Adjusting Lawn Sprinkler Heads for a Better Result

As water shortages become more and more common around the country, one thing a homeowner can address to keep from compounding the problem is ineffective use of lawn sprinkler heads. When water is a commodity, water for your lawn and landscaping should be distributed as effectively as possible. Here are some tips for adjusting sprinkler heads for a better result.

If you're a do-it-yourself landscaper or inheriting a sprinkler system already in place, consider the coverage your sprinkler heads provide at nominal water pressure. Opening up the water line full throttle might give you the maximum water pressure, but you might be over watering in some areas and not watering at all in others - so consider how far you open the valve when watering.

Sprinkler heads are designed to provide a specific spray pattern. Typically, you will have installed 45-degree heads at the corners of your lawn, 50-degree heads along the lengths, and 360-degree heads on the inner, or center area. All these heads have an arching effect when they spray.  Its good to have these arching patterns meet each other at the furthest edge of the pattern, but avoid allowing the patterns to overlap, compounding watering. This can be accomplished in a number of ways:

• Adjust water pressure from the primary water source to expand, or contract the length of spray.
• Adjust the water pressure directly at the sprinkler head.
• Adjust the pressure and length of sprinkler cycle if you use an automated timing device.
• Reposition sprinkler heads at proper aiming positions and distances from one another.

It's important to also note that foliage, broad leaves, tree or shrub limbs, if in the way of the watering spray, will diminish the effectiveness of your sprinkler system. Also, sprinkler heads tend to get clogged from time to time with debris from mowing, and if the heads are set too close to the soil, may clog with mud from runoff after use.

If the spray pattern is compromised, check the sprinkler head for a possible obstruction. Pop-up sprinkler headsn are recommended. They tend to lay low to the soil when not in use, allowing room for your mower to pass safely. Then they rise above the lawn when charged with water pressure, and are plainly visible. Traditional metal heads, although extremely durable and long-lasting, are devastating for mower blades and make for an easy 'trip' when walking about your lawn.