Excellent, glad it helped, call if you have questions.

Good job Karen. I’m glad you gave it a try and succeeded!

You are welcome!

Good for you Deb.

Excellent, I am pleased to know the information was helpful.

Good deal. Thanks for the feedback.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.👍

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