Sprinkler Heads and Risers

Although a wide variety of sprinkler heads is available for every conceivable application, most residential homes are best served by adjustable, pop-up sprinkler heads and risers with full. half circle, and quarter circle watering patterns. When not in use, the head rests flush on the ground, out of the way of the mower and foot traffic. Each sprinkler head discharges a specific number of gallons per minute over a given radius, and each requires a certain water pressure in order to achieve its designed throw.

Sprinkler Heads and Risers

Most sprinkler heads have a flow control to adjust how far the water is thrown. Heads set for a specific arc are the most popular, such as three-quarter, 30°, and 60° arc. Heads with adjustable arcs are hard to find and expensive. If you do buy a head with an adjustable arc, check the specifications to make sure that this feature does not drastically affect the throw rate. This could change your watering strategy.

Sprinkler heads with a square pattern and a low precipitation rate are also available. A square pattern is useful in narrow areas such as side yards and in parking strips. Use low precipitation ahead where runoff is a problem due to sloping grade or clay soil.

Whenever possible, group sprinkler heads by the requirements of an area. Besides pop-up spray heads, impulse sprinklers are useful for watering large areas. However, they are difficult to use efficiently for smaller ones. If wind is a problem, place a pop-up sprinkler with rotary action in the center of a lawn area. It will disperse water evenly in large drops rather than a spray.

Risers

Risers bring the water from the underground pipe to the sprinkler heads. The height of the risers must be carefully adjusted. Several types of risers are available to make this adjustment easier. Cutaway risers have sections of thread in short increments along their length. It is easy to cut away small 1/2-inch pieces, one or two at a time until the proper height is reached. Flexible risers also require proper height adjustment, but if the sprinkler head is accidentally kicked or hit by a lawn mower, the risers flex rather than break.