Taking Apart & Cleaning your Irrigation Pipes (Part 4 of 7)

Updated

Take pipes A, B and C off your Flex Acre, then scrub each pipe and fitting. The fittings are quick disconnects, so no tool is needed.

After deep cleaning your Drip Lines and Disc Filter, you can begin taking your vertical irrigation line apart. Work from the top down, and expect an open joint where your Disc Filter sat, as the filter came off the line during the bench block before this one. Your Top Caps and both Drip Lines came off in Draining your Flex Acre (Part 1 of 7), and the bench cleaning of those parts, your Disc Filter included, is Deep Cleaning your Drip Lines & Disc Filter (Part 3 of 7). Follow the steps in Keeping your Flex Acre Clean before you begin.

Gather Tools:

  • Hot Water
  • Scrub Pads
  • Bristle Brush (in the Grower Toolkit)
  • 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Ladder

Step 1: Confirm your Flex Acre is Stripped Down

  1. Confirm your Primary Pump is unplugged.
  2. Confirm your Light Bars are unplugged.
  3. Confirm all 16 Top Caps are off your Root Chambers.
  4. Confirm both Drip Lines are off your Flex Acre.
  5. Confirm your Disc Filter is off the line and at the bench.
  6. Set your ladder next to the Corner Post that carries the irrigation line.

Your Primary Pump and Light Bars came down at the start of the reset, and your Tank was drained and cleaned in the two parts before this one, so this teardown starts on a dry line.

Step 2: Disconnect the Top of the Line

  1. Climb the ladder to the top of your irrigation line.
  2. Disconnect the irrigation from the 90 degree fitting at the Corner Post.
  3. Undo the top 3 velcro straps.

Step 3: Remove Pipe C and Pipe B

  1. Lift pipe "C" clear of the open joint where your Disc Filter sat.
  2. Set pipe "C" aside.
  3. Disconnect pipe "B" from the Main Send Valve (called the primary valve in your assembly manual).
  4. Set pipe "B" aside.

NOTE: Your Disc Filter came off the line in Part 3 of 7 and is already at the bench. Pipe B comes off at the Main Send Valve on its own.

Step 4: Remove Pipe A

  1. Undo the remaining 2 velcro straps.
  2. Disconnect the 90 degree fitting above the pump.
  3. Set that fitting aside.
  4. Slide the Lid Plug off pipe "A".
  5. Confirm pipe "A" is free of the pump.

The Lid Plug over pipe "A" is the one with the hole drilled through it, and it is the only one of your 6 Lid Plugs that fits there. That plug came off your Tank Lid in Draining your Flex Acre (Part 1 of 7), and it stays captive around pipe "A" until the pipe is free at both ends.

Step 5: Scrub the Pipes and Fittings

  1. Keep pipes "A", "B" and "C" separate as you work, as each one goes back in a fixed spot on the line.
  2. Take apart all the irrigation pieces you set aside.
  3. Pull each 90 degree fitting apart.
  4. Clean out the inside of each fitting.
  5. Scrub each pipe section inside and out.
  6. Rinse each pipe section and each fitting with hot water.
  7. Spray every clean piece with 3% hydrogen peroxide and set it out to air dry.
  8. Keep pipes "A", "B" and "C" separate as you work, as each one goes back in a fixed spot on the line.

The fittings on pipes "A", "B" and "C" are quick disconnects, so these pipes and fittings come apart by hand, and no tool is needed for this teardown. Pipes "A", "B" and "C" are labeled on the pipe itself, which is how you tell them apart once they are wet and out of position. Take each piece apart only at its fittings, so every joint goes back together and seals.

Step 6: Set your Rebuild Order

  1. Lay your clean pieces out in the order they came off.
  2. Keep the Lid Plug with pipe "A".
  3. Set your clean Disc Filter beside pipe "B".

Your row now reads top to bottom: pipe "C", your clean Disc Filter, pipe "B", the 90 degree fitting from above the pump, then pipe "A". Your Disc Filter goes back on the line above the Main Send Valve, not onto pipe "B" itself. Part 6 of 7 runs that row backward, from the pump upward, after your Tank is refilled. The steps are in Refilling your Tank & Rebuilding the Irrigation (Part 6 of 7).

Your irrigation line is apart, scrubbed and laid out in order. Well done!

Previous: Deep Cleaning your Drip Lines & Disc Filter (Part 3 of 7)

Next: Washing your Panels, Root Chambers & Frame (Part 5 of 7)