may be some
identifying marks on some pieces in there you could use to find
a manual online.

Failing that, I'd call any and all local irrigation or lawn
maintenance contractors to find out if anyone wants to claim that
masterpiece.

It has been a few years since the system was used. Unfortunately, the reason it needs to be winterized this year is I accidentally opened the valve supplying the irrigation system, filling lines that had only air in them.

I am not sure, but I think the box does not actually have a floor in it, just four sides and a lid.

Thanks for the thoughts.
 

If you do not have a manifold with a place to connect a compressor it is entirely possible it is self-draining. My system drains itself so I never have to blow it out. The lowest head on each zone has a self-drain and it set into sand so the water can soak in.
 
(quoted from post at 17:54:35 08/10/20)
If you do not have a manifold with a place to connect a compressor it is entirely possible it is self-draining. My system drains itself so I never have to blow it out. The lowest head on each zone has a self-drain and it set into sand so the water can soak in.

Interesting. Based on that, I will try to get more of the history of the place to see if that might be the situation.

Thanks.
 
Pretty certain there is no bottom to that box, it's just a collar. Looks like a long neglected system compared to the ones I usually see. I'm not a sprinkler guy, but often work and repair around them.
 
First thing I would do is take a shop vac and clean out that box, it's a mess! I blow ours out with my 1 hp air compressor, it takes awhile, but it works. We have a pump that draws out of the lake, and a pressure tank, so I run the pressure tank up to 60 psi and then blow one zone, 6-8 heads. then I have to wait for the pressure to build up to 60 again. When we are watering I run 2 zones at once, as the pump will produce 40 gpm at 40 psi. Our zone valves can be turned on manually by turning the coil, but yours are covered with so much $hit I can't tell what they are. And the question is, how cold does it get where you live? It gets -30 F where we live! If it's against the wall of the house you might be able to just cover it with some Styrofoam and be OK.
 
Can you find a port to connect to close to your water supply? If so turn water supply off, run air compressor to port, run the zones by hand or by your controller, run till water gone. If no port, make one. You also may have a self draining system, not common here. Dig up lowest head and if there’s a foot drain, it probably is.
 

Thanks for the help, everyone. I will start by using the shop vac to unearth the equipment in the box. If I don't find anything there, I will look around for other possible points to connect.

Best,

Neil
 
Look for a faucet or hose bib somewhere between the water supply shutoff and the control box. Professionals connect an air line to that faucet to blow the water out of sprinkler systems.
 
(quoted from post at 14:44:08 08/11/20) Look for a faucet or hose bib somewhere between the water supply shutoff and the control box. Professionals connect an air line to that faucet to blow the water out of sprinkler systems.

Very interesting. There is a spigot on the outside of the house close to the control box. That just might be it.

Thanks,

Neil
 

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