Is it necessary to blow out my irrigation system with an air compressor? I’m wondering whether it’s warm enough to just drain the pipes and not blow it out as well.
A few years ago we thought that maybe it was warm enough that we didn’t have to blow out the irrigation system. That thought cost us and the waterfall in our greenhouse was impressive.
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Great thanks. That decides that! Guess I had better buy an air compressor 
Or, you could hire any number of a few local companies to do it for you. They have stronger compressors that will blow out a large system.
It’s going to be a cold winter, it’s well worth the cost of blowing out your system versus replacing blown out pipes. I just had Mathew Cleyland from Hydra Irrigation https://www.hydrairrigation.ca/ do ours today and he is excellent and very affordable. If you have an air compressor you can also do it yourself.
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Or rent an air compressor from somewhere like Pilon.
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If it was installed by an irrigation company, they will have put in a connection for an air compressor hose, and they will charge about $60 (at least ours does). If you installed the system yourself, then it may cost a company more if there’s no obvious connection point. But however you do it, you really do need to blow it out properly.
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I can also highly recommend Steve Gray at Monarch - http://www.monarchirrigation.com
He came to our neighbourhood last week and did five houses very efficiently and professionally. Each irrigation system was installed at a different time, by 3 or 4 different companies (I was “in charge”, so saw him moving from house to house). Steve was great; we’ll be hiring him for help relocating a couple of sprinkler heads to meet the changing needs of our little garden (taller bushes and trees, less grass).
We used a local Company called Irrigation by Kerry Arnott (250-338-3753). His team are great and very efficient. We had a slight puncture in one of the pipes and they fixed it at the same time.
Hmm…who are the companies that one would hire to blow out a system? Not being from the Comox Valley I have had interesting experiences trying to hire tradesmen. Gordon, could you tell me what companies are you thinking about? Are they plumbing companies? I do not know enough about Irrigation Systems.
This year I had an Irrigation System installed and I was told of the importance of blowing out and winterizing. A friend was kind enough to blow out my system because he was doing his system.
I am asking which companies I could hire as I may need someone in the future. Regards
Here are several companies that serve the Comox Valley: https://www.hydrairrigation.ca, https://www.monarchirrigation.com/home, https://www.cv-ip.ca.
Thank you, Gordon
I will keep the noted names.
Regards, Tess