Home Improvement and Installing a Lawn Sprinkler

Rotary

• A rotary sprinkler is part of an underground irrigation system and pops up when activated by a connected water valve. An underground system is commanded by a connected irrigation timer, which activates the connected water valves.

  To install lawn sprinklers into an existing irrigation system, dig up the ground along the existing irrigation line around the spot where you wish to install the additional sprinkler. Insert a fitting along the line. Use pipe primer and glue to ensure a clean and secure installation. Screw a pipe assembly into the fitting and the rotary sprinkler onto the assembly. Bury the pipe and the sprinkler in the ground. Have the head of the sprinkler sticking up a bit from the ground.

Oscillating

• Oscillating sprinklers rotate back and forth from a pivot point that is parallel to the ground. The water flows from one side of the yard to the other in a fanning motion. To install an oscillating sprinkler, screw a regular water hose into a water faucet on the side of the home. Screw the other end into the end of the oscillating sprinkler. Turn the faucet on. Adjust the sprinkler to the angle at which you would like the sprinkler to water, using the adjustment knob on the base.

Impact

• The base of an impact sprinkler varies, depending on the model. There are flat bases, spiked bases and even bases fitted into underground rotary sprinklers. If the impact sprinkler features a spike, spike it into the ground in the area you wish to install the sprinkler. Screw one end of a regular water hose into the water source and the other end into the side of the impact sprinkler. If you wish to connect another sprinkler, spike the extra sprinkler into the ground and screw one side of another regular water hose into the other side of the original sprinkler and other into the side of the extra sprinkler. Turn the water source on.

Traveling

• A traveling sprinkler actually moves across the lawn to water the yard in a path that you design with the water hose that feeds it. Insert the two arms of the sprinkler into the rotating mechanism on the top of the sprinkler. Twist them in opposite directions of each other but at the same angle from the ground. Twist them upward for a broader watering range or downward for a more narrow watering range. Adjust the traveling speed. A faster speed means less watering for areas of the lawn, whereas a slow speed means a more saturated lawn watering. Lay the hose out in the desired watering path, screw the hose into the back of the unit and set the sprinkler's front wheel on top of the hose.