Seasonal management of irrigation systems: how to avoid frost damage and machine downtime

In the main agricultural countries of Europe, industry reports indicate that frost events and lack of seasonal maintenance of irrigation systems can cause significant economic damage. In particularly cold years, up to 30% of the plants affected by frost suffer damage to their electropumps, with significant repair costs.

The failure rate of irrigation systems that do not adopt a scheduled shutdown and maintenance protocol is, according to the European Commission EIP-AGRI, about 40% higher than for those following preventative and scheduled activation guidelines. Even civil systems, if not protected, can face the same problems and risks of downtime and costly extraordinary interventions.

These data highlight how strategic it is to carefully manage the seasonal downtime and perform a proper system shutdown after the summer period, to avoid costly downtimes and extraordinary maintenance.

Switching off the electropump after summer

Often, in agriculture, the winter shutdown of the irrigation system is seen as an opportunity to temporarily suspend electrical supply and reduce costs. This apparent saving can lead to serious issues at restart.

The components of an electropump are designed to run either continuously or with managed pauses, and a complete stop without any maintenance can cause mechanical damage, and even electric failures due to extended stress, eventually requiring removal of the electropump from the well.

Maintenance during the inactivity period

FB’S advice, based on over 30 years of experience producing Made in Italy submersible pumps and motors, is to operate the system at least every two months.
This means running the electropump for a few seconds, a simple but critical operation to preserve submersible motor efficiency and to prevent blocks or mechanical damage. Even running the pump for just a few seconds allows you to remove possible scale and rust buildup, effectively cleaning the system on the inside.
This operation also keeps the submersible motor and electropump lubricated, lets you monitor operational status, and quickly intervene in case of anomalies.
Finally, in environments particularly at risk of freezing, it is recommended to completely drain piping and electropumps before winter.

A professional approach for durability and performance

FB electropumps, made with high-quality materials such as precision-cast stainless steel, are designed to withstand the toughest conditions and guarantee top energy performance. A correct shutdown and maintenance protocol is part of the life cycle of these products, because it ensures that at startup there are no issues that delay work or increase intervention costs.

It is therefore not enough to simply pause the system: you need a clear action plan that includes periodic system operation.