The Complete Handbook of Sprinklers & Sprinkler Heads

Chapter 1: Understanding Sprinklers & Sprinkler Heads

Walk onto any large commercial property in the middle of summer and you'll see the obvious evidence of a sprinkler system: arcs of water crossing the turf, a rhythmic pulse of pressure from the valves, and if it's a well-run operation, a uniform carpet of green. But the system you see is the end product of a series of decisions made long before the water ever flowed. A sprinkler is not a single device; it is the most visible endpoint of a carefully sized and installed hydraulic network. Understanding that network, and the role the sprinkler head plays within it, is the difference between having a lawn that looks good from the street and managing a landscape that stays healthy on a limited water budget.

At its core, a sprinkler system is a method of applying water to plants in a controlled, uniform manner. The sprinkler head is the device that takes water under pressure from a pipe and distributes it into the air as droplets that fall over a defined area. That's the simple definition. But the way it does that, and the variables that affect its performance, are anything but simple. To install or maintain sprinklers well, you need to understand what happens before the water reaches the head, what happens as it passes through the head, and what happens after it leaves the nozzle and travels through the air.

The Hydraulic Foundation: Where It All Begins

Before a single drop