Smart sprinkler winterization has two separate jobs: protect the water-filled hardware from freezing, and prevent the controller from restarting irrigation while the system is shut down. An app’s off-season setting does not drain pipes, valves or a backflow assembly. Start with the instructions for the equipment actually installed at your home.
Reviewed September 23, 2026. This is a document-based planning guide, not a record of hands-on testing or a substitute for your system’s winterization instructions.
Identify your system before booking the shutdown
Photograph the controller model label and the label on the backflow preventer. List any pump, drip zones, flow meter and exposed pipework. Give those details to the installer rather than asking for a generic “smart sprinkler blowout.” The controller brand alone cannot identify the plumbing attached to it.
Arrange the work before freezing weather threatens your installation. Ask the local installer for timing appropriate to the exposed equipment as well as buried pipes; waiting for the ground to freeze is not a useful universal rule.
The backflow instruction that needs care
For the ball-valve backflow arrangement described in Hunter’s winterization procedure, release air pressure after the blowout, cycle the isolation valves to free trapped water, then leave those isolation valves approximately half open (45°), with the test cocks open. The 45° instruction refers to the isolation valves. It is not a universal test-cock setting for every backflow model.
Have the technician identify your assembly and follow its own manual. Do not move an unfamiliar valve based only on its appearance. Keep the model number and the completed shutdown instructions together for spring.
Choose the drainage method with the installer
Hunter recommends a qualified contractor for compressed-air winterization. Its limits are 80 psi for PVC and 50 psi for polyethylene, also constrained by the lowest-rated component. These are ceilings, not target settings. Hunter prohibits blowing air through a backflow device or pump. Manual draining is appropriate only for a system designed for it. See the manufacturer’s winterization reference.
Ask how each drip zone, sensor and accessory will be protected. “The main line is empty” does not document what happened to every component. There is no single pressure number in this guide to apply to an unidentified installation.
Set the controller for the off-season
Agree with the technician when manual zone operation is needed, then confirm the final shutdown state before they leave. These manufacturer instructions differ:
| Controller | Documented winter setting | Power and restart notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hunter dial controllers | Dial or switch OFF. | Hunter says to leave power connected. |
| Hunter Hydrawise | Suspend or temporarily disable watering for the relevant zones. | Check the chosen suspension’s end date before leaving it unattended. |
| Rain Bird | OFF. | Rain Bird says to unplug a plug-in transformer; hard-wired outdoor timers need not be disconnected. After over a week without AC, reset the date and time. Programs remain in non-volatile memory. |
| Orbit B-hyve XR | Set Timer Run Mode to Off in the app. | Orbit says to keep it powered for updates. Stored programs resume when you select Auto. |
Sources: Hunter, Rain Bird controller winterization, and B-hyve XR winter preparation. For Rachio or another model, use its specific off-season instructions; do not assume the power advice above transfers to it.
If the app cannot reach the controller, do not treat a saved phone setting as confirmation that the device received it. Read our offline-controller guide. A watering-history entry also does not prove that a valve physically opened or that a pipe drained.
Your shutdown record
- Equipment models and the technician’s drainage method.
- Date completed and any leaks, stuck valves or damaged parts needing repair.
- Final controller mode and any automatic resumption date.
- Instructions for the backflow assembly, sensors and other accessories.
- A spring reminder to inspect and recommission the system before enabling watering.
This short record is more useful next season than a generic checklist marked “done.” Keep plumbing work separate from the app settings so neither is overlooked.