The time has come for you to start up your sprinkler system and so the fun begins! Let's take a look at some things you should have on hand and what you should be doing.
So What Do You Need To Start Up Your Sprinkler System?
- Access to your timer or irrigation controller
- Access to your water source.
- Marking flags or another way to flag/mark issues in your yard.
- Shovel
- Adjustment key for your sprinkler heads
- A flat head screwdriver
- A Pair of Channel Lock Pliers.
First Steps: How to turn on the water to your sprinkler system
The first thing you will need to do is turn the water back on to your sprinkler system. If you are on city water this is usually fairly easy however, if you are on a well and pump the process could be pretty challenging.
Turning on your city water supply
If you are on city water, you will need to locate your back flow device. Depending on your city or county the backflow is either buried in the ground or raised above ground.
- First you will need to make sure the test cocks on the backflow are closed. This is done by using your flat head screwdriver and making sure the screw is set perpendicular to the test cock, this will ensure the test cock valve is closed.
- Next make sure the ball valves on the backflow device are fully opened. To do this rotate the valve so they are parallel with the pipe.
- Next locate your water supply valve, this is usually burried close to backflow device in a valve box or near the street at your water meter.
- Once you have located it, you will need to turn it on. When you first turn it on you can just crack the valve open and wait for it to pressurize. While your sprinkler system is filling up, it is a good idea to walk around and make sure you do not have any leaks or open hose bibs on your house.
Preparing Your Walk Through
Now that your water is turned on you will need to walk through your system and verify that your heads are adjusted properly and there are no leaks or breaks in the system.
I personally like to set a basic program in the irrigation or sprinkler controller and set each zone to 2 minutes. As a good friend always says "anything more than 2 minutes, you are just playing around!"
Then select the program and start it manually. As you go through each zone, you need to make sure each head is correctly adjusted and nothing is leaking.
Often times grass will grow over the sprinkler heads and will not allow them to pop up right away, you can use your flat head screwdriver to pull the grass away and poke around in the turf to locate them.
You can also go to a sprinkler head that is popped up and spraying and step straight down on it pushing it back into the ground. The faster you do this the more back pressure you will put into the system, allowing the other sprinkler heads to push through the turf.
Things to look out for.
- Leaking Heads
- Broken Pipes
- Missing Heads
- Heads that are not rotating
Pay close attention to the heads as they pop up, oftentimes they will no longer rotate and you will not notice it until you have dead grass in the heat of the summer!
If you find an issue flag it or mark it and come back later to fix it. If you do not want to fix it yourself you can call a contractor. He will be grateful you took the time to make the issues, trust me!
*Read More About Leak Detection*
Final Thoughts
Startups are very easy and they are very simple. You can save yourself a lot of money by doing them yourself. However, if you run into issues you can always call a contractor out and have them do it for you!
