Rainbird sprinkler systems

[Lowggy]

I installed my own 6 head Rainbird sprinkler system. I put in two self draining attachments that came with it but I was not particularly careful about how level the lines were in the ditch I dug. We live up north were it gets extremely cold so I thought I would blow it out as well. Some where I read that you should take out the nozzles which I did. I used a 2hp compressor and set it to 50 psi and attached it to the line. Only one head came up and some water sprayed out.
My concern is that there is still water in the lines?
Should I have left the spray heads in?
Is a 2 HP compressor not enough?
Will the lines have drained sufficiently with the self draining lines I put in?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks, new member, Randy

 

[WorthFlorida]

The water probably trickled out of the heads at ground level and didn’t notice it, but you need to activate each zone with the compressor connected and working. It’s the valves that really needs to be drained along with the main line pipe. It is recommended to manually operate the valves and leave them open. It’s not the size of the compressor but the size of the tank to provide enough volume. If it’s at least 20 gal you should be OK but do allow the pressure to build up if the compressor alone cannot handle the air volume needed.

Here is about the best info available on line from sprinkler warehouse.
https://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/The-Freeze-Drain-Irrigation-s-Best-Kept-Secret-s/7952.htm

https://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/Winterizing-Your-Irrigation-System-The-Basics-s/7949.htm