Winterizing Your Irrigation System

Winterizing Your Irrigation System

Even here in sunny Florida there are times when the temperature will dip
below freezing.  Particularly overnight, the area can experience a hard
freeze.  While we all know we need to wrap up out plants, most people do
not consider what can happen to their irrigation system during a hard
freeze.  Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Every irrigation system is required to have a backflow preventer
installed. The backflow preventer is typically found by the water meter close to the house.
A backflow preventer is an important component that protects
the potable city water supply from possible contaminated water. Once
potable water reaches the sprinkler head it is considered contaminated and
back siphonage will allow water to go from the sprinkler head back to the
city water main without this component.

Since this device is the single most expensive part of your irrigation
system, we at Allstar Irrigation recommend that it should be insulated and
heavily taped with a heavy duty UV resistant grade tape to protect it from
freeze damage in the winter and sun damage in the summer. A little time
and a small investment could save you several hundred dollars in damage
and failure.

Speaking of saving, in upcoming blog posts I will show you how to save
water by making small adjustments to your existing sprinkler system, as
well as by the use of energy efficient sprinkler heads.  Until then,
remember that the grass is always greener on the other side of the
sprinkler head.

http://jacksonville-irrigation.com  http://sod-jacksonville.com

Allstar Irrigations winter tips for your lawn and irrigation system

How to Save Your Lawn and Your Money During the Winter

The winter season is coming up and Allstar irrigation would like to
recommend a few simple things to help protect your irrigation system and your lawn. During
the winter months many homeowners completely turn off their irrigation system
thinking their lawn doesn't need any water. Well, the truth is your lawn doesn't
need as much water as it does in the summer months but just like humans it still needs
adequate hydration to protect your lawn's roots from hard freezes and stay strong.
This way, when the dormant season is over your lawn will be healthy and strong for
the spring and summer. Also, a stressed lawn is more prone to cinch bugs and other
weeds and diseases.

   Our local laws allow homeowners to water once per week and Allstar
Irrigation recommends taking full advantage of this one day. A properly hydrated lawn
during those 20 degree nights will help insulate the roots in the root zone
underneath your grass.  Helping to mitigate the extreme temperatures make recovery in
spring time much quicker. Proper hydration will also help those roots stay deeper
in the soil instead of migrating to the top looking for water,further protecting
your lawn.

     Another reason to take advantage of the 1 day per week is to keep
those zone valves working. There is a rubber diaphragm inside the valve that becomes
more rigid when it doesn't get its workout,which may cause the zone valve to fail.
This could be very costly to replace, not to mention the additional costs
of a higher water bill and damaged turf.  There are also tiny ports inside the
zone valve that can become corroded and clogged with stagnant water, even if
you are on city water.

     The last preventative step is to make sure your backflow preventer is
properly insulated. Even if it has black insulation on it, Allstar recommends
re-insulating it. The hot sun breaks down the insulation over time and it will lose
effectiveness. The backflow preventer is the single most expensive part of an irrigation
system. A few dollars and a little time could save your pocketbook and a big mess.
So remember, Take advantage of your 1 day a week watering,start your system later in
the morning, properly insulate your backflow preventer, and keep an eye out for broken
pipes or leaks. These few steps could save you hundreds of dollars in irrigation repairs,
turf damage, and high water bills.


For expert help in obtaining, maintaining and managing all your irrigation
needs, call
Allstar Irrigation at 904-422-7827.  (We also specialize in sod replacement.)
http://jacksonville-irrigation.com/
http://sod-jacksonville.com/

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Time change

If you forgot to change your irrigation timers back make sure you do now. Also, remember that you go back to watering once a week!