Best video I've seen yet. I lost my contractor who took care of us over the past 7 years, so I'm going to try to turn it on this weekend 4/20/24. If I have issues, I'll give you a call, since you are located where I'm located. Thanks again.
Hi, when those valves become difficult to move it means they are old or sustained some freezing damage along the way. Be careful here but get a channel lock and see if some light persuasion will move those valves to the closed position. It is common that I need a tool to get a little more leverage to move the valves. With the open channel locks, I straddle both sides of the valve in order to apply even pressure. You should be able to move them. Let me know.
There are a number of possibilities and some of those are based on where you live. If you are in areas where the temperatures are moderate over the winter than the valve may be located near the street in a box or perhaps down below the frost line accessed with a street key. If you are in rural land it may be near the pressure tank of the well system. Sometime we see them inside a utility room in a closet in a garage. Other times we find the thing in the ceiling in the basement. If you live where you have neighbors you could ask them where their but off is located and you will likely have the same setup. If all else fails see if you can ask the former owner of the home. Good luck and let me know what you find.
Hi Mark, Good to know the information was helpful. A system winterization is not as straight forward as an activation, there are just more nuances to consider. There is a video showing how to protect the system during an unexpected cold snap, but none showing the complete winterization process.
Thanks for the video. I do have a question. If I follow those steps and you run your sprinkler system and no water comes out of any of the sprinkler heads on any zones, What next? Thanks
Then there are many possibilities. First I would check to see that there is water at the back flow device. This is checked by opening on of the test cocks. Water will shoot out the opening of the water is to the back flow. If no water then you have not opened the correct valve to the sprinkler system. If water is at the back flow be sure to confirm that both shut off valves on the back flow are open which generally means the valve handles are running perpendicular with the adjoining pipe. If after those checks and there is no water then I would suggest contacting a professional irrigation company for assistance.
In the first step, u shut the two valves before u close the two Inspection ports. What do u do if they are stuck open? What’s the importance of closing them instead of just opening the sprinkler system by opening the valve in the basement all at once? Thanks, this is a great video!!!! :)
Hi Nan. If the two test cocks are open then water will stream out at a high rate. Depending on the configuration of your system the back flow may not seal if you open the water from the shut off valve and let it fill the system. There are work arounds but difficult to communicate it via texting. If the test cocks are indeed frozen open then those must be replaced. Test cocks can be purchased separately.
If you are asking why is water coming from the top of the backflow then it means the plastic parts in the top have likely been compromised. If this is the case then see the video on replacing those parts, the popit and bonnet
I did it! I am so proud of myself. Your directions were so helpful.
Good job Karen. I’m glad you gave it a try and succeeded!
Thank you for great directions and demonstration. I am going to give it a try!
Best video I've seen yet. I lost my contractor who took care of us over the past 7 years, so I'm going to try to turn it on this weekend 4/20/24. If I have issues, I'll give you a call, since you are located where I'm located. Thanks again.
Excellent, glad it helped, call if you have questions.
I have both valves (at backflow) stuck in 45 degree position. Have tried to turn them, no luck. Any advice?
Hi, when those valves become difficult to move it means they are old or sustained some freezing damage along the way. Be careful here but get a channel lock and see if some light persuasion will move those valves to the closed position. It is common that I need a tool to get a little more leverage to move the valves. With the open channel locks, I straddle both sides of the valve in order to apply even pressure. You should be able to move them. Let me know.
@@CastleRockSprinklerService Thanks for the quick response. I will give it a look.👍
I have a question. How do I find my water turn-on Valve? I don't have a basement. Where could the valve be other than basement?
There are a number of possibilities and some of those are based on where you live. If you are in areas where the temperatures are moderate over the winter than the valve may be located near the street in a box or perhaps down below the frost line accessed with a street key. If you are in rural land it may be near the pressure tank of the well system. Sometime we see them inside a utility room in a closet in a garage. Other times we find the thing in the ceiling in the basement. If you live where you have neighbors you could ask them where their but off is located and you will likely have the same setup. If all else fails see if you can ask the former owner of the home. Good luck and let me know what you find.
Thank you for your videos I was able to turn my system on today.
Good for you Deb.
This was great. Have you done a winterizing video on the same type of system that you provided for the activation by chance?
Hi Mark, Good to know the information was helpful. A system winterization is not as straight forward as an activation, there are just more nuances to consider. There is a video showing how to protect the system during an unexpected cold snap, but none showing the complete winterization process.
Great job explaining and really appreciated this video for a newbie. Thank you very much
Excellent, I am pleased to know the information was helpful.
Thanks for the detail explanation for activating the sprinkler system.
You are welcome!
Thanks for the video. I do have a question. If I follow those steps and you run your sprinkler system and no water comes out of any of the sprinkler heads on any zones, What next? Thanks
Then there are many possibilities. First I would check to see that there is water at the back flow device. This is checked by opening on of the test cocks. Water will shoot out the opening of the water is to the back flow.
If no water then you have not opened the correct valve to the sprinkler system.
If water is at the back flow be sure to confirm that both shut off valves on the back flow are open which generally means the valve handles are running perpendicular with the adjoining pipe.
If after those checks and there is no water then I would suggest contacting a professional irrigation company for assistance.
@@CastleRockSprinklerService Thank you for the quick response!
In the first step, u shut the two valves before u close the two Inspection ports. What do u do if they are stuck open? What’s the importance of closing them instead of just opening the sprinkler system by opening the valve in the basement all at once? Thanks, this is a great video!!!! :)
Hi Nan. If the two test cocks are open then water will stream out at a high rate.
Depending on the configuration of your system the back flow may not seal if you open the water from the shut off valve and let it fill the system. There are work arounds but difficult to communicate it via texting.
If the test cocks are indeed frozen open then those must be replaced. Test cocks can be purchased separately.
Thanks so much, this was extremely helpful!
Good deal. Thanks for the feedback.
What is the bonnet keeps leaking?
If you are asking why is water coming from the top of the backflow then it means the plastic parts in the top have likely been compromised.
If this is the case then see the video on replacing those parts, the popit and bonnet