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A well-chosen lawn sprinkler can make the difference between having a beautiful and lush landscape or just any old lawn on the block. Sprinklers typically come in 4 basic designs and branch off from there. Each type has aspects where it excels and there are others where it falls short. Your lawn type will determine which of the 4 types is best suited for you. The size of your lawn and the type of soil you have are major factors in choosing a sprinkler. A sandier soil needs to be watered more frequently then a clay soil.
For irregularly shaped lawns or landscapes that require spot watering, a fixed sprinkler is going to be the best choice. Due to their limited design, fixed sprinklers don't off much in the way of flow rates and may require constant monitoring if over watering is a concern.
An oscillating sprinkler uses a piece of metal attached to a stationary base. The curved metal tube portion then oscillated back and forth and covers a rectangular pattern. A good oscillating sprinkler will pause just enough when watering furthest away so that each area is covered equally. In some cases you will also be able to choose flow rates and width patterns.
Revolving sprinklers use three or more arms that extend from a stationary base and basically fling the water out and cover a hemispherical area, water pressure and the setting on the sprinkler will determine just how much coverage you can get with one of these sprinklers. Unfortunately saturations aren't really consistent.
Impact sprinklers are probably the most popular type of sprinkler and can cover a very large area compared to the other 3 types. A jet of water is directed in a circular pattern by an external hammer. Impact sprinklers tend to have the best options for controlling flow rate. You can choose a fine mist for delicate plants, or a heavy flow to thoroughly soak a large lawn. Because it covers a circular area and the distance can be adjusted, these sprinklers tend to be the best all around choice.
Of course these options all pale in comparison to an in ground sprinkler system. An in ground sprinkler system can be designed to fit your specific lawn needs, but can be costly to install. Choosing the right lawn sprinklers is an important task for anyone serious about their landscape.
A portable sprinkler is particularly useful if you have a small lawn since it can be chore to move it around by hand for a large lawn. If you live in an area with reasonable amount of rainfall, the portable sprinkler can be use to supplement rainfall when the occasional drought period arise.
You can shop for a portable sprinkler easily in any well-stocked nursery or hardware store. Review the information on the sprinkler box. It should indicate the size and shape of the area it can cover.
There are many designs for portable sprinkler and you should evaluate carefully which one will meet your needs. Some models allow you to cover odd-shaped lawn while other may have a tractor system that can move along the water hose.
After you purchase your portable sprinkler, you will want to do a test to see how it performs. In particular you want to know how much water it is using to cover your lawn. First, place the portable sprinkler at the center of your lawn and turn it on for about ten seconds. You want to know exactly how much area it can cover. After ten seconds, turn the portable sprinkler off and place about seven or eight empty cups in the area covered by the portable sprinkler. Turn on the portable sprinkler again and leave it running for ten minutes.
After ten minutes, turn off the portable sprinkler and check the amount of water for each cup. The amount in each cup will vary, as portable sprinklers tend to have uneven water distribution. However, the variation should not be more than 0.25 inch. You will use the cup that has the least amount of water for your estimation. Lets assume that there is 0.2 inch of water in the cup with the least amount of water. If you want to apply 0.5 inch of water, you will have to leave the portable sprinkler running for 25 minutes.
A good hose is also vital for your portable sprinkler to work efficiently. A good hose will roll up easily in any weather and does not kink or crack. A cheap hose will give you more maintenance headaches down the road as it tend to kink and crack after using it for some times. You will also waste precious water due to leakage from the cheap hose.
It is also advisable to hook up a timer between your faucet and your hose. You simply set up the timer and it will shut off the sprinkler automatically after the set amount of time has elapsed. This will prevent any wastage of water.
Once you have everything set up properly, you will want to monitor the response of your lawn and adjust the water application accordingly. The portable sprinkler may not cover a few spots in your lawn and you will have to do the watering manually for these spots. Nevertheless, with the introduction of a portable sprinkler, the time you spent watering your lawn will be dramatically reduced and you can have more time to relax and do the things you want to do.