A lot of people ask me what the best sprinklers are, and the answer is that it depends on the job it needs to do.
Here are some pros and cons of various types of sprinklers:
Standard Toro/Rainbird pop-ups: are good sprinklers in that distribute a lot of water in a short space of time and they are cheap and easy to replace. If well maintained the sprinkler body and seals can easily last 5 years. Their negative is that their spray can mist and get easily blown by the wind.
Gear Drives – Gear drives are tough and are generally used over larger areas or where there may be traffic expected. You wouldn’t use gear drives in smaller lawn areas as they are really suited to areas 8m and larger. You can generally only get 3 gear drives/station off suburban pressure, but if you have a rectangular backyard then these could suit. They are more expensive than the standard pop-up, but you will use fewer of them.
MP Rotators – These are nozzles that slot inside regular sprinkler bodies. They distribute water slowly and allow better penetration. They can also span large areas and an entire front lawn can often be done on one station because of their low water requirements. Their negative is that they are expensive and if you have a bore they will result in your pump running for longer.
Impact Sprinklers – these are the classic old ‘machine gun’ types that pump out a heap of water over a very long distance and have an adjustable arc. These aren’t pretty because they need to sit above surface level but they can cover a huge area so if you are tight on $$ and want to do the job cheaply one of these in each corner might just get you by.
