Customer Reviews

Gilmour 996D Pattern Master Impulse Sprinkler

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I own two of these sprinklers, one for each part of my backyard. Before I bought the first one, I read the online reviews and thought it sounded like an interesting concept. Well, it delivered everything as promised. I have a square backyard and an alley. The square part is too big to water with ordinary sprinklers. Now I put this sprinkler right in the center of the lawn and set the adjustments (only need to set them once if you don't change them) and it waters everything. It shoots all the way to the corners (about 40ft), but then doesn't shoot over the fence or hit my patio when it gets to the shorter distances. The one for the alley is adjusted to shoot all the way up the alley (about 30 feet) and then it arcs toward my fence and shoots a 4ft. spray. These sprinklers do a great job. One thing to keep in mind: in order to avoid having to adjust the sprinkler every time you use it, it is easiest to simply place the sprinkler back in the same spot every time you use it. If you place it in a different spot, then the adjustments will have to be redone.

The pattern master sprinkler is the closest thing to installing a sprinkler system, without all the labor and costs associated with the usual in-ground system. I am about to buy my third Gilmour pattern master. One was involved in a vehicle fatality, and the other two finally gave into South Texas weather conditions. However, the two surviving sprinklers dedicated three - four years each to keeping my yard green. I have a front yard divided into four individual squares by sidewalks. To complicate matters I live in San Antonio, where water restrictions are a year round issue. This sprinkler allows me to water accurately, eliminating accidental watering of sidewalks and the front porch. The back yard is wide and long. This sprinkler allows me to water the entire yard, and adjust the spray so that I don't water the storage sheds or plants not requiring any water. The only draw back is that with our water pressure, if you place the sprinkler on a flat surface - example driveway or sidewalk - it will travel on you. I just weigh it down with a brick or stone that I have in one of my planting beds.

What an amzingly simple idea. Utilizing an adjustable circular track that varies the angle of the sprinkler head, which in turn controls the distance of the water stream. Genius. Why did this take so long to invent? It's great for any lawn pattern, and prevents wasting of water on the driveway or sidewalk.

There are several problems with the design, however, that have forced me to stop using it.
1) Don't think of attaching this sprinkler to another in series. Despite the ability to connect this sprinkler in series with other sprinklers, it really needs all of the water pressure from your spigot initiate rotation. I connected it in series to run two sprinklers together (not the same type of sprinkler, one of the Gilmour silent motor sprinklers, but this happens with any sprinkler that uses even a minimal amount of water), and it would not start rotating, it just shot water in one direction. Even if I lowered the adjustable track, it would not start on its own. It only works if it is the only sprinkler attached to the spigot. By the way, my water pressure is fine.

2. Initiation of rotation is unreliable even if it is the only sprinkler attached to your hose, therefore it does not work well with a water timer. I came home once to find the sprinkler not rotating and shooting water in one direction only. I don't know if this relates to how steep you set the peaks and troughs on the height/distance adjustment collar. It might get stuck in one of the troughs and have difficulty initiating rotation. To solve this problem, Gilmour should have a small roller where the sprinkler head contacts the adjustable collar to reduce the friction.

Overall it's a great idea. But I can only recommend it if you intend to use it without other sprinklers in series and if you actually watch it start up every time (ie not use it with a timer)

I bought two of these sprinklers, one for the front yard, and one for the back yard. These things are great for anyone who doesn't have a perfectly round (rotary sprinklers) or rectangular (sweeping sprinklers) yard. They're really easy to calibrate and re-calibrate. I found myself tweaking the setup frequently to get just the right coverage (it varies depending on the wind of the day), and I found it very easy to move the sprinkler to different areas of the lawn and set it up to hit them just perfectly.

I'm buying a third one now. Apparently, these sprinklers aren't quite sturdy enough to withstand the wheels of a car. But when my neighbor accidentally ran one over and bought me a non-adjustable Gilmour sprinkler as a replacement, I didn't hesitate to order a new adjustable one myself (it was a kind gesture, and I guess it wasn't obvious from the mangled bits of plastic). :-)

Had thought this sprinkler was no longer available; but a net search lead me to a link through Amazon, where the price was fantastic. This sprinkler allows you to "program" the watering pattern to maximize water use. It can water short and long distances in one rotation depending on your needs. Sounds tricky, but is easy with clear directions and "user friendly" mechanism on the sprinkler. Well worth the money. Delivery time was very quick.

I have used this sprinkler now for two months. It's great. It solves the problem of watering a rectangular area with a sprinkler that waters in an arc. It does this by allowing you to adjust the spray distance throught the entire arc. No other pulse sprinkler does this. Takes a bit of playing with to get the pattern right, but once set it distributes the water right where you want it, without overspraying some areas and underwatering others. Very affordable too!

After first setting up this Gilmour sprinkler, I thought I'd found the ultimate poor man's answer to a custom yard irrigation system. It appeared to work great, distributed water only where necessary, and had long "range".

Two months later -- in the summer heat stretch -- I realized that this sprinkler has a gaping "hole" about 2/3 of the way toward the water's endpoint. This area of grass was burning in the sun due to insufficient water. To verify this, I setup four identical low-rimmed cat food dishes in a straight line at five foot intervals from the sprinkler. After running it for thirty minutes, I measured the amount of water in each dish.

Dish 1 (5 feet out) -- 1/2inch
Dish 2 (10 feet out) -- 3/8inch
Dish 3 (15 feet out) -- 1/8inch*
Dish 4 (20 feet out) -- 1/2 inch

*The area of unsightly "burned" grass was around Dish 3.

Because of this distribution issue, I cannot recommend this otherwise brilliant sprinkler. I ended up replacing it with a Dramm oscillating sprinkler and it completely solved the problem.

I also do not recommend owning four cats.

Set up this little guy this morning. Very impressive. While I do not have an "odd shaped" lawn I do have one little area that was always missed by every other sprinkler and this one hit all the spots. Perhaps best is the distance control that allows me to avoid drenching the cedar fence. I see that the picture on this site shows a mostly green and black unit. On the one I received the distance control rings is red. The instructions on box still refer to the "black ring"...thru me off for a moment. One last thing, I set mine up to sit on the patio... the unit tends to slide around a bit so I did have to weight it down. Very happy with the purchase.

After the gradener breaking the first three of these sprinklers over the past two years., this one quit working all on it own about a week after receiving it. The sprinkler head will not rotate when the water is turned on, when its off it turns freely, but as soon as the water is turned on it quits rotating. I think I find a less expensive more durable sprinkler to replace this last one.

I have an odd shaped garden on a slope, with wood fence and deck around it. I wanted to water the areas but avoid the wood. I bought 4 of these. I used two sprinklers for the top 2 tiers, and 2 for the bottom 2 tiers. I adjusted the length of spray to avoid the wood. I could only use one set of 2 at a time because of water pressure. It worked. I connected the two hose ends to a water faucet switch so I only have to toggle on the hose I want to use. For each set, one sprinkler is attached to the hose, another is attached from the first sprinkler. I am getting better watering now and much less on any wood. The only data I wanted it did not have was how short I could make the spray go; the data was for the maximum only. I have a lot of overlap but it is OK. I almost have a good tailor-made watering system for the odd shaped garden; I had been dragging a hose around every day. Things are much simpler now. I had tried many different type of sprinklers and found the adjustable area one on the Internet - this one. I never saw it in the stores where I was looking. Watering is no longer a pain in the neck. I am no longer losing plants to lack of water.