SPRINKLY - Matt 100's & 1000's - Green - 1kg

Product Information

The spread is quite wide, doing a relatively good job of evenly covering a rectangular space. It is also possible to reduce the water pressure by using a dial on the unit. This may be helpful for people with smaller gardens or very high water pressure. We test garden sprinklers by connecting them to a hosepipe and putting them to work on a flat garden lawn for a period of 20 minutes. We measure the range covered by the spray and look at the density and coverage of the spray pattern, to see if it leaves obvious gaps – or throws more water out in some places than in others. There are 17 jets in total, which can be adjusted easily to water on only one side of the sprinkler, or both sides in a relatively even rectangle. A good quality product will give you years of use, whereas a cheap version may cause you nothing but hassle and need replacing after a short time.

We’d seen the advertising videos where a grown man is standing with both feet on this sprinkler and all that happens is a bit of bending before returning to shape, so of course we had to try that for ourselves. Sure enough, it took my 14 stone like a champion, something I doubt any of the plastic sprinklers could have done without showing signs of damage. This model is a strange looking little thing, almost resembling a mini surface to air missile launcher or futuristic tank. The plain blue plastic base is in contrast with the grey sprayer head and its multiple orange switches, and it certainly stands out. This colour scheme is probably going to be one of those love it or hate it things, but I did like that it made the sprinkler easy to see and therefore less likely to be trodden on. The water connection has a rust-free metal filter that prevents dirt particles from entering the oscillating sprinkler and it can be removed so that you can clean it off easily under a tap. The spray nozzles can be wiped of limescale residue with your finger.

How we tested

Costwise have come up with a simple solution in their Oscillating Bar Lawn Sprinkler by including a base with metal construction, instead of using more-commonly-found plastic. This adds more weight to the sprinkler, making it less likely to jump around. Firstly, let’s start with the yellow tabs on the side. This enables you the adjust its range of motion. For me personally, this means being able to avoid unnecessarily watering my artificial grass, and instead being able to perfectly target my raised beds. Very clever. As the name suggests, the pro has two modes: fine spray and jet. The modes are diametrically opposed along the swing arm and can be switched by turning the grey grips at the input end. Make sure you hold the grey spray bar when adjusting and switching between the modes, as it swivels about a bit. Both give pretty decent coverage of up to 230 sq m, depending on your hose pressure. There is a sight downside to this design though, and that is if your hose is the type to create bumps and kinks in itself, as this will cause the tractor to get jammed and stop moving. If this happens, and you’re not there to move it along, it can cause one part of your lawn to get waterlogged. This stopping can also be caused by long grass pushing the hose up into the button underneath.

As you can imagine, this isn’t the cheapest sprinkler set-up, and they’re also time-consuming to install. Nevertheless, they’re a good option for regularly watering the lawn and established plants. Size of CoverageThe soloman is made of metal, in silver or copper red, which gives it a solid feel, although it does rattle a bit at the top. It’s described as a “fun garden accessory for the kids” and with the right amount of pressure it does deliver. You can clean it easily and it ships fully assembled, so all you have to do is screw the connector in and plug and play. The connector itself is pretty low quality, however, which lets the ensemble down as there’s a fair bit of leakage.

Balanced oscillation – if you buy a cheap oscillating sprinkler, it may slow down at the end of each oscillation creating puddles close to the unit! Because of the adjustable pattern and flow control, rectangular sprinklers are suitable for most sized gardens. They attach to a garden hose and can be stored away when necessary. Several stationary sprinklers will need to be used to cover the whole lawn, as their maximum area coverage is limited, so they’re better for small or medium sized gardens. If your home seems to have better water pressure at night than during the day, and therefore you’re forced into using your sprinkler once the sun goes down, you should probably buy yourself a water timer so that you don’t end up over watering and causing problems with fungi. A good water timer can be set to turn your sprinklers on and off reliably and at times and durations of your choosing, reducing the risk of overwatering. Water timers come in digital or analog styles. If it was stepped on by an adult, I don’t think it would fair as well as the Aqua Joe or Orbit travelling sprinkler as this is a fully plastic construction, and as tough as the base section is, the top section of the sprinkler has a lot of small plastic parts that wouldn’t be as tough.

The main joy of this sprinkler, however, is that it really lets you define your rectangle very precisely. The first impression is that there are a lot of twisty bits at the end, but after a little playing around we found that they’re pretty easy to get to grips with. There are a lot of different lawn sprinklers on the market and knowing more about each style will help you find a good garden sprinkler for the area you want to water. Rotary Sprinkler

These sprinklers have a ‘sled’ design, and can be placed on the ground or strapped to raised supports to alter the spray angle. For most sprinklers to work effectively, you will need at least 4 bar water pressure. If your water pressure is lower than 4 bar, you will need to look for a sprinkler that is specifically designed to work with low water pressure . Round sprinklers can be a better choice for low pressure areas. Sprinklers that last will usually be made of similar materials, such as ABS, polyethylene, or polypropylene plastic, and rust resistant metals or ones that have been coated to protect against corrosion. The usual comments apply: the strength of your water pressure will affect maximum coverage. Make sure that your tap doesn’t have a pressure-limiting attachment fitted, as removing this can sometimes make all the difference.

Commercial, industrial, domestic and residential applications

For such a low price, you can’t expect to get all the adjustment options of the Gruntek, Aqua joe, or Karcher sprinklers. In fact, the only real control you have over the coverage with this model is to turn down the water pressure at the tap. Whilst the sprinklers above are temporary, and attach to a garden hose when required, a pop up sprinkler is part of a more permanent irrigation system. Although I don’t personally use them because of my artificial grass, this unit does also have ground stakes to keep it in place. This can be useful if you’ve pets, kids or crazy water pressure!