wrote:
I just bought a house with a pretty sophisticated looking irrigation
system (Toro). I have no previous experience with these. The previous
owner purchased an annual maintenance service to start it up in the
spring and winterize it in the fall. The guy came out today --
terrific fellow -- to purge the system. He told me it was $285 for the
annual service. I am not sure I want to pay that, and I KNOW my wife
will flip out when she hears, but I don't want to just let such a nice
system go unused. I do have access to an air compressor for purging,
but don't know trying to self-service all this myself is over my head.
Anyone have any advice or know where I can get detailed instructions
about how to do it myself?

I have a (now) 20-year old Toro system which came with the house
when I bought it 12 years ago. I have always done the maintenance
and only screwed up once.

My screw-up: I waited too long one season to drain the anti-syphon
valve and the freeze broke the plastic internals. I replaced them in
15 minutes using a $30 kit from our local hardware.

My Toro heads are supposed to be self-draining so I don't blow my
system out. I just drain the anti-syphon valve and associated pipes,
then cycle every branch with all the vent/drain valves in the
anti-syphon valve open.

I have a Febco anti-syphon valve, the one on the upper left at

http://www.jerman.com/

You must drain the anti-syphon valve, its feed pipe, and the copper
pipe from the valve to the irrigation system!

I have lost one head overwinter in my 12 years of use. That's a $15
repair which you can do completely without tools if you have strong
hands.

My 20-year old heads are starting to go, as yours will also, so it's
wise to learn how to replace them. Yours might go sooner if you
have the same kind of idiot squirrels chewing on them as I do.

If I had a compressor, I would purge.

If the system seems confusing, ask your friends and neighbors for
help. Somebody in your neighborhood must understand how to winterize a
system.

Jason