# Winterizing and Un-Winterizing



## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

So the background story is I'm repairing a derelict irrigation system for someone. Vacuum breaker is getting replaced with a reduced pressure backflow, broken pipes are being replaced, etc.

I'm fairly certain the broken lines were from freezing. I have it in my head that I should put something in to be able to blow out the system with compressed air at the end of the season.

To make it more fun, they have two systems if you will. One is 3/4", city water, for filling a fountain and running a hose tap. The other is 1", well water, for running all of the irrigation zones.

YouTube showed a trailer sized air compressor for this task, but I'm thinking a 30-50 gallon one would do the trick.

What do y'all do?


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

I blow mine out with a 25 gal air compressor. It would be nice if it had more CFM but it gets the job done. Especially since I only need to do it once a year.

For turning the system back on. I've heard it's best to open all the valves to all the zones then slowly open the main water valve. This allows all the piping to fill with water slowly to prevent water hammering.


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