First time homeowner in a cold climate and very confused about my sprinkler system. My system looks NOTHING like any of the videos that I see online.
I turned off the valve in the white cap with the special tool. When, I opened the green control box, I got stumped. I don’t see any valves to turn on or off.
I checked the basement crawl space and didn’t find any valves aside from the main shutoff.
What do I do next? Is there another sprinkler box hiding somewhere in my yard?
There has to be a shutoff valve somewhere inside your house or in the crawl space. It might not be located close to the green valve box. Perhaps try turning on the sprinkler, then go into the crawl space and listen to the pipes to see which one has water flowing? This might allow you to trace that pipe and hopefully find a shutoff.
Is there a garden hose spigot located nearby? The sprinkler and that spigot may share the same shutoff valve (mine does!). This also allows me to close the shutoff, open the spigot, and then use my air compressor to blow out the sprinkler lines. Unlike what the other commenter said, this is completely doable by a homeowner.
I use a 24 gallon air compressor and set it to about 70 psi. I cobbled together a short hose that has an air compressor quick-connect on one end, then a 1/4 turn shutoff valve, and then a garden hose connector on the other end. The process is simple: shut off water supply, open spigot, attach hose assembly, activate one sprinkler zone, then slowly open the 1/4 turn valve to pressurize the line. Given the size of my compressor and the long runs for each of my zones, I usually have to cycle through the zones a few times to ensure all water is out. Good luck!
Can you find out if your sprinklers water supply enters your house? If so, the shutoff is probably there.
Either way, I’d clean out your sprinkler box.
I also moved to a new climate a few years ago…first time living where there was deep freezes…for the first year of winterization, I paid a pro to come do it. 150 dollars and took lots notes how they did it. I think it is well worth it, to mitigate the risk of doing it wrong and toasting your sprinkler system, that will be A LOT more to replace it.
One of the best things I did with my sprinkler system was to install pressure valves at the low point in each water line. When pressure drops below X, the valve opens and the entire line drains out. Have not had to blow out my lines ever, and I installed this six years ago.
You can buy compressors with a large enough tank at most hardware stores. Won't be cheap, but in the long haul it may be worth it. The tanks are roughly the size of a traditional gas water heater. Wait for a sale.
Whoever installed my system was gracious enough to add an air hookup downstream of the sprinkler cutoff. I have a 7 gal-ish compressor to which I add an expansion tank for extra volume. I do the same routine - 70 or so psi, cycle zones until I see no water or only fine mist come out of the heads, letting the compressor catch back up each cycle.
Look for another box right near there. After the valve in the white tube you shutoff, you should have a backflow preventer
I have one of those beasts in my garage. I think I’m equipped to handle the job, I just don’t know where to start.
I hired somebody to come out this afternoon and show me how to do it.
I recommend not running sprinklers. If you need them you probably should find something better for the environment for your garden. It's not sustainable to use sprinklers.
So, I suggest putting them away; they should not be needed during the winter normally even if you do want to use them in the summer.
Sounds like you are on the right path then.
I’ve done this with a 5 gallon compressor, it just takes a few cycles. Easier with a bigger tank.
ottawa1967 t1_itlqsh8 wrote
They need to be blown out professionally. They use a very high volume compressor to blow all of the water out of all of the lines. Can't be done by the homeowner.