September
2006
Line Drains for Cold Weather
Line drains are relatively inexpensive parts, but they can save you a ton of time an money if you live in a cold weather area, and pay for themselves many times over. If you live in an area where the ground freezes down to the depth your buried your sprinkler line or more, you want to pay attention to this post.
Line drains are threaded “plugs” that have a pressure sensitive valve in them. I always try to “T” them into your sprinkler line at the low points of each section. When the line has pressure on it, the valvel closes and no water comes out. When the pressure releases then the valve opens and water can drain out of these low points.
Even though you probably blow out your sprinkler system in the winter, this helps in case any water remains in your system. If you happen to get an unexpected cold spell or have exposed areas during even a short cold spell where the water in your sprinkler liine coulud freeze solid it could cause a lot of damage, maybe not in materials but you need to find the break, dig it up, fix it and bury it again. The line drains allow the system to drain itself after each cycle so the pipe is not filled with water that can freeze solid and break.
Tip:
When installing them have some sand handy to bury the line drain with. It keeps a chuck of dirt or clay from blocking the valve and stopping the draining.
The downsides are pretty minimal to using this, but there are a few couple minor ones:
- You need to buy the drains (a little extra cost but not much) and go through the extra work of installing them, but again if you are in a cold weather area it is well worth it in the long run.
- It drains all of the water out of your line each time into the drain points. This still stays in your lawn, but might pool and waste a little water where you don’t want/need it.
- I like my system to be quiet, especially when it turns on in the middle of the night or anytime my neighbors are sleeping. When all the water drains out each time the heads tend to make more noise when the water pressure pushes out all of the air. This isn’t a big deal, but it is a little noisier than normal for a little longer time.
Overall, if you live in a cold area the line drains are always a good idea.
Line Drains [King Innovation]