How To: Travelling Sprinklers
What is a travelling sprinkler?
Watering your lawn isn’t the easiest of jobs. It can be backbreaking when carrying a heavy hose and trying to reach every area of grass. A travelling sprinkler is an ideal solution and one which will make life a lot easier. In fact, a travelling sprinkler could well be the fastest and easiest way to water a large lawn. But what is a travelling sprinkler?
Quite simply, it is a sprinkler on wheels which can travel across your lawn without the use of petrol, diesel, or electric power. They use water pressure to work. The water from the hose turns several gears that are connected to the axle. In turn, this moves the wheels on the sprinkler.
Most travelling sprinklers feature two wheels and two sprinklers on top. Generally, the distance the machine can travel is dependent on the length of hose attached to it. Once the end of the hose has been reached, the machine will automatically switch off. Larger areas of lawn will require a bigger, more powerful machine.
Do I need a travelling sprinkler?
Simply ask yourself whether you have a lot of lawn that needs watering. If you answer yes, then a travelling sprinkler may well be a good investment for you.
A travelling sprinkler has a number of benefits including:- Low labour requirement
- A lot less water is wasted – it only uses what you need
- Its fine spray is ideal for plants and grass
- It can be left unattended
- One of the lowest cost per acre (hectare) mechanical move systems
- Continuous movement to ensure uniformed coverage
- Extremely portable and storable
Which travelling sprinkler should I buy?
There are many options to choose from but we would recommend the Nelson Rain Train Water Tractor.
This proven travelling sprinkler is one of the best on the market and is equipped with 3 speed settings - High (HI), Low (LO), and Neutral (N) allowing you to apply either a light watering, a heavy watering, or when in neutral as a static sprinkler, a slow soak of a particular area. It also covers an area up to 1000m2.
How do you setup a travelling sprinkler?
With the Nelson Rain Train Water Tractor it couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is:
- Connect the hose pipe to a tap and then lay the pipe in the middle of the area you want to irrigate. Consider the route you want the travelling sprinkler to take and use wide gradual turns wherever possible. Keep an eye out for areas that might normally be missed and direct the pipe around any obstacles.
- Position the front wheel of the Nelson Rain Train at the end of the run of hose pipe, with the sprinkler facing back towards the tap. Loop the end of the hose pipe back around on itself and connect it to the water tractor.
- Once a gear is selected and the water is turned on, the sprinkler will follow the hose pipe back towards the tap.
Find out more about the Nelson Rain Train Water Tractor here.