Classic sprinkler experts

[supersuds]

Advice/suggestions appreciated!

We're having a mini-dry spell here and I've found that both of my old sprinklers (from K-Mart) are barely functional. In fairness, they're ancient.

Naturally, this makes me think I should get another old sprinkler, but better quality.

There are a lot of Sunbeam Rain Kings on Ebay. Are they fairly likely to be still working? I like the idea of getting something American-made, and they also look like they'd be fun to watch.

I also like the looks of this Dramm Spinning Sprinkler. Anybody have experience with them?

http://www.amazon.com/Dramm-15074-C...3-1570244?ie=UTF8&refRID=1K9BDHYV2PJFXVFVTNT8

 

[rp2813]

I've always liked Rain Kings but have never owned one.  I can't imagine there's a whole lot that can go wrong with them, but others here may know if there's anything to watch out for.

 

I'm not familiar with Dramm.  I'll bet an old Rain King is the better performer of the two.

 

So far this season I've been able to get away with almost no lawn irrigation, and the lawn in our back yard is still green.  It helps that we haven't had many days above 80 yet.  The front lawn is another story, but it has had issues for several years.  This wasn't the year to try and repair it.   I'm crossing my fingers that with reduced irrigation and capturing warm-up water and gray water that I'll meet the mandatory 25% usage cut the state has imposed.  We have a long dry summer ahead.

 

[arbilab]

Used a Rain King A LOT. Before they made them out of plastic. This is the travelling one. Does have gears, don't know what it takes to wear one out. The ones that don't travel, there's not much to them to break but you don't get the large/even coverage with one setting like the travelers.

 

[cuffs054]

I do love those Rain Kings!

 

[luxflairguy]

As it happens, I collect Rain King sprinklers and have over 40 of them! I used one yesterday for the first time this summer. I have almost every model and use all. I do love the model K and newer with the dial top. Even the last of the line with the plastic arms work surprisingly well. The traveler's are fun to watch marching across the lawn! I say go for a Rain King! Greg

 

[whirlcool]

When did the Rain King first hit the market? That's one of the first sprinkler I remember, back around 1956 or so. They were very popular.

 

[luxflairguy]

Believe it or not, Rain King sprinklers have been around since probably 1910! They were originally made in Chicago by Chicago Flexible Shaft. I have ad's from as early as 1925. When did Sunbeam acquire them? My feeling is soon after WW11. That's when the model K came into being. Greg

 

[appnut]

Had a couple too when growing up. 

 

[supersuds]

Thanks for the feedback!

Sounds like a Rain King is the one to go for. I have an odd-shaped lawn with nooks and crannies so am thinking a traveling sprinkler might not work.

Luxflairguy, as I recall the Chicago Flexible Shaft Company changed its name to Sunbeam at some point, maybe the Forties? I have some prewar Sunbeam Shavemaster ads that note it is a product of Chicago Flexible Shaft.

 

[brucelucenta]

Plenty funny! Glad to know there is another weirdo who has a collection of sprinklers. At least I'm not the only one.

 

[brucelucenta]

There actually are a lot of good sprinklers out there now. You can find them everywhere. The gear driven orbital ones are quite good and cover a lot of ground. They are very adjustable for coverage too.

 

[whirlcool]

No wonder, we were living in Chicago at the time. A lot of people had those Rain Kings. When I first saw them they looked so rugged and new compared to others that people were using, which were mostly plastic.

 

[artcurus]

I do minor refurb on those Rain King sprinklers, I absolutely love them. They do a fantastic job of watering the lawn. I have two in active use. One of them being a childhood sprinkler, but albeit it's not a very happy camper at the moment.

There's two different versions of these sprinkers, one with a large nut holding the bottom on, these are very early, late 40's. The next iteration had three screws holding the bottom on.

The biggest killer on these is freezing. It doesn't seem to matter if the sprinkler is completely drained, at the end of the season, drain it, and put it someplace where the tempature is relatively constant. Good example would be the top of a full size fridge in the garage or a shelf about halfway up the wall.

If it's leaking at the bottom, the gasket can be replaced, then resealed with silicon. Carefully remove the screws holding the bottom on,cut a piece of gasket material to fit, silicone and reinstall.

If it's leaking at the top, that's more difficult. Remove the screw holding the red top on, under that, you'll find two more screws, remove these and gently pry the silver top off to gain access ot the head. Be exteremely careful of that gasket that's directly underneath the head, this is not an easy replacement, and you might have reuse it. Once inside the head, take note of where the teeth are, and used to a sharpie to mark the location of the teeth (VERY IMPORTANT). Gently remove the gasket, taking care not to break it. Then take extremely fine sandpaper, and clean where the gasket was sitting, replace the gasket and run a bead of a very thin bead of silicone around the gasket. Replace the silver top, tigthen down, and wait on the silicone to dry.

*OPTIONAL

While the head is disassembled, you can remove the arms and clean/polish them. There's two different models of these sprinklers, one with the screw in jets, and one that dont. There's also two arm gaskets that could be replaced, but if they aren't leaking, leave them alone.

To remove the arms, if your model has the screw in jets, (like the one pictured in this thread) gently removed them, and push up on the bottom of the arm, it should pop up. You can use Brasso or other metal polish to clean them up.

Final note-

If the sprinkler pops up and stalls, it's toast. The main bearing is completley shot.

 

[supersuds]

Thanks for the tips!

 

[supersuds]

Wow

A NIB Lawn King went for $56+. On eBay.

 

[rp2813]

Got One!

I stopped by an estate sale on a whim today.  There wasn't anything of interest inside the house, but I found a Rain King model K2 sitting by itself out in the back yard.  Price:  $3.

 

This one is the '40s vintage with large bolt on the bottom.  Probably late '40s, as the housing tract dates back to around 1949.  I'm sure it was the first sprinkler purchased for that home.  The sprinkler body was loose on the base so I found a gasket for a P-trap connector that fit perfectly.  It might be thicker than necessary, but it did the trick.  Loosening the bolt took some coaxing with a large socket wrench and a couple of shots of PB blaster.

 

Arcturus mentioned above that "If the sprinkler pops up and stalls, it's toast."  This sprinkler of mine might be headed in that direction.  I noted that the area adjustment knob on the top turns the arms for a horizontal spray direction at the 5 setting, and from there each higher increment turns the arms upward until they are positioned for vertical spray at the 50 setting.

 

With basic physics in play here, when the knob is set to 5, the arms on my Rain King spin rapidly.  When set to 50, it pops up but doesn't spin.  It will spin reliably at the 35 setting, but 40 is iffy.  It makes sense that spinning isn't as easy with the spray holes aimed vertically as opposed to horizontally.

 

So are the bearings going or does the sprinkler perhaps just need some exercise?  Maybe a little of both?  I think it may have been sitting for a long period, since I presume it would have spewed water out of the large gap between the body and the base without a gasket in place.

 

I may only use this if the grandkids want to come over on a hot day.  Probably not this summer, but once we're past this current drought and restrictions on water use have been lifted.

 

[supersuds]

Can't go wrong for $3.

I had NIB model spotted on ebay but it ended up going for $58 or so.

 

[rp2813]

Yeah, ebay has become a haven for overpriced merchandise.  It's a matter of paying for the convenience of finding what you want with just a few clicks.  There's one on Etsy for $21 + change that looks low mileage and I saw another on ebay for $19 that looked low miles too, but it had a broken knob, although that wouldn't impact operation.

 

I just happened to be cruising through the CL appliance section using key search terms and the listing for this estate sale nearby popped up.  As is always the case, I didn't go there on a sprinkler hunt, but one turned up. 

 

For serious use, you'll be better off finding one that you can be certain is in proper working order, and neither of the Etsy or ebay items have been tested.  After testing my RK yesterday I can assure you that they really throw the water around and distribute it evenly over the entire area to be irrigated.  It's one of the more versatile and effective sprinklers I've ever used.   Some serious thought went into its design.

[this post was last edited: 5/23/2015-17:19]

http://https//www.etsy.com/se-en/listing/228022214/storewide-spring-sale-vintageantique?ulsfg=true

 

[bvf]

im a collector as well

Im a collector of sprinklers too and have a sprinkler system in my house which is original and dates to the 1930s..still works and probably some of the original heads from 1936…Also I own the frist pool in tucson arizona…built is 1930s

 

[gansky1]

Thanks for the rejuvenation tips on the Rain King. I have one (later version as pictured above) and use it now and then. We have a 1/2 acre yard so generally the tractor sprinkler gets his job done with little or no attention but I do like the RK for smaller areas. I had a neighbor stop and play with it one day, said he was going to look for his own on ebay, etc. as he had one as a kid and forgot how much fun it was.