Sprinkler Blowout in Star, Idaho

What a sprinkler blowout is

A sprinkler blowout, also called sprinkler winterization, pushes compressed air through every zone of your irrigation system to clear the water out of the pipes, valves, heads and backflow assembly before it freezes. Water expands about nine percent when it turns to ice. Inside a buried PVC lateral that is enough to split the pipe, and inside a backflow assembly it cracks the brass. You find out in April when a zone will not hold pressure.

What is included

• Every zone cleared, one at a time, until the heads run dry
• Backflow assembly drained and its test cocks opened
• Main shutoff and drain valves set for winter
• Controller switched to off or rain mode so it does not run a dry pump
• A quick look at heads and valve boxes while we are there, with anything we notice noted on the invoice

How we do it, and why the equipment matters

We use tow-behind compressors rated above 100 CFM and regulate the line to between 50 and 60 PSI. The number that matters is CFM, the volume of air, not PSI. A homeowner compressor from the hardware store moves too little air to push water out of a full zone, and the usual workaround is to crank the pressure up, which is how rotor gears strip and valve diaphragms tear. Manufacturer specifications for Rain Bird, Hunter and Toro heads all sit under 60 PSI for air. We stay under it.

When to book

Book before your irrigation water shuts off, and have the blowout done in the window between shutoff and the first hard freeze. In Ada County that is usually mid October to early November. Do not wait for the first frost warning, that is when everyone calls at once and the schedule fills for two weeks.

Same day service is available when you call before 10 AM. We run until 8 PM on weekdays.

Pricing

From $75.

Commercial, HOA and acreage systems are quoted per property.

Blowouts in Star

Star has grown fast, and most systems are under ten years old on pressurized irrigation. The subdivisions between Highway 44 and the river sit low and frost settles there early. Systems with a second hookup point are common in the newer builds and it is the one most often missed by a rushed blowout.

Can you do it yourself

You can, with the right compressor. You cannot with the one in your garage. A rental tow-behind unit runs about the same as our price for a single visit, and the failure mode of getting it wrong is a cracked backflow or a stripped rotor, which costs more than the blowout. Most people who do their own hire it out the year after.

The 3x rule

Some guides say to run each zone three times. That comes from doing it with an undersized compressor that cannot clear a zone in one pass. With correct CFM, one pass per zone until the heads run dry is the standard, and repeated passes with hot compressed air are what melt nozzles.

Book Your Blowout in Star.

Online booking, or call (208) 513-6947.