[Shop-talk] Winterizing Sprinkler System

[Steven Trovato]

Jim,
I rigged up an adapter like that many years ago 
and I have been using it every time I need to 
winterize a sprinkler system, summer home or 
other similar tasks.  I usually run a garden hose 
from whatever drain valve I want to the 
compressor.  I use my adapter at the compressor 
end of the garden hose to connect to the air 
supply.  I have enough garden hose that routing 
to the drain valve isn't really a problem.  I 
don't need a lot of air pressure, but I blast a 
lot of air volume through to push the water 
out.  My main garage compressor is my first 
choice, but I have used a smaller portable one 
and it did OK.  As for purchasing that adapter, I 
would do it.  I don't know if such a thing 
existed when I made mine.  Twenty bucks would be 
worth it to me for the convenience.  Of course, 
if you have the pieces already and you don't want 
to wait for an adapter to arrive, making it would 
also be a reasonable thing to do.  I don't have a 
shutoff on mine and I don't really miss it.

-Steve

At 11:32 AM 11/5/2019, Jim Stone via Shop-talk wrote:
>I need to drain and winterize my new sprinkler 
>system and can’t imagine I need to pay someone 
>to do that job.  While I understand the 
>‘proper’ way to do it is to manually open 
>each valve, I was told a few years ago that it 
>is easier to just pressurize the system at the 
>drain valve and then use the manual function on 
>the controller to run through each zone until no 
>more water comes out.  (FWIW, my system is not 
>that large and has 6 zones.). I was thinking 
>about rigging something up that would allow me 
>to attach my compressor and walk away, but found 
>this on Amazon, which seems like a good 
>investment that would pay for itself on the 
>first use: 
><https://www.amazon.com/Winterize-Sprinkler-Systems-Outdoor-Faucets/dp/B0055QAAIQ/ref=asc_df_B0055QAAIQ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309735714375&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11131050794144962178&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004590&hvtargid=pla-570302725618&psc=1>https://www.amazon.com/Winterize-Sprinkler-Systems-Outdoor-Faucets/dp/B0055QAAIQ/ref=asc_df_B0055QAAIQ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309735714375&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11131050794144962178&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9004590&hvtargid=pla-570302725618&psc=1. 
>I could save around $10 and just buy a hose to 
>quick disconnect fitting, but the shut off valve seems like a good addition.
>
>I have fairly large compressor, but think it 
>will be more trouble than it is worth to get air 
>to the master drain valve.  Instead, I was 
>planning on just using my Harbor Freight 8 gal 
>portable 
>compressor. 
>(<https://www.harborfreight.com/8-gal-2-hp-125-psi-oil-lube-air-compressor-68740.html>https://www.harborfreight.com/8-gal-2-hp-125-psi-oil-lube-air-compressor-68740.html). 
>My water pressure is regulated to 60 lbs, so I 
>figured something around this should be sufficient.
>
>Am I missing anything?  Is there any good reason 
>to pay a professional to do this job?  It seems 
>like a no-brainer to me, but I’ve been called a no-brainer before.
>
>Thanks,
>Jim


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