As spring begins, it is once again time to turn on your lawn sprinkler system! Of course the BEST time for a spring start up is weather related and varies year to year, but anytime from the end of March right through May can be the best time to have your lawn and garden irrigation system activated.
The Best Time To Start Up Your Sprinkler
Typically we don't suggest that our customers start up their systems until the end of April or the first of May. Some years, we may even be a bit later than that. Usually, the forsythias are blooming by the end of March; some years, they just start to bloom in April.
The best indicator of when it's safe to turn your sprinklers on again is just going to be the weather app on your phone. Keep checking daytime AND nighttime temperatures and make sure you've reached a few week period in which the temperature hasn't dropped below freezing.
Best Time For Service in MN
With Minnesota located in the Upper Midwest region, we tend to see snowy weather last into late April. Historically, Warner's starts to turn on sprinklers as early as late April to the beginning of May.
You might water 40 minutes to an hour if you have sandy soil, but just 15 minutes if you have clay. If you have rotor irrigation heads on a zone, that revolve as they water, you might need 30 minutes of water. But some spray heads deliver more water, so that zone might need just 10 minutes.
Sprinklers must detect a high enough temperature to activate—typically, temperatures of 135° F, 155° F, or 250° F (57° C, 68° C, or 121° C).
Identify Problems Before a Big Break – De-winterize your Sprinkler System. While technically you could just turn your sprinkler system back on, doing this without following all the steps could cause your entire system significant damage. Even the best winterization may not prevent cracked or broken piping.
Water in the early morning – between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Midday watering leads to wasteful evaporation, while nighttime watering causes droplets to cling to grass overnight, increasing the chance of lawn diseases.
Normally, this is not a problem because the main shut-off, zone valves and heads are below ground and stay relatively insulated. However, if the temperatures do dip down into the 20's, or temperatures remain below 32 degrees for an extended period of time, your irrigation system can be damaged.
Aerate to increase infiltration. 6. Water in the early morning (4am to 10am). This allows the grass blades to dry, making them less susceptible to foliar diseases.
Uniformly applying water helps the soil absorb the water at its own pace. Watering every day is not advised. It should be done 2 to 3 times per week only to prevent a shallow root system. If possible, water during the early morning hours to ensure that the lawn dries entirely before nightfall.
If it is found that there is significant buildup of foreign objects or scaling, it is recommended to conduct a more in depth Obstruction Investigation. If there is a significant amount of foreign material found during the obstruction investigation, there should be a flush of the sprinkler system.
Particularly if you live in an area where ground temperatures dip below freezing, you'll want to make sure that you've properly prepared the system for winter weather by draining out the water and insulating the sprinkler components. Here, we'll go over how to winterize your sprinkler system in four easy steps.
Slowly open the main shutoff valve to let water into the sprinkler system. For a ball valve, turn the lever handle one-quarter turn until the handle is parallel to the pipe; this is the fully open position. For an in-ground shutoff valve, use a sprinkler valve key to turn the valve counterclockwise until it stops.
Since fire sprinklers are activated by heat, smoke, or dust in the air can't accidentally set them off.
But will they cause your fire sprinkler system to go off? Again, no. If you light candles around your living room, this won't produce enough heat to set off the adjacent sprinkler head (usually 56°C). Only when a candle is held directly underneath the system will it release water.
Avoid watering grass on a hot afternoon when it's 95 degrees or higher. The best time to water grass is at dawn or in the early evening. Water deeply three times a week instead of a little water daily. Test whether your sprinkler system is watering your lawn evenly.