At Controlled Rain, we pay special attention to building personal relationships with our customers. We do whatever it takes to achieve complete customer satisfaction. To us, our customers are much more than just another job; they are an extension of our friends and family. Because we are striving to build a connection with our customers, we would like to share with you a more personal look at one of our employees.
Adam is Controlled Rain’s Irrigation Repair Technician. With his nine years of experience in irrigation, we are confident in his ability to solve any irrigation related problems. He is constantly taking the initiative to learn about all the new products that come out on the market. Adam loves to educate our customers on water conservation, and informs them about products to help save them water, energy and money. Our customers are always complimenting his quality of work, workmanship, professionalism and his genuinely caring personality.
By all definitions of the word, Adam is an outdoorsman. He loves camping, fishing, photography and taking his dog out on long hikes. In addition to his ambitious love for the outdoors, he also enjoys running. During the winter months, he has a deep passion for snowboarding.
Some fun and interesting facts about Adam: Ironically, He didn't know what a Dachshund was until his dog was becoming longer rather than bigger. His favorite author is David Guterson, favorite book is "Snow falling on Cedars", and he has a brown belt in JUDO.
So if you need a sprinkler spring start up or repairs on your system, click below and fill out our form and we will get you on our schedule; or you can give us a call at 360-456-7578.
Mary Ann Dickinson, President and CEO of Alliance for Water Efficiency, was a keynote speaker at a Rain Bird conference in January 2013. She educated irrigation professionals from all over the nation as well as Canada on water usage, water efficiency, and water conservation. The Alliance for Water Efficiency is dedicated to the efficient and sustainable use of water; and it brings together diverse range of stakeholders to advocate for water-use efficiency and conservation.
According to Dickinson, Nationwide research shows landscaping as using the most water on a daily basis [See Diagram].
Landscape - 58%
Toilets - 11%
Clothes Washers - 9%
Showers - 7%
Faucets - 6%
Baths - 1%
Dishwashers - 1%
Other - 7%
Two terms she educated us on were:
- Water Efficiency refers to the product: lowest flow rate; and
- Water Conservation refers to the behavior of consumers using the product.
We can help the water efficiency movement by upgrading our irrigation systems with more efficient fixtures just like we did with our indoor plumbing industry. This will help change behavior to think use less water for water conservation when irrigating our yards and shrubs.
You can save up to 40% of your water use by switching out your fixtures to Green Seal products offered by Rain Bird. This translates into being environmentally responsible as well as saving money on utility bills. How much water do you use in your landscape? Are you still using a hose to water your plants, shrubs, and grass? Do you have an efficient sprinkler system with a smart controller watering only when needed? There are many ways to save on your water use.
If you want help figuring out your water usage, you can find a calculator on Rain Bird's website:
Or you can call an irrigation professional to audit your system and make recommendations.
At Controlled Rain, LLC we have a certified water auditor on staff and also have highly trained technicians that can make these water saving recommendations. Call us today at 360-456-7578 to schedule an appointment.
In the Winter, the sprinkler system is turned off and winterized removing all water from pipes to avoid freezing and breakage. So in the Spring, the system needs to be turned back on.
A Spring Start Up refers to recharging your sprinkler system with water.
Industry standard recommends that in the Spring, you have a licensed professional turn back on your system and recharge it with water. A Controlled Rain Sprinkler Spring Start Up would consist of a technician:
- Recharging your system with water by turning the water on at the main valve.
- Turning your controller on and manually turning on each zone.
- Going through each zone to make sure there aren't any breaks or debris in the pipes, valves, sprinkler heads, or nozzles.
- Cleaning out valve boxes due to critters kicking up the dirt or knawing on the wires.
- Clearing away grass from sprinkler heads so they can pop up correctly.
- Making sure the controller is operating and programmed properly.
After the Spring Start Up, the technician would:
- Perform any repairs with customer permission.
- Make recommendations for sprinkler system: for instance, your shrub sprinklers may need to be resized due to plant growth or add some drip irrigation, etc.
- Educate customer on water efficient strategies to help save time, money, and water.
If you are interested, want more information, and would like to see our Spring Start Up video, click on the link below:
World Water Day was founded in 1993 by the United Nations and has worked with local partners and communities to solve the water and sanitation crises. Each year, on March 22, we join together to highlight the global water crisis and celebrate the progress made to date.
While different organizations use it to highlight the impact of water on one day, www.water.org uses the entire week to lift up its mission: sustainable safe water access for the 780 million people currently without it. The goal is to make this a reality in our lifetime. So let's celebrate water, the progress that's been made, and that progress we are continuing to make.
In an effort to save water, Controlled Rain is offering a smart controller at a discounted price. A smart controller can save customers 30-70 percent in water. This type of controller is a weather-based schedule system that measures instantaneous rainfall data and calculates and adjusts the watering schedule preventing over- or under-watering. Each zone is customized to the location, soil type, landscape slope, plant density, sun exposure, sprinkler types, and root requirements optimizing the watering schedule while reducing water waste and runoff.
If you are interested in participating in World Water Day in the month of March and would like to take advantage of a discounted Smart Controller, click on "Are your Sprinklers Ready for Spring" and fill out the form and we will contact you to set up a time to install it.
Yep it's finally finished -- the Winterization Video.
I had the privilege to go out with one of our winterization teams and winterize several systems. I have not seen this process so it was a real education for me.
The first thing they did was turn off the water source and hookup the compressor. The compressor fitting hooked into the quick coupler key, which fit into the quick coupler valve for easy access to the pipes. The quick coupler valve is normally found in a round valve box. Once this is all hooked up, each zone was turned on at either the controller or at each valve box.
I didn't realize what the sprinklers would look like when our technicians pushed all that compressed air through the sprinkler pipes to the sprinklers. The sprinklers look normal at first and then they become all mystified and a bit scary, and then all you hear is air pushing up the sprinkler head, then it's time to do the next zone. You keep doing the same process until all the zones are done and you turn the controller to the "off" position.
Thank you to David and Dustin for allowing me to tag along and ask so many questions.
Hire a Professional to Winterize your Sprinkler System
A trained professional will be able to drain all the water from your system using a winterization blow out method – air compressor. This method ensures that you will not have any extra water in the irrigation lines, valves, and sprinkler heads that can freeze resulting in breaks and damage to your system.
Generally, there are two types of systems: one that is automatically controlled with a clock and one that is controlled manually at each valve. I will explain both winterization methods.
Caution: If you attempt this on your own, wear protective eye protection and never stand over irrigation pipes, sprinklers, or valves during this process. The manual drain valve or drain cap is pressurized and can cause injury if opened before the pressure is relieved.
For the automatic system, the technician will:
- Close the mainline shutoff valve.
- Activate a zone furthest from the air connection using the controller.
This will relieve the water pressure on the mainline. (Always keep a zone valve open from the 
time he/she starts the compressor to shut down.)
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Attach the compressor hose to the quick coupler valve using the quick coupler key.
- Set the pressure regulating valve on the compressor to 50 psi.
- Turn on the compressor, gradually increasing the airflow until all the sprinkler heads pop up in that zone (be sure not to go over 2 min per zone.)
- Switch to the next zone using the controller (never turn off the controller during the process). Repeat until all zones have been blown out.
- Repeat the cycle two or more times activating each zone until only a fine mist emerges from the heads.
- Once he/she is done blowing out all zones, the technician will leave one zone on while turning off the compressor.
- Unhook the compressor from the mainline and turn the controller to the OFF position.
For the manual system, the technician will:
- Close the mainline shutoff valve.
- Open the manual shutoff handle on one of the irrigation zone control
valves to relieve the water pressure on the mainline (Always keep a zone valve open from the time the compressor starts to shut down.)
- Attach the compressor hose to the quick coupler valve using the quick coupler key.
- Set the pressure regulating valve on the compressor to 50 psi.
- Turn on the compressor, gradually increasing the airflow until all the sprinkler heads pop up in that zone (be sure not to go over 2 min per zone.)
- Open the next control valve to winterize before turning off the control valve you just blew out. Repeat until all zones have been blown out.
- Repeat the cycle two or more times activating each zone until only a
fine mist emerges from the heads.
- Once he/she is done blowing out all zones, the technician will turn off compressor to allow any air in irrigation components to disperse before disconnecting the air hose or valves.
- Unhook the compressor from the mainline.
With our Washington weather, you never know if the weather will be freezing out or sunny one minute and rainy the next.
Have peace of mind knowing you are:
- Watering when it’s nice outside, not raining or freezing out
- Preventing overwatering
- Conserving water
- Saving money on water bills
- Preventing possible hazards
Rain Sensor:
With a rain sensor, you can have security knowing that you are only watering when it’s needed. The sensor has a removable tipping rain bucket that measures the rainfall. You can adjust the sensor to automatically stop watering when the bucket is filled to an 1/8" up to 3/4".
Rain/Freeze Sensor Combo:
The Rain/Freeze sensor is programmable. Most people set it at 35 degrees to turn off the system. This helps prevent possible hazards to pedestrians with icy sidewalks and damage to your sprinkler system and landscape.
Either the Rain Sensor or Rain and Freeze Sensors connect to most sprinkler controllers. It’s not too late to install the sensor this year.
