So the cold snuck up on my this year, and I don't have the irrigation guys scheduled until tomorrow morning. He basically forces compressed air through the lines so freezing want burst the buried lines and then removes the backflow preventer which is exposed in the air.

I'm not too worried about the buried lines because I don't think the ground is going to get cold enough to really freeze them. Maybe I should be?

I am a little more concerned about backflow preventer. I meant to call the guy today to get his thoughts, but I forgot.

Any one have an opinion?

11/6/2007 5:58:40 PM

nah

11/6/2007 5:59:16 PM

this is the shitty thing to do but it will save your system

turn the water on just a little bit so you have a small flow through the system

that will prevent everything from freezing

11/6/2007 6:00:55 PM

How did the cold sneak up on you ??????

Having the first freezing temperatures by this time is anything but abnormal. From what i can recall teh first freeze the last two years occurred in late October.

11/6/2007 6:02:39 PM

Do you have an air compressor? If you're worried about it why not blow them out yourself? You can usually use a valve stem like the one on your car tires as the interface between the air compressor and the pipe. If the pipe is bigger than the butt end of the valve stem you might need to stick something else up there to seal it off.

11/6/2007 6:04:59 PM

as assistant chief arboral irrigation engineer specialist 2 for a while, i consider myself an expert on irrigation, trees, fountains in traffic circles (up to and including cleaning bubble soap out of them)

i say youre fine and if not thats what the allstate dude is for

11/6/2007 6:05:28 PM

Quote :

"this is the shitty thing to do but it will save your system turn the water on just a little bit so you have a small flow through the system that will prevent everything from freezing"

I thought about setting a program to have it run every 30 minutes tonight, but since I just moved into this place, I haven't had a chance to study it to see if I can just set it to run like that. I mean, why study the book when I can post on tdub, right?

Quote :

"How did the cold sneak up on you ?????? Having the first freezing temperatures by this time is anything but abnormal. From what i can recall teh first freeze the last two years occurred in late October."

I've just been real busy outside of work these days, furthermore, I kinda thought/hoped that the temps would transition a little more gradually. When I called for the appointment last week, the first freeze wasn't in the forecast yet.

Quote :

" i say youre fine and if not thats what the allstate dude is for"

I doubt that our home owners covers that sorta thing, and if it does, the deductible I'm sure is high enough that it won't ease the pain too much. Like I said, the stuff in the ground should be fine, but the backflow could freeze.

I think I'm gonna through a blanket in the dryer and heat it up a little, wrap the backflow with it, and cover that with a trashcan. Dunno if heating it will make a difference, or anything will, but short of letting it run all night, thats the best I guess I can do at this point.

11/6/2007 9:37:11 PM