# Pop-Up Emitter vs Grate



## Alex1389

Wondering if any of you in the northern half of the country have had experience with pop-up emitters in the winter. I've got a downspout and my sump pump going to a pop-up emitter by the road. However, I'm noticing that the pop-up lid actually freezes in the winter and won't open up. The water pressure coming down the pipe is still forceful enough to pop the entire emitter off the 4" pipe though, so water does eventually flow out and the emitter just kinda hangs out on my lawn somewhere. 

Thinking of moving to a grate at the end of the run (at least for the winter). Any issues that may arise from this?

Current Setup:



Future:


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## Butter

The sump pump should be "daylighted".
The downspout can be either pop up or grate but the sump definitely needs to be daylighted.


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## ABC123

I have to install mine in the spring. Might make a way to disconnect the downspout for winter as I don't think a drain hole would be efficient.


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## TheTurfTamer

I had the same problem in Alabama. I replaced them with the grate and have had no other issues.


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## Alex1389

Thanks, all!

@Butter, yeah, I think I may need to daylight it again. I originally had it draining to daylight, but it was within the confines of the flower beds in front of my house with Belgian block blocking the water from draining to the lawn and down the slope. Once I redo my landscaping and remove the blocks, I'll probably go back to a daylight drain for the sump pump since there's fewer failure points here.

@ABC123 I have a drain hole in mine with about 1.5' of gravel underneath. I rarely find water at the end of the run. Also, near the top of the drain run, I have a freeze-out grate that should give the water a place to go in the event that everything freezes at the pop-up.

@Aawickham78 Thanks! I'll be changing mine over this week. Any issues with debris falling into the grate, or do you switch back to pop-up when the weather warms up?


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