What a Sprinkler Backflow Preventer Does in Maplewood Homes
It is the valve assembly by your foundation that keeps sprinkler water from running back into the house supply. We test it at every spring start-up and repair or replace it when a freeze cracks it.
Free, no-obligation estimates. We quote the whole job before we start.
What a sprinkler backflow preventer does
A "backflow preventer" is a valve assembly that keeps irrigation water from flowing back into your household water supply.
Your sprinkler system and your kitchen tap draw from the same line. Out in the yard, the water in the pipes and heads sits in soil, fertilizer and whatever the lawn holds. The backflow preventer lets water pass one way, out to the zones, and closes if it ever tries to run back toward the house.
Most owners call it the backflow valve or the backflow device. Whatever the name, it is the one part of the system that protects the water inside your home rather than the lawn outside it.
parts of a sprinkler systemWater spraying from the valve by your foundation?
Shut the water to the sprinklers and call us. We check the backflow preventer, tell you whether it can be repaired or needs replacing, and quote the whole job before we start.
We answer the phone or call back the same working day. A call outside working hours goes to voicemail and we return it the next working morning.
Backflow testing at spring start-up
We test the backflow preventer at each spring start-up to confirm it still closes against backflow before the season's watering begins.
The device sits outside all winter, and a part that only matters when pressure drops can fail without any sign from the yard. The test puts it under pressure and proves it still does its one job. That is why it comes right after the water goes back on and before anything else runs.
This is the order a spring "start-up" follows:
- Turn the water onWe open the supply to the system and let it pressurize slowly.
- Test the backflow preventerWe confirm the device still closes against backflow. If it fails, nothing else runs until it is fixed.
- Test each zone and the water flowEvery "zone" runs in turn so we see each group of heads come up.
- Adjust the coverageHeads that spray the walk or miss the lawn get turned back onto the turf.
- Check for leaksWe look for wet spots, low heads and water at the valves.
- Program the controllerThe "controller", the timer on the wall, gets the season's schedule.
Freeze cracks and leaks at the backflow device
A hard freeze with water left inside is what cracks a backflow preventer, and the crack shows as a leak the day the water goes back on.
Water swells as it turns to ice, and a brass body standing above the ground gets the cold first. One hard freeze with water in the lines is enough. The damage stays quiet all winter, because nothing pushes on it until spring.
When the supply opens at turn-on, you may see one of these.
- Water spraying or dripping from the body of the device as soon as the system pressurizes.
- A puddle under it or soaked mulch at the foundation, even with every zone off.
- A visible split along the housing, the mark a freeze leaves behind.
The way to keep it whole is a fall "winterization", the blow-out most owners call the fall shut down. Full winterization closes the backflow device, sets the valves to 45 degrees to prevent cracking and protects the above-ground parts. The freeze tables in Minnesota DNR: Final Spring and First Fall Freeze and Frost Date Probabilities show when the first fall freeze usually arrives, and that date is the one to beat.
What neighbors say after a start-up
These are our Google reviews, as the neighbors wrote them.
Glenn with Rainmakers Irrigation is super cool, awesome and trustworthy. We are in Woodbury and almost the whole block on our street goes to Rainmakers for sprinkler installation, general maintenance, winterization, and spring startups. Their services are top notch, responses are timely, and prices are affordable. I would recommend Rainmakers Irrigation to anyone who is out shopping for a service provider to install, expand, or service an irrigation system.
Absolutely great company to deal with .I was quoted by a different company that I needed a whole new irrigation system rainmakers came out and fixed a leak and replaced two sprinkler heads and got my system up and running and saved me $2700.00 dollars .if you need irrigation work done give them a call there an honest family owned local business.
Always responsive...Always Fast...Always done right. LOVE THESE GUYS.
Have your backflow preventer checked
Call to book a spring start-up with the backflow test, or to have a leaking device repaired or replaced. Estimates are free.
- We answer or call back the same working day
- We show up when we say we will
- We quote the whole job before we start