In colder climates where prolonged ambient and ground freezing temperatures occur, winterizing irrigation systems is common practice. This process removes water from the mainline and lateral piping so that the frozen water does not cause pipes to burst, resulting in damage to irrigation components. The typical practice is to use compressed air to blow excess water out the lines, drain and cover the backflow device with an insulating blanket, and turn off the controller.
The winterization process involves shutting off and draining all irrigation components per irrigation best practices. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Shutting off main water source that feeds irrigation system, before the back-flow prevention device
- Removing water from all irrigation pipes and components
Turning Off Flow
If WeatherTRAK flow features are enabled, the flow function must be turned to OFF to avoid the flow alerts that can result from the winterization process.
1. Turn the MAIN KNOB to FLOW.
2. Turn the UPPER KNOB until Flow Meter Mode displays.
3. Turn the LOWER KNOB to select OFF.
4. Turn the MAIN KNOB to finish.
Removing Water from the Mainline and Lateral Piping
CAUTION
NEVER blow compressed air across an irrigation flow sensor. It spins the internal components more than 20 times faster than designed. This will void the warranty for this sensor. We recommend finding a place to plug the air compressor into the irrigation system AFTER the flow sensor. For example, a blow-out port or quick coupler.
When you are winterizing the system, use the manual irrigation option to run the stations that are being winterized.
1. Turn the MAIN KNOB to MANUAL.
2. Turn the UPPER KNOB to select the station you are running manual irrigation for.
3. Turn the LOWER KNOB to select the number of minutes you would like to run irrigation for.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each station you are winterizing.
5. Turn the MAIN KNOB to RUN to finish.
Placing the Controller into Winterized Mode
After system winterization, you will need to place the controller into Winterized mode. The controller continues to communicate with the cloud features, but no irrigation occurs.
1. Turn the MAIN KNOB to OFF.
2. Turn the LOWER KNOB until WINTERIZED displays. A brief countdown will occur then the system will go into Winterized mode.
3. Turn the MAIN KNOB to RUN to finish.
Other Information
- If the controller loses communication, it will still beep while in the OFF position, and a Communication Alert will be raised at www.weathertrak.net.
- Turning off power to the controller either by unplugging the cord or turning off the circuit breaker can save power, but the date/time will need to be re-set in the spring. However, even when powered off for the winter, all controller program settings will be saved. Without power a controller will appear as OFFLINE at www.weathertrak.net until it is re-connected. (Note: unplugging the ribbon cable from inside the controller will not save power.)
Resuming Irrigation after the Winter
1. Turn the MAIN KNOB to OFF.
2. Press the * button to resume. Your controller has now been turned back on and will resume irrigating from previously set schedules.