During the warmer months of the year, your yard’s sprinkler system is responsible for regularly watering your lawn and plants to keep them looking their best. As time goes by, you may start to take the sprinkler system for granted. In the event that it fails, your lawn can end up being heavily underwatered or flooded.

There are various factors involved when it comes to how long an automatic sprinkler system will last. Let’s take a closer look at them now.

Automatic Sprinkler Life Expectancy

Since an automatic sprinkler system is made up of a number of different components, it’s not unusual for each component to have a different life expectancy. On average, it’s a good choice to consider replacing your sprinkler heads every 10 years.

Lower quality sprinkler systems may need to be replaced sooner, and higher quality ones may last longer. The irrigation pipes are placed underground and are hidden away from damage from lawn mowers and other common yard tools. Since these pipes are made of durable metal, they can often last 30 years or longer before needing replaced.

Issues That Can Shorten the Life Expectancy

There can be many variables that will shorten the life expectancy of your automatic sprinkler system. Some homeowners may experience a few issues, and other homeowners may never see any of them.

The automatic sprinkler system life expectancy can be shortened by:

  • Damage done to the pipes or sprinkler heads
  • Tree roots growing into the pipes
  • Rodents digging around or into the pipes
  • Water calcium or limescale build up causing clogs

In order to increase the life expectancy of your sprinkler system, there are some general maintenance tasks and inspections you can perform.

Tips for Increasing the Life Expectancy

During the spring, it’s important to do an entire inspection of the system before turning it on for the season. Walk along your system and check each of the sprinkler heads. You want to be sure they are not blocked by dirt or grass, and that all of the sprinkler heads are pointing where you need them.

For a summertime check, you want to be sure your sprinkler system can keep up with regular watering during the hot months. Do another visual inspection of the sprinkler heads and give it a few test runs to ensure all sprinkler heads are producing enough water to properly cover your yard.

When the cooler months of Fall start to move in, your irrigation system can be prepped for the winter months. You can use compressed air to remove any remaining water from the line. This will prevent the water from freezing, swelling, and breaking your line or sprinkler heads when there is snow on the ground.

Regular visual inspections and fixing minor issues as they arise can help increase the life expectancy of your sprinkler system by several months if not years. Seasonal regular inspections and proper winterizing are very simple tasks that can go a long way.