I have to keep adjusting my spray heads!

I adjusted the spray heads in one of my zones down so they’re not hitting the fence. The next time the zone waters, the heads fall short by a lot (sometimes almost a dribble). I adjust them again to the desired radius and get a short throw the following time, etc. The head filters don’t have any significant grit. Any idea what may be happening?

Do you have a pressure regulator on your sprinkler line? If not, other things could affect your system pressure and this your sprinkler throw distance, right?

What else shares your water supply? Could your house water usage affect the pressure your irrigation system gets? Could your neighbors’ water usage affect your system pressure?

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Hi Brian. No pressure regulator, but this happens without any other concurrent water usage in the house. This happens pretty consistently.

Pressure is likely your problem. It may not be pressure in your house, but other usage in the system (assuming you’re on municipal water). A cheap and easy way to see pressure fluctuation is to install a pressure gauge on the water supply. Home Depot sells a variety for around $10. That will positively tell you if supply pressure is the culprit.

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I would recommend checking the pressure into your system. The next step would be to use a nozzle that is adequate for the radius you are looking for.

Never try to use a “One size for all” nozzle and you should never try to reduce more that 10% of the nozzles distance.

If pressure turns out to be your issue, you may want to consider using Toro Precision nozzles. They are designed for low pressure uses. You can get them in the Toro or Rainbird/Hunter thread patterns.

Be sure to change all of the nozzles on the same zone.

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