[luckydl]

Originally Posted by Laker14

This is the first Spring in the new house. Decent size corner lot, and some areas are lush and green, others dry as a bone. Put rain gauges out, and, no surprise, the dry areas aren't getting any water compared to the green areas. From what I can tell, the dry areas are getting overshot by the stream.
I know I can reduce the stream by using the adjustment screw, BUT, if the wrong nozzle is being used to begin with, and you rely too much on the adjustment screw you just wind up with a ridiculous amount of water depositing right at the sprinkler head. It is better to have the appropriate nozzle for the distance you want to shoot, and make minor adjustments with the screw.
So, here's my problem: Most of my distances are in the 16-18 foot range, but when I look at the Hunter Nozzle Selection Chart, the minimum I can find is 22', using the low angle (gray) #4 nozzle, and the chart assumes a PSI of 30...of course, variations in PSI create variations in the distance of the throw.

I am hoping others out there who like to figure this stuff out for themselves, rather than "call the guy", can help me based upon their experiences with TV irrigation, and Hunter equipment.
I'm OK with trial and error, but would like a suggestion for where to start.

thanks in advance.

Go ahead and use the screw to break into the nozzle stream just don't split the stream. The 16 to 18 ft. range is on the short side for the Hunter gear drive rotors so they may not be the best heads for proper coverage. You need 30 PSI minimum at the nozzle for a good spray pattern with the smaller nozzles you should be good. Because of the short distance nozzle selection is fairly limited. Make sure you have head to head coverage and adjust as needed. Rotors require a longer run time than a typical spray head so expect to run the station significantly longer than your spray heads. I would use some empty tuna cans as your catch cans. You might want to consider finger rotors as they may meet your distance range better than your current rotors. These type rotors have a low precipitation rate so need fairly long runtimes but perform well in light winds and usually will reduce runoff. Both Hunter and RainBird make quality heads in their commercial lines.