I am so thankful for whenever i "youtube" a lawn question and see your name pop up! I always know I'll get a great answer and watch a great video. Thank you for your work over the years.
The swinging arm (the impulse arm) "impacts" the sprinkler body to cause it to rotate. Hence the name "impact" sprinkler. It's also sometimes referred to as an "impulse" sprinkler because when the arm hits the body it taps the sprinkler's body hence delivers a force "impulse". Without the impulse arm it would not rotate. It's a clever mechanism.
I built that same sprnkler system its cheap to make and works better than the old fasion type. And if the sprinkler head breaks or somthing a new one is 3 - 9 dollars. I have used mine for couple of years with no problems. Great video
I honestly think the Orbit 5,000 sq. ft rotating spike sprinklers have become my go-to for my front yard. They work similarly to your diy sprinklers and have plenty of adjustability & no problems putting 2-3 together in series. You do have to run them for a decent amount of time, but they get the job done and are easy to use. I recently picked up a couple of sleds from bigsprinkler and the jury is still out on them..
Excellent breakdown, Ryan. You bring up a great point about the 'curtain' of the impact sprinkler. It should cover evenly. Having said that, I highly recommend getting an irrigation system. I didn't like paying the money for it but it reclaimed a lot of my time, does a better job and offers me more flexibility. I used to drag hoses around all the time to water, which isn't a problem on weekends. But on weekdays, threw a crimp in my happiness and required my attention far too much during dry summers.
I understand and it was frustrating at first but since I've setup my above ground system it kind of stays in place so it's easier to manage. We'll see what the future holds.
I’ve been debating swapping my impact sprinklers for your DIY setup but was hesitant because I wasn’t sure if it would put down that much more water than the impact sprinkler. But as you pointed out, you can have 3 or 4 on at the same time depending on water pressure making it more efficient. I’m only able to have 1 impact sprinkler on at a time which in the end wastes more water. You’ve helped me make my decision. Great video as always, thank you!
The Nelson rain train is my number one recommendation to customers who have the right shape of lawn. I've had mine for 35 years. They are infinitely adjustable and are the next best thing if you don't want to move sprinklers around all day. Really saves labor especially if you connect it to a timer.
Thanks for the info! I’m working on something similar to your DIY system but using rainbird irrigation tubing and heads along with a couple orbit sprinkler timers for early AM warring. Its inexpensive so I figured worth a try. I also have a creek that runs along my property that I’m tapping into using a harbor freight sprinkler pump to save on some of the water cost.
Great idea for the sprinkler setup you got. I’ve searched endless hours looking for the best setup for me and decided to go with the gilmour pattern master impact sprinkler. Being able to customize the spray pattern to my rectangular front and back yards is tough, but with the pattern master I just have to place it in the same spot and it gets the job done. 2 pattern masters on opposite sides of the yard on sprinkler timers seems to work great. Still wish I had underground sprinklers but that’s a hard sell to my wife lol
I just didn't want to spend the money on underground either and this system I use works fine for now. You can make a lot of things work with a little effort.
Oscillating sprinkler works best for me as a low cost solution. Very even coverage - doesn't move seed too much - and with a big yard I still only need two spots to completely cover it.
Excellent video!! Thank you. You should do a part 2. Place a rain gauge in lawn and test each of those sprinklers. See which drops most in 1 hour time. 0.44"/hr with last one not too bad.
Just received my Hunter MP's to have a similar setup as yours. Bought a few (well quite a few to try out different distances and angles) so I can do the front and back yards together. Can't wait to try it out. Thanks for the sharing.
You really need to put in a sprinkler system. I bet you’d be surprised how easy and affordable it is. I put mine in last year. I measured my yard and sent a diagram to Rainbird. They then created a custom plan for my yard and sent me a list of everything I needed. I ended up renting a trencher and putting in 67 sprinkler heads to cover approx .25 acres. I think it needed up costing about $1,500. It was so worth it. I get nice, even coverage and never have to mess with it. My sprinkler system just runs. I even bought a 10 pack of rain gauges made specifically for sprinkler systems. Feel free to reach out to me if you want any info.
Thank you Ryan for taking the time to do this video, I think about the best sprinkler alot, keep trying some, some have pooped out, so this is helpful.
Another Great Video!! I am lucky because I have a full inground sprinkler, but that took a long time to install. However that makes sense because my lawn is over 40000 sq. Feet But still informative because I still use one of these every once in a while.
Ryan Knorr Lawn Care Yes it is and a big Bill to water. It is 90 percent KBG and 10 percent Tall fescue or something like those numbers. I use a 52 inch simplicity courier ZT to mow it and love that motwer. Lays stripes like a boss! Domination to my neighbors who mow in a circle. LOL What is the sq footage on your lawn?
Ryan, I love your channel. I followed your new lawn guide to the T. Thank you. I was wondering what you thought about those Traveling Tractor Sprinklers?
I remove the tabs on the impact sprinkler so it only goes clockwise, It's quieter and won't bother my neighbors. They only mow two or three times a summer, they just don't get it.
Ryan, I hope you can give some advice here. I just had new Bermuda sod layed and I'm using 4 -Orbit H2O 6 gear drive sprinkler heads to irigate the lawn. 2 of them are running in line with each other on one side of the spigot, and the other 2 are Also running in line together from one hose to the spigot. Problem is, even though they cover somewhat decent, the pressure I'm losing when connecting two sprinkler heads together on one hose, I feel I could possibly get better coverage using one really nice impact sprinkler head unit Using onky one hose to feed it and it would do better that using two separate Heads from one hose. What do you think?
I have the same gilmore impact sprinkler except mine is green. Ive gone through two of these and gilmore is now sending me a third. None of them work correctly. They stop moving eventually. So frustrating. I think my water pressure is to high. When I try to rotate the head with the water on there is a lot a resistance. This seems to be a bad design. Even if I only turn the water on 1/4 turn it still does this. HELP!!
Great info Ryan! Been trying think of a good way to eater when I overseed the Back yard in the fall. I think you pointed me in the right direction my friend!
Impact sprinklers are my favorite. Less evaporation than the oscillating or sprinkling versions. We are still in the low 60's here in eastern WI.not much need for irrigation for a few weeks yet hopefully. :( crazy lake Michigan.
I live on the other side of Lake Michigan. You hit the nail on the head when you called the lake crazy. Most of the time when it looks like we are going to get some rain, as soon as it hits Lake Michigan it falls apart and we don't get anything. My sprinkler runs more than I like. Also my water supply comes from the lake. Go figure.
Barb Zylema yep I've been over in Holand, MI a few times, it's crazy just depending on wind direction it can be beautiful or crap depending on wind direction.
Hello I do have a question when you are using the above crown sprinkler system with the hoses that attach to the steaks what type of holes do you use are you cutting a hose various times or are you buying short hoses and connecting them
Ryan, the gilmour impact sprinkler that you recommend, is no longer available on Amazon. Is there another impact sprinkler you can recommend besides the one you have?
Overwater? Underwater? It's easy to forget about the sprinkler let it run for hours or all night. I use a digital kitchen timer to remind me when to move the sprinkler.
Question.... i used scotts turf builder weed n feed about 1.5 months ago, used milo about 2-3 wks ago...my question is when can i do another weed treatment?? Im getting some more weeds than just spot treating. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance
I know this is off topic for the video, but how often do you sharpen your blades of your mower. I know you use a tradition push mower a lot of the times like I have. So I was just wondering.
@RyanKnorr do you have well water? I’m using your DIY system and was curious as to your water source and how closely the specs match you throw distance
That oscillating sprinkler is actually not the correct link in the description, the one you are using is the Ray Padula RainDance oscillating sprinkler
Ryan, Since you use these things pretty much all of the time, what do you think about driving a piece of PVC into the ground to be a "receiver" for the spike end of your sprinkler. That way you can get them in the same spot everytime
Might not look at that great but I think it would work. I usually keep one of mine in the ground out of sight so that I can string the other ones from that point and usually get them pretty much in the exact same spot as they were setup before.
My question is why would you not want a sprinkler to mimic a rain fall like an oscillating sprinkler ? I know it doesn't put down as much water but isnt that the point ,too give the ground time to soak it up ?
Don't trust manufactures' numbers. One has to measure the Gallons Per Minute (GPM) actually used and the actual wet square foot area (A) covered to determine how much Time (minutes) it takes to get 1-inch of water laid down from any given sprinkler. Measure GPM at your meter and measure Area by pacing off the wet space. The formula is T = 0.625A/GPM. I just reviewed an oscillating sprinkler that when measured uses 5 GPM and covered 1600 sq. ft (advertised as 4200 sq ft!). This tells me it has to run for 200 minutes to lay down 1" and will consume 1000 gallons. Your subs might find it interesting if you did such a test on each of your 3 sprinklers as there are no such videos on YT like that.
A simple test as I explained gets one to the Time value for 1" coverage, but it is a whole other matter to get uniform coverage. Here is one video that is very helpful in understanding how important layout and measuring actual water distribution is concerned. It's odd there is not much out there on this topic. I may have to run some tests like this guy did but using normal sprinklers. ruclips.net/video/6UU5X2sTMpI/видео.html
I’ve been watching your lawn care vids for a while, may I ask: how would you treat/seed a un-level lawn with lots & lots of weed? I want to seed Zoysia as I live in Winter Park, FL, but should I take time killing the weeds (before grading, top soil) or should I just grade the lawn, top soil, seed with zoysia and worry about weeds later ? (bad crabgrass every where)
Why not just put in an automatic system? I put in a RainBird drip system for my beds at my house & it's exciting that it exists for lawns! RUclips videos show how easy it is & you are so committed to a topnotch lawn that it strikes me as crazy that your approach is old school! It's time to get with it!
Check out my channel. I have performance tested many hose-end water sprinklers recently to measure how well they distribute water, what their true area coverage is, and what their precipitation rate is in inches/hour. Most sprinklers do a poor job of evenly distributing water, leading to both under-watering and over-watering. The testing has been interesting, and I have many more models to test. I suspect "pop-up" nozzles, designed to be part of an array, may not perform well individually compared to traditional hose-end sprinklers. We shall see. The information should help people determine how to best water their lawns with hoses. Just adding by bit ....
The other con to your diy sprinklers is how many parts you have to buy. You'd need to buy short individual hoses, those spikes, and underground sprayers. Instead you can buy a $50 sprinkler and one hose and be done.
Lol im lazy LIKE SUPER LAZY, every house ive lived in has a inground sprinkler system, coz no way am i gonna constantly "move" sprinklers around my yard to water. Lol id rather just let the yard die b4 i ever do that
I intentionally looked up this video. I’m officially an adult now.
Haha that’s the truth. Its an interesting hobby
Me too
Same. It's a sad day for me... I am becoming my dad 😄
Lol same here bro 👍
I am so thankful for whenever i "youtube" a lawn question and see your name pop up! I always know I'll get a great answer and watch a great video. Thank you for your work over the years.
I’m using my grandmothers Gilmore sprinkler from like the 90s😂 it works perfectly.
“From the 90’s”😂😂😂😂
The swinging arm (the impulse arm) "impacts" the sprinkler body to cause it to rotate. Hence the name "impact" sprinkler. It's also sometimes referred to as an "impulse" sprinkler because when the arm hits the body it taps the sprinkler's body hence delivers a force "impulse". Without the impulse arm it would not rotate. It's a clever mechanism.
An impact sprinkler is called impact because of the mechanism that makes it rotate.
I built that same sprnkler system its cheap to make and works better than the old fasion type. And if the sprinkler head breaks or somthing a new one is 3 - 9 dollars. I have used mine for couple of years with no problems. Great video
I honestly think the Orbit 5,000 sq. ft rotating spike sprinklers have become my go-to for my front yard. They work similarly to your diy sprinklers and have plenty of adjustability & no problems putting 2-3 together in series. You do have to run them for a decent amount of time, but they get the job done and are easy to use. I recently picked up a couple of sleds from bigsprinkler and the jury is still out on them..
Those orbits look nice as well.
I love that second one. The Gilmore. Heavy duty and it works for my yard. Awesome unit.
Excellent breakdown, Ryan. You bring up a great point about the 'curtain' of the impact sprinkler. It should cover evenly. Having said that, I highly recommend getting an irrigation system. I didn't like paying the money for it but it reclaimed a lot of my time, does a better job and offers me more flexibility. I used to drag hoses around all the time to water, which isn't a problem on weekends. But on weekdays, threw a crimp in my happiness and required my attention far too much during dry summers.
I understand and it was frustrating at first but since I've setup my above ground system it kind of stays in place so it's easier to manage. We'll see what the future holds.
Totally agree. With the very sandy soil I have the irrigation system going in last year was a game changer.
I’ve been debating swapping my impact sprinklers for your DIY setup but was hesitant because I wasn’t sure if it would put down that much more water than the impact sprinkler. But as you pointed out, you can have 3 or 4 on at the same time depending on water pressure making it more efficient. I’m only able to have 1 impact sprinkler on at a time which in the end wastes more water. You’ve helped me make my decision. Great video as always, thank you!
Glad to help!
The Nelson rain train is my number one recommendation to customers who have the right shape of lawn. I've had mine for 35 years. They are infinitely adjustable and are the next best thing if you don't want to move sprinklers around all day. Really saves labor especially if you connect it to a timer.
Paul Biel my raintrain worked so good I bought another for the back yard. About a quarter inch on high and half inch on low. Great product!!
Thanks for the info!
I’m working on something similar to your DIY system but using rainbird irrigation tubing and heads along with a couple orbit sprinkler timers for early AM warring. Its inexpensive so I figured worth a try. I also have a creek that runs along my property that I’m tapping into using a harbor freight sprinkler pump to save on some of the water cost.
Update on this?
Great idea for the sprinkler setup you got. I’ve searched endless hours looking for the best setup for me and decided to go with the gilmour pattern master impact sprinkler. Being able to customize the spray pattern to my rectangular front and back yards is tough, but with the pattern master I just have to place it in the same spot and it gets the job done. 2 pattern masters on opposite sides of the yard on sprinkler timers seems to work great. Still wish I had underground sprinklers but that’s a hard sell to my wife lol
I just didn't want to spend the money on underground either and this system I use works fine for now. You can make a lot of things work with a little effort.
@@ryanknorrlawncare How can I increase water pressure to run more sprinkler heads?
Oscillating sprinkler works best for me as a low cost solution.
Very even coverage - doesn't move seed too much - and with a big yard I still only need two spots to completely cover it.
Same story
That's exactly what I use, works great for me!
My kids want to know which is more fun to run through? Great comparison video 👍🏼
Oscillating for sure!
Excellent video!! Thank you. You should do a part 2. Place a rain gauge in lawn and test each of those sprinklers. See which drops most in 1 hour time. 0.44"/hr with last one not too bad.
That's a good idea. I'll see if I can come up with a test
Just received my Hunter MP's to have a similar setup as yours. Bought a few (well quite a few to try out different distances and angles) so I can do the front and back yards together. Can't wait to try it out. Thanks for the sharing.
Great! Good luck
You really need to put in a sprinkler system. I bet you’d be surprised how easy and affordable it is.
I put mine in last year. I measured my yard and sent a diagram to Rainbird. They then created a custom plan for my yard and sent me a list of everything I needed.
I ended up renting a trencher and putting in 67 sprinkler heads to cover approx .25 acres. I think it needed up costing about $1,500.
It was so worth it. I get nice, even coverage and never have to mess with it. My sprinkler system just runs. I even bought a 10 pack of rain gauges made specifically for sprinkler systems.
Feel free to reach out to me if you want any info.
Thank you Ryan for taking the time to do this video, I think about the best sprinkler alot, keep trying some, some have pooped out, so this is helpful.
Glad to help!
Great video with easy to follow details!
Another Great Video!! I am lucky because I have a full inground sprinkler, but that took a long time to install. However that makes sense because my lawn is over 40000 sq. Feet But still informative because I still use one of these every once in a while.
That's a huge yard!
Ryan Knorr Lawn Care Yes it is and a big Bill to water. It is 90 percent KBG and 10 percent Tall fescue or something like those numbers. I use a 52 inch simplicity courier ZT to mow it and love that motwer. Lays stripes like a boss! Domination to my neighbors who mow in a circle. LOL What is the sq footage on your lawn?
About 11k sq ft of grass
Ryan Knorr Lawn Care Thanks for replying.
Ryan, I love your channel. I followed your new lawn guide to the T. Thank you. I was wondering what you thought about those Traveling Tractor Sprinklers?
I remove the tabs on the impact sprinkler so it only goes clockwise, It's quieter and won't bother my neighbors.
They only mow two or three times a summer, they just don't get it.
Nice. I had to start watering my yard. It looks better. How's the low- mow project doing?
A lot of different grass types mixed in so it's surviving but not exactly what i had in mind. I'll update soon.
Ryan, I hope you can give some advice here.
I just had new Bermuda sod layed and I'm using 4 -Orbit H2O 6 gear drive sprinkler heads to irigate the lawn. 2 of them are running in line with each other on one side of the spigot, and the other 2 are Also running in line together from one hose to the spigot. Problem is, even though they cover somewhat decent, the pressure I'm losing when connecting two sprinkler heads together on one hose, I feel I could possibly get better coverage using one really nice impact sprinkler head unit
Using onky one hose to feed it and it would do better that using two separate
Heads from one hose.
What do you think?
I have the same gilmore impact sprinkler except mine is green. Ive gone through two of these and gilmore is now sending me a third. None of them work correctly. They stop moving eventually. So frustrating. I think my water pressure is to high. When I try to rotate the head with the water on there is a lot a resistance. This seems to be a bad design. Even if I only turn the water on 1/4 turn it still does this. HELP!!
That DIY system is clutch. I think my situation would benefit greatly from two impact sprinklers facing each other, thanks!
Great info Ryan! Been trying think of a good way to eater when I overseed the Back yard in the fall. I think you pointed me in the right direction my friend!
Glad to help!
Impact sprinklers are my favorite. Less evaporation than the oscillating or sprinkling versions. We are still in the low 60's here in eastern WI.not much need for irrigation for a few weeks yet hopefully. :( crazy lake Michigan.
I live on the other side of Lake Michigan. You hit the nail on the head when you called the lake crazy. Most of the time when it looks like we are going to get some rain, as soon as it hits Lake Michigan it falls apart and we don't get anything. My sprinkler runs more than I like. Also my water supply comes from the lake. Go figure.
I will take any of that cool weather you will give me. We are way hotter than we should be and it's miserable.
Ryan Knorr Lawn Care and the crazy part is only about 20 or 30 miles west of here its 20 degrees warmer!
Barb Zylema yep I've been over in Holand, MI a few times, it's crazy just depending on wind direction it can be beautiful or crap depending on wind direction.
You can pull the restrictions plugs out of the impacts , to really add volume out put !!
Wow thanks for that information 👍🏽🍻
Won't you end up with dead grass/hose lines being that the hose is on the ground?
Hello I do have a question when you are using the above crown sprinkler system with the hoses that attach to the steaks what type of holes do you use are you cutting a hose various times or are you buying short hoses and connecting them
My favorite type of portable sprinkler is a revolving sprinkler.
Best thing about an impact sprinkler is that it does not stop up.
Ryan, the gilmour impact sprinkler that you recommend, is no longer available on Amazon. Is there another impact sprinkler you can recommend besides the one you have?
Will the larger base from the oscillating sprinkler harm seedlings or new baby grass from growing?
I like the way you think! 👍
I just found this channel and I think it is full of lots of good info. Are you in Iowa?
Brandon Hayes he is West of Des Moines I believe.
Central Iowa
I switched to the big sprinkler sleds with hunter stainless steel i 25 mounted
Which one has the water travel the furthest ? I'm trying to find one that can cover the whole yard and some raised beds
Will you show how you build one of the DIY heads?
He's got a video on how-to; ruclips.net/video/ULXTVEyenuY/видео.html I followed his directions and it actually worked!
You can do the same spike system with rainbird rotor heads.
Overwater? Underwater? It's easy to forget about the sprinkler let it run for hours or all night. I use a digital kitchen timer to remind me when to move the sprinkler.
Is it inconvenience to move last system around when mowing?
Nope not at all.
Question.... i used scotts turf builder weed n feed about 1.5 months ago, used milo about 2-3 wks ago...my question is when can i do another weed treatment?? Im getting some more weeds than just spot treating. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance
Spraying would still be more effective at this point as long as temps are under 85
I know this is off topic for the video, but how often do you sharpen your blades of your mower. I know you use a tradition push mower a lot of the times like I have. So I was just wondering.
Try to do it once a month but sometimes I get lazy. So every 1-2 months usually.
I really like your mod system!
Thanks!
What do you purchase to build that third system you like so much?
All the parts you need are linked in the description
I'm nervous about watering my grass because I'm on a well, any thoughts?
I'm in the same boat. Did you ever get any advice?
What kind of brand is the oscillator fan in the beginning????
@RyanKnorr do you have well water? I’m using your DIY system and was curious as to your water source and how closely the specs match you throw distance
no i don't have a well
Links have gone bad. Does it matter if it’s a 3 inch riser or two or 4?
That oscillating sprinkler is actually not the correct link in the description, the one you are using is the Ray Padula RainDance oscillating sprinkler
Sprinkler spile link not working. Update?
Ryan,
Since you use these things pretty much all of the time, what do you think about driving a piece of PVC into the ground to be a "receiver" for the spike end of your sprinkler. That way you can get them in the same spot everytime
Might not look at that great but I think it would work. I usually keep one of mine in the ground out of sight so that I can string the other ones from that point and usually get them pretty much in the exact same spot as they were setup before.
Ryan, , do you sell your sprinkler?
yes
My question is why would you not want a sprinkler to mimic a rain fall like an oscillating sprinkler ?
I know it doesn't put down as much water but isnt that the point ,too give the ground time to soak it up ?
Thanks for sharing this information. Nice to see you have made a DIY solution, something to think about!
Nelson raintrain all day!!!
Don't trust manufactures' numbers. One has to measure the Gallons Per Minute (GPM) actually used and the actual wet square foot area (A) covered to determine how much Time (minutes) it takes to get 1-inch of water laid down from any given sprinkler. Measure GPM at your meter and measure Area by pacing off the wet space. The formula is T = 0.625A/GPM. I just reviewed an oscillating sprinkler that when measured uses 5 GPM and covered 1600 sq. ft (advertised as 4200 sq ft!). This tells me it has to run for 200 minutes to lay down 1" and will consume 1000 gallons. Your subs might find it interesting if you did such a test on each of your 3 sprinklers as there are no such videos on YT like that.
Interesting stuff. I might have to see what I can work up there for a test.
A simple test as I explained gets one to the Time value for 1" coverage, but it is a whole other matter to get uniform coverage. Here is one video that is very helpful in understanding how important layout and measuring actual water distribution is concerned. It's odd there is not much out there on this topic. I may have to run some tests like this guy did but using normal sprinklers. ruclips.net/video/6UU5X2sTMpI/видео.html
I’ve been watching your lawn care vids for a while, may I ask: how would you treat/seed a un-level lawn with lots & lots of weed? I want to seed Zoysia as I live in Winter Park, FL, but should I take time killing the weeds (before grading, top soil) or should I just grade the lawn, top soil, seed with zoysia and worry about weeds later ? (bad crabgrass every where)
Ever tried a Nelson rain train? Check it out!
Why not just put in an automatic system? I put in a RainBird drip system for my beds at my house & it's exciting that it exists for lawns! RUclips videos show how easy it is & you are so committed to a topnotch lawn that it strikes me as crazy that your approach is old school! It's time to get with it!
Check out my channel. I have performance tested many hose-end water sprinklers recently to measure how well they distribute water, what their true area coverage is, and what their precipitation rate is in inches/hour. Most sprinklers do a poor job of evenly distributing water, leading to both under-watering and over-watering. The testing has been interesting, and I have many more models to test. I suspect "pop-up" nozzles, designed to be part of an array, may not perform well individually compared to traditional hose-end sprinklers. We shall see. The information should help people determine how to best water their lawns with hoses. Just adding by bit ....
Where are you located?
Best sprinkler for your lawn and garden is a hand held hose with you holding it period.
Nice hat, Go Vikings!
The other con to your diy sprinklers is how many parts you have to buy. You'd need to buy short individual hoses, those spikes, and underground sprayers. Instead you can buy a $50 sprinkler and one hose and be done.
Doesn't get nearly the same type of coverage for smaller or areas that are not traditionally shaped but everyone can choose what works best for them
Are they made in China?
The best sprinkler is from Big Sprinklers
Lol im lazy LIKE SUPER LAZY, every house ive lived in has a inground sprinkler system, coz no way am i gonna constantly "move" sprinklers around my yard to water. Lol id rather just let the yard die b4 i ever do that
b.s.