DIY Maintenance
I have a friend who has been paying to have her garden sprinkler system opened & closed each season. It seems to me that one could do it one’s self – except possibly the compressed air cleaning to winterize. Has anyone done that? Is it difficult?
I have a friend who has been paying to have her garden sprinkler system opened & closed each season. It seems to me that one could do it one’s self – except possibly the compressed air cleaning to winterize. Has anyone done that? Is it difficult?
Thanks, Arkady. I hope it doesn’t cost $3,000 — those were quotes for washing machine hookup and gas stove line.
Depending on how your house is laid out, it’s a fairly simple matter to plumb new pipes for an outdoor hose bib. Just be sure you have a cut-off so you can close it in the winter & detach & drain the hose. Leave the valve for the hose open & the standing water will have room to expand out & evaporate.
Do all of you have outdoor spigots? Is this normal in Brooklyn? We do not. I have been using a watering can, but so far I only have a few plants and already it’s too much work. I have been thinking about hooking up a hose through the window to the washing machine hookup — but as soon as we have an operative washing machine or are out of town, that’s not going to work.
Thanks, Bruce. Can you rent that gear at HD or Lowe’s or she’ll have to buy it?
Brucef: If you’d grown up in Brooklyn, you’d understand why it’s reflex to think that a sprinkler refers to a hose hooked up to a faucet—spigot at one end, sprinkler attachment at the other, and proud of it 😉
Vinca,
Poster mentioned sprinkler, not hose bib.
It is possible to blow water out of the zones yourself if you have a big enough compressor. 100lbs is plenty of pressure, but the tank has to be substantial to sputter all the water out of the various sprinkler heads. One of those mushroom compressors is exactly what I am saying is not big enough.
You need to thread a 1/4″ snap fitting into the side of the valve head, I like to have a ball valve on the female coupler so I can have a helper open one zone at a time.
You’ll need to shut the normal water supply then blow out each zone. Make sure all the sprinkler heads sputter then blow air only. Then you’re done.
See, a life spent in the suburbs has some use.
Ask This Old House is currently rerunning an old segment on installing frost-proof outdoor faucets. Seems to me a much better solution than paying for seasonal service. If this installation is too much for your friend, obviously it can be done by a plumber. The video’s available here: http://bit.ly/bED4xX