There are some products that remain with us for decades because they work. This is the case with the impact, or pulse, sprinklers. Though many places replaced them with rotor head sprinklers in the 1990’s, impact sprinklers remain very useful for many situations.
First invented in 1933 by Orton Englehardt, and then sold to the Rain Bird company, impulse sprinklers quickly replaced the ancient method of furrow irrigation. Impact sprinklers are made with heads that pivot on a bearing on top of a threaded attachment. The force of water coming up to the head forces the bearing to spin in a circle, with a sprinkler arm continuously pushed into the spray of water by a spring in order to spread the water where it needs to go. This mimics rain and provides uniform coverage of your landscape. Some impact sprinklers have a shorter second arm, called a spreader nozzle, that points in the opposite direction of the main arm. This covers a smaller radius and acts as back up to the main nozzle.
The great thing about the impact sprinklers is that they work so well in systems that run on well water. They operate at a low water pressure and they don’t clog easily, as they lack parts that would collect sand or dirt. They also come with limiting collars that allow you to pick the range of area that you water, and some brands can tuck under the turf when not needed.
Rain Bird and other companies still make these wonderfully simple type of sprinklers. American Irrigation has a lots of experience with impact sprinklers, which includes Rain Bird sprinkler repair and installation. Our employees have a lot of fondness for this sprinkler that has withstood the test of time.
If you need your impact sprinklers repaired or think they would be good to install, contact us. We have the expertise you need.