Lawn Sprinkler enthusiasts

[rp2813]

Square Spray -- "It Gets The Corners"

Tom, the red sprinkler you described sounds like a Squarespray.   One of our local ACE stores still carries them.  I found one recently at a thrift store in like-new condition.  I think it might be a vintage one, but haven't compared it to what I've seen at ACE. 

 

For larger areas, when we didn't have in-ground sprinklers at our last place, we got a Nelson "Pattern Master" which had a pulsating impact (Rainbird) type of head that had a tab on the back that was held against a plastic ring via spring pressure.   The ring was flexible with pegs attached below it at intervals of about an inch.  The pegs could be pushed all the way down, causing maximum upward tilt of the head (farthest spray), or all the way up for the reverse effect, and anywhere in between.  By creating contours in the ring, you could customize the spray to reach all corners of a particular patch of grass and almost eliminate overspray.   The whole thing sat on a pair of skis and got the entire lawn done in one shot without having to move it, with adjustable stops set for a 180 degree sweep and positioning the sprinkler at sidewalk's edge.   We used that sprinkler for 18 years until we moved, and it was all plastic.

 

Everything's in-ground here, so there's no need for hose-end lawn sprinklers anymore.  That doesn't mean I wouldn't grab a reasonably priced vintage green Rain King if I found one, though!  I love those things!

 

Here's a picture of the sleek modern iteration of our old Pattern Master, and a couple of the Squarespray.  I like that both types offer the option of stringing multiples along a length of hose.

 

 

[tomturbomatic]

Thanks for the picture

I still wonder how the impeller changed the circular water pattern into a square one unless it was the impeller's dragging the spray across the dead corners to fill them in. I did not know of anyone who connected the sprinklers together. Even if the yards had needed it and people in our mid 50s subdivision could have afforded more than one sprinkler, I don't know if the water pressure would have been sufficient to fully power more than one. I used to look at various types of lawn sprinklers and wonder how effective their spray pattern would be at the bottom of a dishwasher in place of the impeller.

 

[petek]

I like those pattern masters. I've had a few but the ring seems to only last a couple of years and then snaps. At least that's been my experience with them.

 

[rp2813]

Tom, if you look closely at the picture I posted above (or perhaps at one in person) you'll see that the three holes at each corner of the top plate on the Squarespray are shaped differently, as in more oval.  I think that's the trick to getting a square pattern.

 

I thought the same thing about water pressure if multiple (like two at most) sprinklers were run in sequence.  With enough pressure though, I could see a pair of Squaresprays managing to cover a rectangular lawn area with a single placement.

 

[jons1077]

sprinkler collection

I have a huge collection of various sprinklers. I will post pictures soon.

 

[westie2]

Jon welcome back to the AW.

 

Charles/Westie2

 

[jons1077]

Thank you Charles!

 

[sudsmaster]

I like the oscillating old sprinklers, but my small front yard now has a tree and several rose bushes planted in it, which block water from a traditional oscillating sprinkler.

The best approach would be pop-up underground sprinklers, but I haven't quite gotten around to that.

Instead I have a semi-permanent setup. The yard is basically a square, about 30 feet per side. I got some of those rotating ratcheting type sprinklers at the home improvement center, and put one at each corner of the lawn. The two closest to the house are in a small strip of dirt that doesn't have grass. I then attached them to a dual port hose timer. The two closest to the house go off first, and there's enough water pressure to run them well. Then the other two go off, again enough pressure to run them.

When it comes time to mow the lawn, about once a week during the height of the growing season, I just pull up the two outer sprinkers and move the garden hoses that connect them to the timer out of the way, mow, and put them back. The two that are setup closest to the house, in the dirt strip, can stay put because they (and their hoses) are out of the way of the mower.

This actually works well enough... eventually I'll dig up the lawn and lay down PVC pipe for a more traditional "popup" built-in sprinkling system. But for the past few years this hose-end system has worked well enough. Yes, you see the hoses during the week, but that's a small price to pay for a green lawn.
[this post was last edited: 6/26/2014-13:47]

 

[cuffs054]

Two houses ago the front sprinkler system used the tradional whole/half circle heads but the large area was covered by a Toro pop-up ocillating head. Never seen one before or since.

 

[paulg]

Sunbeam model PK

Here's our Sunbeam model PK. Bought it at an estate sale for one dollar. It didn't look like this though. If it were cleaned up they probably would have asked two dollars!
Although we have an automated sprinkler system, this little sprinkler comes in mighty handy when the main sprinkler is not working.

 

[jons1077]

Vintage Sprinkler Collection Photos

I took several quick snapshots of my collection. It's grown considerably over the years. When I have a little more time I'll go through and actually take individual photos of the NOS sprinkler outside of their boxes. Just figured these would provide a nice teaser for now. The RainTrain from 1977 is one I just picked up on EBAY a couple of weeks ago.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Well, I have some pics of other sprinklers but I couldn't get 'em down-loaded from my camera... (I need to make more space on my computer) So, so far, here's my Back 'N' Forth (which unfortunately <span style="text-decoration: underline;">doesn't</span> anymore!) Sprinkler Model:


-- Dave