Sprinkler heads

[Duffyjr]

Looking for some advice on sprinkler heads. Our system was put in by a company that used Toro products and while the original heads they uses were good, in fact the system was put in in 2005 and over half of the original heads are still working, other than them sticking up after the system shuts off they work just fine. Problem is the company is no longer in business and the Toro heads I've been replacing them with aren't as good and I already need to replace a couple so I'm looking at these Rain Birds.

https://www.menards.com/main/outdoo....htm?tid=-170707355418823224&ipos=13

From the research I've done it seems for residential Rain Bird and Hunter seem to get the best reviews but no one in town stocks Hunter heads.

I need 3/4 inch threaded heads which seems to narrow down whats available at Menard's.

So you guys that do you own maintenance what are you using?

 

[CT8]

You got good life out of the sprinklers . Last summer I replaced 30 sprinklers and I have about 10 to go. The Hunter and rain bird as well as Orbit are really similas.

 

[SZR48207]

I have those sprinkler heads. They came with a Rainbird DIY install system. No problems with them.

And yes I agree it's hard to find Hunter sprinkler parts.

 

[KneeGrinder]

I used Rain Birds when I did mine, but after talking to most of my neighbors that have sprinkler systems, I discovered they all seem to have hunters. My older brother used to do sprinkler systems for a living and all he used was Rain Birds. I'm quite happy with my Rain Birds. Are you on city water supply? I used all Orbit valves as they seemed less restrictive than the Rain Birds. I'm on a well, so each valve and zone needs to be matched properly to keep my well pump on and not short cycle my well pump which over heats it and will prematurely burn it up. That's why I asked if your on city water supply. If your on a well, when the system was set up it should have been tuned, but you could still tune it if needed. I bought all my stuff at Home Depot, except the couple thousand feet of black poly pipe! They had Hunters and Rain Birds, maybe Orbits too. I have 55 sprinkler heads, 2 different sizes, large and medium in different zones...lol, close to an acre of grass. Did everything my self, still spent well over $4000.00.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

We have mostly Hunter in system over 30 years old. Some were leaking needing replacement. Two Rain Bird were installed by the sprinkler guy. His comment was he would be back to replace them soon if he installed Hunter. My take is that Rain Bird was an upgrade.

 

[spackard]

I tried Orbit and went back to Rain Bird. They deal with fine dirt/sand contamination better.
(I've lived somewhat close to Rain Bird most of my life, so I'm fond of the name. I remember when the area was mostly orange groves and nurseries.)

 

[ecotourist]

My sprinkler guy swears by rain birds. He likes the fact they drop water quite close to the sprinkler head as well as further away. He replaced a few leaking older heads (maybe hunter) and those new rain bird heads work very nicely.

 

[Duffyjr]

Originally Posted by CT8
You got good life out of the sprinklers . Last summer I replaced 30 sprinklers and I have about 10 to go. The Hunter and rain bird as well as Orbit are really similas.


I've had some guys say they don't believe me when I tell them how old they are but the truth is most of the originals I've had to replace were either run over by my neighbor or I hit them with my mower, I've only had a couple that the gears wore out because they stopped rotating.

Thank you all for you comments I'll give them a try, the cost is a little more than the Toro's but it's also been a few years since I"ve had to replace one.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

RainBird

 

[WhizkidTN]

Hunter's MP Rotator heads on Rainbird bodies is what my irrigation dudes installed for most heads and a fixed fan on some others. Seems fine after one year (new house).

 

[Duffyjr]

Installed the Rain Bird yesterday and works great. The one I replaced was a Toro that I installed in 2013 so hopefully I get more time out of the Rain Bird.

ecotourist - your were spot on, this Rain Bird does a better job of putting down water closer to the head while keeping the distance. With the Toro heads I have to give up some of the head to head coverage by a few feet to get a good mist.

 

[Schmoe]

Had an old Toro system. I mean, like one head every 6 feet or so. PITA every year to adjust, change or fix leaks. Had a contractor come in and used my lines, but put about 1/4 as many Yard Bird heads on and got a new controller. Money WELL SPENT.