Is Winter and Fall Sprinkler Maintenance Necessary?

by Bryan Pearson Webmaster After a long, drawn-out summer, fall is finally here!  Although, we have already experienced several below freezing nights, the official first day of winter is not until December 21st.  As the temperature changes and the grass, plants, shrubs, and trees all require less water, sprinkler systems in the North Texas area will be needed to be used less and less often.  Quite often, there is rarely a need to water during the winter months when plants are dormant.

If the homeowner chooses to turn their sprinkler system off for the fall and winter months, fall sprinkler system maintenance is not necessarily required.  “Turning off” the sprinkler system is more than just at the controller in the garage.  The controller simply controls communication with the valves in each zone, telling them when to open and close.  When you turn off your sprinkler system for the fall and winter, turn it off at the double check assembly in the parkway, near the water meter.  This controls the water supply to the sprinkler system.

If the homeowner chooses to leave their sprinkler system on, meaning to leave it on at the double check assembly, then fall sprinkler system maintenance is recommended.  Whether you use your sprinkler system or not, regular maintenance or servicing is recommended because there will still be a continuous water supply to the sprinkler system. 

Fall sprinkler system maintenance should include the following:

Check the Rain and Freeze Sensor
It is easy for the sensor to become clogged with cobwebs and debris, which should be removed.  This is especially common and happens frequently in the fall and winter months.  Many cities have rain and freeze sensor rebate programs when installing a sensor on an existing system.  Also, many cities require that rain and freeze sensors are installed on new sprinkler systems as well as when controllers are replaced on existing sprinkler systems.

Set the Controller for Fall and Winter Watering
Typically during the cooler months of November through to March, homeowners will only need to water once a week or once every other week at the most for approximately five minutes each zone.  This serves to replace the water that is lost due to transpiration.  (Please check your city’s water conservation webpage to determine your permitted watering schedule.)

Change the Back-up Battery in the Controller
In most controllers, the backup battery is designed to retain the programming information during a power outage until power is restored or the battery is drained.  If power is not restored in a reasonable time period, the battery may become drained and the controller typically will automatically be set to the factory default watering schedule of everyday at 8am for 10 minutes on all zones.  The default setting cannot be modified.  The controller is not capable of operating off the battery alone; it will only maintain the current settings until power is restored.

A Run-Through of the Entire System
Sprinkler heads can become blocked with debris at any time of the year and should be cleaned out to ensure that they are directed to the areas where they should be watering.  If there is a station that has very low pressure and the spray heads are not popping up completely, this could mean that there is a leak.  The leak is robbing the pressure to needed to run the station properly.  Check the shrub risers against the house to make sure that the risers are not misadjusted and spraying water onto the wall or window frames.  Look for long-lasting damp spots in the landscape as these might indicate a leak or broken line that should be fixed. 

Quite often it seems as though there are more leaks in the fall; however, this is simply due to the fact that less water is being evaporated than in the summertime when small or slow leaks can go undetected.  There are literally hundreds of connections on a lawn sprinkler system that can spring a leak at anytime.  Keep in mind that there are irrigation supply lines running throughout the yard, typically in the front yard and back yard.  These lines can leak even with the controller turned off because the double check assembly is still on, providing a continuous supply of water to the sprinkler system.

Author Bio:  Sprinkler Repair Plano, TX - Pearson Sprinklers offers exceptional services that you can rely on! We pride ourselves in doing the job right the first time at a competitive price! Whether you want to plan and install a new sprinkler system, update an old system with new technology or you have fall sprinkler maintenance, Pearson Sprinklers can help.

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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