Another sprinkler question.

[JohnMickish]

For you guys that do lawn sprinklers for a living, do you prefer Toro or Rainbird or something else? Is there a difference?

Also, there are alot of different types of sprinker heads out there, what do you use and what kind is the "best". I see alot of the "pee stream" styles out there. These don't look like they will do an even job of spreading out the water. I see a few of the heads that spray a much finer mist, and these look like they would do a great job of putting water down evenly but not very far. Does it just come down to a choice of more but better watering vs. fewer but maybe not as even or is there more to it than this?

What about the pop up ratchet styles. Does anybody use them on a residential lawn?

[ScoutII]

Certain brands are more versital than others. All products work well when properly installed. The pee stream look that you have noticed is from trying to run toooo many heads at the same time. The more heads you can run off of a valve the cheaper the system will be to install. If you have a sufficent water supply you can water a large lawn with a lot of rotary heads on each valve, cost stays low. If your lawn has a lot of nooks and cranys and irregular shapes with narrow strips you will probably need to use stationary spray heads, which cover smaller areas per head meaning more heads covering less area. Open areas versus shaded areas means different evaporation rates, separate zones are needed to water evenly. List goes on.

We use Nelson rotors. They come with a 10 nozzle rack for easy flow rate adjustment and can easily be used in full and part circle applications. The most durable spray head is a Rainbird, but Toro sprays can cover the same area better with less water flow.