A green lawn in the garden is a stated goal for many amateur gardeners. And it is weeded and mowed so that the lawn in the garden resembles a golf lawn. Green, well-kept lawn looks good, but the question arises how to achieve this goal, with low water consumption. Lawn sprinklers are one way to quench the thirst of the lawn and keep the consumption of water in check.
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Criteria for lawn sprinklers
Not all lawn sprinklers are the same. Nowadays, they come in a wide variety of price ranges and the sprinkling behavior also varies.
Thus, as a rule, a distinction is made between:
- Square sprinklers
- Circle sprinkler
- Sink blaster
Other criteria for blasting are:
- the sprinkled area
- the range of the sprinkler
Depending on the sprinkler, the sprinkled area can be a circle, a semicircle, an ellipse, a square or a rectangle. Which sprinkler you choose ultimately depends on your lawn area. For all variants, of course, there is a choice in the size of the area to be sprinkled.
Water consumption
Sprinklers and water consumption
The actual consumption of a lawn sprinkler, depends on how much water you feed the sprinkler. This is best compared to a conventional water hose. Depending on how hard you turn on the faucet, the more water runs through the hose, so it is consumed. Water regulation, or consumption, must therefore be done by hand. It is important that the water flows with sufficient pressure to the sprinkler. Because only in this way can the appropriate range be achieved.
Manufacturer
This may also be a reason why many manufacturers do not specify the water consumption for individual sprinklers. However, as a general rule, you should expect 600 to 800 liters of water per hour as a minimum. Thus, a decent lawn sprinkler consumes an average of 15 liters of water per square meter.
In the list you will find the consumption for selected lawn sprinklers:
- Gardena 2082-20 Classic Square Sprinkler Polo 220: 1,100 liters per hour.
- Gardena Premium square sprinkler 250: at 2 bar: 800 liters per hour; at 4 bar: 1,200 liters per hour
- Full-circle sprinkler perrot ZA 30/4 mm: 690 to 1,890 liters per hour, depending on water pressure
- Full-circle sprinkler perrot ZA 30/6 mm: 2,220 to 3,390 liters per hour, depending on water pressure
- HUNTER I-40-04-SS ULTRA pop-up sprinkler (for very large areas): 1,590 to 6,250 liters per hour, depending on water pressure.
- Eurom(R) circle and sector sprinklers 1/2 inch: approx. 1,200 liters per hour
- Agrarflora circle sprinkler, sector sprinkler 1/2 inch: 850 to 1,180 liters per hour
Tip: As a guideline, 15 liters of water per square meter for sandy soils and 20 liters for clay soils per watering, so that the lawn is well supplied with water.
Water meter
To control the water consumption, it is recommended to install a water meter. This gives you control over water consumption and ultimately water costs. Stiftung Warentest recommends placing three coffee cups under the sprinkler. Once they have filled with two centimeters of water, you can turn off the sprinkler, because this water level corresponds to an amount of water of about 20 liters per square meter of lawn.
How often to sprinkle your garden?
Closely related to water consumption is the question of how often the lawn should be given water when it is not raining. Again, a distinction must be made between sandy and clay soils. Since clay soils retain moisture better than sandy soils, the lawn sprinkler should be used once a week for clay soils. Lawns on sandy soils are thirstier, here you should sprinkle every three days. Too much water is just as damaging to the lawn as too little water. The rule here is less is more, because too much watering leaves the roots of the lawn shallow, which in turn makes the lawn more susceptible to drought and heat.
Tip: Sprinkle the lawn in the evening, then the water can seep well into the soil.
