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Spring Sprinkler Start Up: Safely Starting Your Spring Irrigation
Spring Sprinkler Start Up: Safely Starting Your Spring Irrigation
Now that spring is approaching, it’s time to start thinking about the lawn again. It could be argued that irrigation is the single most important part of lawn care. Without water, the lawn has no chance. So, when spring comes around and it’s time to start up those sprinkler systems, doing it right is essential. Here are a few spring sprinkler start up tips to help you safely start your irrigation this year.
When is the Best Time for Spring Sprinkler Start Up?
Starting your sprinklers up after winter dormancy is a yearly spring task. While the process isn’t too difficult, it’s important to do it the right way and at the right time. Doing it wrong or at the wrong time leads to serious and costly problems.
The best time for spring sprinkler start up in Long Island depends on our local weather patterns. The ideal timing changes year-to-year and region-to-region, but what it ultimately comes down to is frost. It’s absolutely essential to wait until the threat of frost has completely passed. Opening up your sprinkler lines too early and then experiencing another hard frost can be catastrophic to your sprinkler lines. To keep your irrigation investment safe, monitor the weather and wait until temperatures consistently remain above freezing through the night. Typically, the best time to start up your sprinkler system is between the middle of March and the middle of May.
The Sprinkler System Start Up Process
Starting up your sprinkler system this spring is a task that most homeowners can perform on their own, barring any issues. The first step is to close the water spigot on the backflow of your system. This is typically found outside, where your water lines exit your foundation. Once that is off, it’s time to turn on the main water valve. You can find the main water valve in your home, where the water lines exit the house. For many of us, this is in our basement.
If you hear a loud noise or notice some water leaking out of the top of your backflow, don’t panic. This is normal as the water pressure returns to the lines. Keep monitoring to ensure the sound and leaking doesn’t persist. If it does, then try quickly turning the water supply on and off a couple times. This helps build up the pressure.
Checking Your Sprinkler System for Problems
Once the water pressure has built up in the lines, it’s time to start activating the different zones around your lawn. This is an essential time to monitor for any problems in your irrigation system. One by one, turn on each zone manually, checking each sprinkler head for any damage sustained over the winter. If you were late to winterize your sprinkler system, then it’s possible to have ruptured lines. Watch for disabled sprinkler heads and make sure to have any issues addressed as soon as possible.
