A Cool Sprinkler, a Hose Reel Fix and Moving a Play Set

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DerbyDad03 14 years ago

The Sprinkler:

I bought a new sprinkler this weekend which I think is pretty cool.

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Note the orange ring in the center. By setting "peaks and valleys" with the ring, you can adjust the distance that the water travels. I have a rectangular lawn and never had a sprinkler that allowed me to "set it and forget it". Every style I've tried required me to water the lawn in sections.

With the Gilmour, I can put it in the middle of the yard and adjust the ring to shorten the distance for the narrow sections of the rectangle. It's pretty cool to watch to water follow the outline of the lawn as the mechanism rides the peaks and valleys of the ring.

If I had one complaint it's that the unit is mostly plastic. I have an all metal spiked impluse sprinkler that has taken a lot of abuse over the years. I can't imagine that the Gilmour unit will handle the same abuse, so I'll have to be gentle with it. Other than that, it's pretty neat.

The Hose Reel:

I have the following hose reel mounted to the side of my shed.

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The reel mounts on a plastic hub that has 4 connection points to the mounting bracket at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions. The other day I happened to look between the reel and the bracket and noticed that the 12 o'clock connection (where most of the weight is) was cracked and spearated from the bracket.

I removed the reel and bolted a piece of 1/4" aluminum flat stock inside the hub, reattaching it to the bracket.

Since that connection probably has more stress on it than any other point, I'm guessing I'll get many more years of service from the reel.

The Play Set:

A friend bought a huge 2 tower playset with a poly spiral tube slide and poly tunnel connecting the towers. He paid $250 on Craiglist. The slide alone sells for over $500 new.

All we had to do was dismantle it and move it. 2 pickups, a mini-van with the seats removed and my 5 x 8 enclosed trailer and the play set is now in a pile in his back yard. Putting it back together will be an adventure, but we'll get it done.

All in all, it was good weekend!

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WW 14 years ago

SNIP

Hope you took pictures as you dismantled it. WW

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DerbyDad03 14 years ago

The Sprinkler:

Not only did we take pictures, but we labeled the connection points as things were taken apart. We used numbers for one tower and letters for the other so we know which 4 x 4's, walls and deck sections go with which.

The numbers went up to something like 22 and the letters went to PP since the second tower has more levels and parts.

I snuck in one B145 just to screw with my friend. It was on a minor part, so it should't screw him up to badly. ;-)

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hrhofmann 14 years ago

How long does it take for the sprinkler to go thru 360 degreees? If too slow you would have to wait a long time to see if your settings are correct.

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DerbyDad03 14 years ago

30 seconds, maybe? I don't know, but if I stand behind it as it rotates, I have to basically keep moving - slowly, but consistantly.

Regardless, you don't have to wait until it circles around. You can just rotate the impulse mechanism by hand to a point before your adjustment and see if it's right. It freewheels.

If you look at the picture at this link...

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...you'll note the long green "bar" pointing downward and resting on the right side of ring. The water comes out opposite that bar. As the bar rotates towards the viewer and climbs the hill, it pushes the front down and shortens the distance. Therefore, when you stand opposite the output (by the bar) any adjustments you make are for the direction you are looking, if you know what I mean.

BTW, it's not only for full circles. You can set those 2 pointed tabs to water less than a circle, just like on any impulse sprinkler.

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A Cool Sprinkler, a Hose Reel Fix and Moving a Play Set

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