If you have experience with different types of lawn/garden sprinklers, please help a newbie here!
Which is the best lawn sprinkler for city life? We have a normal Chicago backyard with a walkway in the middle. Also front lawns and parkways, again with a sidewalk and walkway right there. This creates tight spaces.
Frankly, I don't care about a few dollars. I really want the best, that will last and let me control watering.
If you can suggest specific brands and models that would be great. For stores, I only know Home Depot and Menard, so if they are not right, please suggest the stores as well. THANKS!
install a sprinkler system. it takes time, but it will be automatic. be sure to install a water sensor which overrides watering when there is enough moisture. Ingrid
It's a small *existing* urban yard, you expect someone to hack it all to hell just to install a couple three sprinkler heads, and you haven't a clue what's growing there.... all that's needed is a $10 sprinkler and a small length of hose.... you don't even know how to quote, how would you ever know how to turn a hose bib valve, let alone install an entire automatic sprinkler system, through concrete no less.
: install a sprinkler system. it takes time, but it will be automatic. : be sure to install a water sensor which overrides watering when there : is enough moisture. Ingrid
In the long run perhaps. Our yards is evolving and something like that will make more sense when we are ready for final landscaping.
Right now we are only looking for one or two portable devices. We need to cover the back yard, front lawns and parkways (little patch of grass between the street and the sidewalk). In any event we'll always need a small portable sprinkler for the parkway because we cannot install anything permanent there even if we wanted to.
The kind with pipes buried underground, pop-up sprinkler heads, and a self-adjusting timer. Once it's installed and working correctly you rarely have to f*ck with it.
P.S. Why the crosspost to soc.culture.indian? Hoping to get a response from Tusshar?
A soaker hose (or drip hose) works well in tight places. These are inexpensive too. I've had bad luck with Melnor, Gardenia and Gilmour. A "rainbird" kind can shoot in a pie-shape pattern and at a long distance. A hose timer can reduce water waste and runoff.
We are visiting a relative's lake cottage. For some reason, their laptop is setup to receive s.c.i but many ng's seem difficult. I am no computer expert, so just a matter of convenience.
: I've had bad luck with Melnor, Gardenia and Gilmour.
Does this mean Nelson was okay?
Also, I remember you have Craftsman. Somehow I have become used to thinking in terms of Home Depot and Menards, probably because they are nearer, but Sears is a classic store for such stuff and I wouldn't mind going there.
BTW, are there any reviews on sprinklers? Consumer Reports reviews all sort of stuff but I couldn't find sprinklers.
I have found the metal Nelson oscillating sprinkler to be the best. It's well made and efficient. Also, I snapped the hose end off once ( its only weak spot), called the manufacturer because they were sold out everywhere, and they shipped a new one for free, without proof of purchase or sending the old one back..
I own two of those Nelson sprinklers, I've used them for more than 20 years. I don't use them as much as I did where I lived last (was a much smaller yard then) but I still use them for spot watering my newly planted trees here during dry spells. I've owned and used other sprinklers, these are the only ones that last. Btw, the Poppy sprinkles a rectangular pattern... you can't see it in the picture but that center hub has slits that also distribute water so along with the water from the arms it makes the rectangle. You can easily adjust the size of the spray by adjusting the water flow. For the circumstance you describe a couple of these is your best choice, they'll work front and back. And Nelson is a high quality brand. For $10 and free shipping from Amazon you can't lose. The only added advice I can offer is to get full value from these sprinklers (any sprinklers really) they need to be placed so they are level... but sometimes if the lay of your land is such you may want to tip the sprinkler too, then you can water a larger area on one side of a walk and a smaller area on the other side, so in some ways this type sprinkler is more versatile than those automatic system heads. I had a fully automated
8 zone system at my last house but still there were plenty of times I used these to supplement, because it can be a pain to switch the system between auto and manual.... nine times out of ten you'll forget to switch it back, and if you mess with the time duration you can really screw up the works, adn even worse when you need to water a different pattern. So even with the most high tech auto sprinkler system an old fashioned manual sprinkler is very often the best choice.
If you look really carefully on the ground near the foundation just to the right of my hose reel you can see one of my Poppy sprinklers... sorry, I don't have a better pic:
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I leave those sprinklers out 24/7 all year, can't kill them... just every so often I change the hose connection washer, costs a whole penny.
If you make a halfway decent living, and like your lawn green, just get an automated sprinkler system. Make sure they use Hunter sprinker heads and controller and Toro valves. These are cheap - $2000 to $3000. You will never have to bother with dragging hosese around.
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