How Do Lawn Sprinkler Drains Work?

Winterizing

• Draining lawn sprinklers before the winter, also known as winterizing, helps prevent the sprinklers from bursting or breaking. Drain the sprinkler system before the frost sets in. Winterize lawn sprinklers even if there's the slightest possibility of snow occurring. Using the sprinkler drainage systems also improves the workable pressure in the sprinkler pipes. Therefore, lawns in areas that do not experience extreme cold weather may also need sprinkler drainage systems.

Manually Draining

• Some lawn sprinklers have self-draining system equipped with an insulated shutoff valve. Draining will start by closing the shutoff valve that will turn off the water supply of the sprinkler system. It's best to do this while the sprinklers are running to ensure that the shutoff valves close thoroughly. Open the manual drain valves to drain the water from the mainline completely. In addition, check for water in the backflow device, the piping and the sprinklers. Open the boiler drain valves or caps to drain any residual water. Drain all water before closing all the valves in the sprinkler system.

Automatic Lawn Sprinkler Drainage

• An automatic lawn sprinkler drainage system comes with an automatic controller with preset modes that automatically signals the valves when it's time to shut them off. The automatic feature turns off when water pressure in the piping is less than 10 PSI. The system depends on a program that continuously runs even if the valves are closed. During this "rain mode," the controller or timer remains on to keep track of when the system will turn itself on after it completes its shutdown phase. However, the sprinkler system controllers have a water pump connected to it; therefore, it's best not to use "rain mode" and simply disconnect the power supply of the automated lawn sprinkler to prevent any damage to the water pump system.

Using the Blow-Out Method

• The blow-out method makes use of air compressor with a cubic foot per minute (CFM) rating of 125 to185. Attach the compressor to the mainline using a coupler or hose bib after turning off the sprinkler system and draining the water from the supply line. Let the air flow slowly into the system by slowly opening the valve on the compressor. Maintain the pressure between 50 to 80 PSI. Repeat the process for each station until you are sure that water has been completely drained.