Yesterday went pretty well for sprinkler blowouts. We completed our entire route in Kuna, Meridian 83642, Star, Middleton, and Caldwell. We currently have 18 left in the entire valley. Eleven of these sprinkler blowouts are in Nampa, but the remaining 7 are ones that were already attempted but we couldn't find the main/drain, valve boxes, or couldn't get through gates. I am going to make one more pass through these areas, and if I am still unable to do it that will be it for me.
I will be sending out a text to the final 18 asking for a response, and if I do not get a confirmation to come out they will be removed from my route. I really want to finish these up so I can get on to several other work orders that keep piling up. Most are from current customers who would rather wait on me than go somewhere else. Customer loyalty is awesome.
The worst part about doing sprinkler blowouts with these cold temperatures isn't the sprinkler systems themselves – we had no issues whatsoever with any systems since the ground is still warm, but my compressor is another story. It can be a little tough to start on a cold morning, but the worst is condensation freezes in my hose and plugs it where I can't get any air pressure. I keep having to heat up the end of the hose over the exhaust on my compressor to melt the ice build-up.
My plan is to do the remaining sprinkler blowouts in Nampa on Sunday, and then the sweep through the remainder of the Treasure Valley on Monday, and that is it for this year. I will make another post with updated information to be ready for viewing on Sunday morning.