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Install question - What to install to support winter blowout/winterization

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gh1120

Active Member

Posts: 12

1

Sunday, April 20th 2008, 10:10am

Install question - What to install to support winter blowout/winterization

I'm in the process of installing my irrigation system, and yes I'm a newbie. But have went thru this site and irrigationtutorials.com but still have a few questions. I'm going to post each question separately.

This post is regarding what to install to be able to perform winterization blowouts in the future. Note, I will be installing a PVB backflow preventer and the system will have about 13 zones (10 rotor/spray and 3 drip). I have read different posts on what to use and where to place it. Most seem to recommend a hose bib or boilder drain to be installed. Although most seem to recommend after the PVB, a few recommend before. I looked at my neighbors who was installed by a landscaper and this was installed before the PVB.

So what should I use and were to place it? :?: :)

HooKooDooKu

Supreme Member

Posts: 683

2

Monday, April 21st 2008, 9:24pm

Most plumbing codes prohibit installing a connection that you could use to blow out the system before the backflow preventor. The reason being that that sort of setup allows someone to get careless and effectively pump "stuff" back into the protected water supply.

But if you can't install a drain you can connect to before the backflow, then how do you blowout the backflow preventer to protect it from freeze damage? No one seems to have a really good answer for that one excpet to set things up such that the backflow can be removed (such as a pair of unions). But in some areas that then lead to easy theft. So there really doesn't seem to be an ideal solution.

My best suggestion is to install the PVB with unions, but try to make sure the PVB is relatively hidden so that someone driving by doesn't see a hunk of copper easy to swipe.

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