Sprinkler System Winterization

Remember the days when you only paid $75 to have your lawn sprinkler system blown out? The lawn and sprinkler companies seem to increase their fee every year for the same service. There is no new technology or improved process; Same old compressor and laborer every year.
Personally, I find it insulting to pay more for the same amount of compressed air every time they come to my house.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to blow compressed air through a sprinkler system. Although proper equipment is required. If you have a small yard, a shop air compressor may be sufficient. Most homeowners have larger yards and need an industrial strength air compressor to provide a continuous volume of 80 psi. Industrial air compressors are the perfect solution, but not $25,000 per unit.

My solution is to cancel the sprinkler blowout pirates, rent an air compressor and Do it Myself (DIY). Even though renting an air compressor is an inexpensive alternative, it has some challenges. Time constraint being the most prevalent. I must be expedient in completing the job(s) within the rental time allotted. To save time the required blowout preparation must be complete prior to renting the compressor.

So where do I go from here? This year I am renting a compressor and splitting the cost with the neighbors. If this works out, I intend to further my services to other interested homeowners. To make this worth my time and effort I will not split the rental cost but charge a flat fee of $65 per yard. Each homeowner will be responsible for prepping and blowing out their respective sprinkler system; I will only provide the compressor and associated hardware.