Donuts and donut holes

[handieman]

I never heard of irrigation donuts and donut hole cutters, till I came to TV. That being said I have had a lot of experience with both recently.
If you think for one minute you will remember where all your sprinkler heads are in your yard, then your a better man than I. Enter the item called a donut. Its made of green colored concrete and sized to fit around your sprinkler head to stop the growth of grass encroaching over the head and preventing it from "popping" up. It also helps you find the head once the grass becomes actively growing. I can't begin to tell you the situations I have seen with dead grass because of hidden, buried, broken and non functional sprinkler heads. There is a neet little donut hole cutter at home depot that will last for the average homeowner, that allows you to cut the surrounding grass and re-setting the donut. It's not strong enough for my use so I have an invention to "beef" it up if you break yours.
My advice to all home owners is spend the small amount for donuts and re-set them yearly and don't hesitate to run your irrigation system on manual and check to see that the coverage and function of all your heads are proper. So often I have seen sprinkler heads buried and locked down by grass growth and end up watering an area the size of a dinner plate. Water is precious in our country, so do your part to use it wisely.
Handie

[mguarrasi]

Do you know of anyone that provides the service of intalling these and what the approximate cost would be for each one?

[chuckinca]

Come to think about it - they don't sell sprinkler donuts in California. That may be my chance to make up the fortune recently lost in home price and 401K declines!

[Mikitv]

Good information Handie. I know we have the Bermuda grass here and it is the same about the sprinkler heads getting buried by that grass and it does grow fast. Just more information to store in my TV Wanabee book.

[chuckinca]

Do you know of anyone that provides the service of intalling these and what the approximate cost would be for each one?

I think they cost around $2 Ea at Lowe's or Home Depot.

My grass cutter furnished and installed them for about $50.

You can do it a with one of those little yard hand shovels. Buy a couple donuts and try it first before you have someone else do it

OR

Handi can do it for you! (Maybe why he started this thread???)

.

[Hawkwind]

Handie, great information.

Now let's take this posting one step further. How about a weekly Handie's Hot Tips posting covering some of the issues that you have encountered. For us from other parts of the country may have never encountered things that are common in TV.

Maybe we can even get Jan and Tony to create a new group to cover your weekly postings so that everything is orginazed in one place.

[under55]

Don the Donut Man charges $2.50 per donut and that includes all labor and material.

[dillywho]

Don the Donut Man charges $2.50 per donut and that includes all labor and material.

We used Don for ours and he does a really good job, too.

[zcaveman]

If you go around and give each donut a healthy shot of Round Up once a month on a day after the sprinklers run, it will keep down the growth around the sprinkler heads. At least once a year remove the donut and clean out the area around the sprinkler head and reseat the donuts. After a period of time they start to sink into the ground and make the sprinkler heads more vulnerable to damage from the lawn mowing machinery.

[golfnut]

I used Don the Donut man and he did a great job. The other reason for the donuts as Z pointed out is to help shield the sprinkler heads from damage from the lawn mowers when they are cutting the grass.............GN

[mguarrasi]

Thanks for the reference ... any contact info for Dan the Donut man??/

[handieman]

Handie, great information.

Now let's take this posting one step further. How about a weekly Handie's Hot Tips posting covering some of the issues that you have encountered. For us from other parts of the country may have never encountered things that are common in TV.

Maybe we can even get Jan and Tony to create a new group to cover your weekly postings so that everything is orginazed in one place.
Thank you "Hawkwind" for the nice comment. I'd love to share some of my experiences with all village homeowners. A minute shared with a homeowner can result in a lot of time and money savings down the road
Handie

[scottke]

I think that's a great idea to have Handie post hints of how to maintain our homes in TV. For those of us not there full-time yet, we could arrive check those items out and then get moving to enjoying our time in TV with no home repairs. ZCaveman - thanks for the tip of making sure the donut rings haven't sunk down and aren't doing their job any more. We'll be checking that out on our next visit.

[NJblue]

If you go around and give each donut a healthy shot of Round Up once a month on a day after the sprinklers run, it will keep down the growth around the sprinkler heads. At least once a year remove the donut and clean out the area around the sprinkler head and reseat the donuts. After a period of time they start to sink into the ground and make the sprinkler heads more vulnerable to damage from the lawn mowing machinery.

This may be a dumb question, but why not just do the Round Up thing and skip the donuts? I find all those concrete donuts to be an eyesore. I have never used them up North, but perhaps this will be a learning lesson about living in Florida with zoysia. I wish that there were a more aesthetic recourse than pieces of concrete around my yard and perhaps a small Round-Up enduced dead spot may be better than concrete.

[Bogie Shooter]

This may be a dumb question, but why not just do the Round Up thing and skip the donuts? I find all those concrete donuts to be an eyesore. I have never used them up North, but perhaps this will be a learning lesson about living in Florida with zoysia. I wish that there were a more aesthetic recourse than pieces of concrete around my yard and perhaps a small Round-Up enduced dead spot may be better than concrete.

The purpose of the donuts is to keep the heavy lawn mowers off the sprinkler heads. Secondary to that is helping to keep the grass from growing over the head and effecting its working properly. If you will be mowing your own lawn and do not run over the heads...you do not need the donuts.

[handieman]

I tried the roundup trick around my donuts and the end result was ugly dead grass spots. I kid you not, if I went to 10 homes and asked the owner to show me where every popup sprinkler head was, I dare say 9 out of ten couldn't do it unless they had properly maintained donuts installed. Set at the proper level, they are green in color and don't really look that bad and it shows the neighbors your a irrigation smart person:eclipsee_gold_cup:
Handie
Stay tuned next week I'm gonna talk dirty ( cow manure that is) and the nutritional value of sand

[NJblue]

The purpose of the donuts is to keep the heavy lawn mowers off the sprinkler heads. Secondary to that is helping to keep the grass from growing over the head and effecting its working properly. If you will be mowing your own lawn and do not run over the heads...you do not need the donuts.

If that is the case then I think the need for donuts is overstated. Up north by us the use of donuts is non existent - I doubt you could even find a place to buy them. Yet, heavy lawn mowers are the norm for all of the lawn services. I haven't heard of anyone having their sprinkler heads damaged by the lawn mowers.

[NJblue]

[CENTER] Set at the proper level, they are green in color and don't really look that bad and it shows the neighbors your a irrigation smart person

Perhaps there are different quality donuts? The ones that I saw may have started out to be grass green, but they had faded to be mostly the gray of concrete and were very distinguishable in the lawn. If there were only a few heads it wouldn't be so bad, but the irrigation system that they put on my house uses primarily the spray-type heads and therefore has something like 40 heads - on a not very large piece of property. If there are "good" donuts and bad/cheap donuts, where do you buy the good ones?

[Bogie Shooter]

If that is the case then I think the need for donuts is overstated. Up north by us the use of donuts is non existent - I doubt you could even find a place to buy them. Yet, heavy lawn mowers are the norm for all of the lawn services. I haven't heard of anyone having their sprinkler heads damaged by the lawn mowers.

Good luck. A lot of folks here have had damaged sprinkler heads.

[golfnut]

Home Depot sells the donuts for $1.29 each.

[Whalen]

I used Don the Donut man and he did a great job. The other reason for the donuts as Z pointed out is to help shield the sprinkler heads from damage from the lawn mowers when they are cutting the grass.............GN

Can someone please give me a contact number for Dan the Donut man?
Thanks

[anyexit]

Don The Donut Man - 352 750-9316

Don and his son completed a tune-up to my five zones and I can't tell how happy I am with the work they did. ... and the price is right.

Mitch

[keithwand]

When we signed up with Stellar they supplied the donuts and placed them around all the heads. This is/ was included in their annual price.
This year they trimmed around them and only missed a few that couldn't be seen without starting the irrigation.
The rotors have filters that need cleaning often so I'm trying one without the filter.
The others do not have filters and run well.

[Cobh521]

It is my understanding that round up will kill the empire zoysia grass. Having the donuts and trimming around them monthly is not that time consuming. My husband uses the trimming function on his weed whacked. Once the lawn is established, you really cannot see the donuts from the street.

[aframe]

After going through a couple donut hole cutters (they Break), I purchased the one sold at Ace hardware. pricey maybe, but much better quality and much stronger. Just place over your donut ring and twist it back and forth. It cuts thru the zoysia grass like butter.

[Bogie Shooter]

It is my understanding that round up will kill the empire zoysia grass. Having the donuts and trimming around them monthly is not that time consuming. My husband uses the trimming function on his weed whacked. Once the lawn is established, you really cannot see the donuts from the street.

Roundup will kill anything!

[blueash]

Members of this forum bare with me,

Really buddy, you want us to bare with you? You must get lots of ogles when you're out and about.

[e-flyer]

Sprinkler Buddy, I don't think you understood, Blueash was making a funny. You posted bare with me, correct would be, bear with me, unless you're asking them to get naked with you. :-)

[kittygilchrist]

:popcorn:

[e-flyer]

:popcorn:

Only, because the SB seemed to take offense to Blueash's post which was in jest. :jester:

Actually, SB is getting good advertising by bringing the post back to the top with each response. :BigApplause:

[lcmca]

i would appreciate how to contact don the donut man,,t/u

[Cedwards38]

It's best to take care of these things before they get too overgrown.

[PaPaLarry]

If and when donut sinks a little, I just take out the sand bottle on golf cart, and spread around hole, to raise the height of donut. My lawn cutter loves the concrete donuts, because it takes the weight of the lawn mower. I also, (like others) spray a little roundup around donut circumference. Donuts are the best way to go, and really are cheap and durable.

[PaPaLarry]

If what you say is true, why does the donut man need to come out and pull the concrete donuts back up so often? Costing the homeowner $$$ each time.

"because it takes the weight of the lawn mower"
If this is true why do so many work so hard to keep the sprinkler donuts visible? So the lawn cutter can avoid them maybe? Why would he need to avoid them if they really work so well?

I think we all can agree, sprinkler heads are best protected when kept visible. If one is looking for a product which requires the least amount of maintenance long term to accomplish this, Sprinkler Buddy is up to the challenge.
Need to observe what I said? I said I (not the donut man) who does the checking of donuts. Very rarely does a donut need to be adjusted, but when it does (mostly when I clean out sprinkler heads & the filters) I add sand to area (if it needs it) and replace. Sprinkler heads should be cleaned every so often, to clean filters. My lawn cutter said, he has confidence in riding over concrete donuts because of the support they have for large mowers, without ever harming sprinkler heads. (That's what my lawn cutter said) Been here 7 years, and not once had a problem with protection of sprinkler heads or the visibility. I bet Home Depot must sell at least 5000 donuts a year (average 8-10 donuts per home) for a reason. In the Garden section, they have pallets of donuts, and each time I go there the pile seems to go down quick, and replaced with another pallet full (probably till they stop building homes here)

[PaPaLarry]

Don the Donut Man charges $2.50 per donut and that includes all labor and material.
That's cheap for people who can't do it themselves

[PaPaLarry]

"I bet Home Depot must sell at least 5000 donuts a year (average 8-10 donuts per home) for a reason. In the Garden section, they have pallets of donuts, and each time I go there the pile seems to go down quick, and replaced with another pallet full (probably till they stop building homes here)"

I'm sure it's much more than 5000 donuts a year they sell. When I was pitching my product in Lowe's by TV, I learned they had sold 20,000 the year before in that one store location. The few months I was there, I outsold the sprinkler donuts. Many times over, every day I was there.

It's not contractors buying them and certainly not just new home owners. Many folks re-buy and place on top of a sprinkler donut that has disappeared into the ground. Due to lack of maintenance!

I'm a yard man and I know your yard man loves that you maintain your sprinkler donuts. Watch the next time he visits, I would expect that he straddles your sprinklers because he can see them. If he were running them over every visit, you would be needing to raise them back up much more often than you are, if he's running heavy commercial ZTR'S.

Sprinkler donuts sink under their own weight over time, it's not only running them over that causes them to sink.

Properly maintained donuts do work great. Sprinkler Buddy is for those that don't want to do as much maintenance long term as you do with your sprinkler donuts.
I'm sure it's much more than 5000 donuts a year they sell. When I was pitching my product in Lowe's by TV, I learned they had sold 20,000 the year before in that one store location. The few months I was there, I outsold the sprinkler donuts. Many times over, every day I was there


20,000 Donuts a year, comes out to 561 donuts a day. So if you outsold Loews for the few months you were there (lets say 2 months) that would be about 560 a day @ 30 days a month. 2 months = 33,600. BUT "Many Times Over" So does that mean at least double 33,600??? Just 33,600, comes out to 2,240 homes at 15 per home. Hard to believe, but there's no reason NOT to believe you. Surprised your not still selling at Loews (with all those sales) Anyway, I think I'll just go to Dunkin Donuts, and get my donuts there. Time for Popcorn!! Enough said on sprinkler donuts.

[NJblue]

It's been 5 years now that we have been in our donut-free house and I stand by my comments from back when this post originated. I have not had a bad sprinkler head from heavy lawn mowers or had a head that became overgrown with zoysia such that it doesn't pop out. Spend your money and time on them if you wish, but their requirement is grossly over-stated.

[PaPaLarry]

It's been 5 years now that we have been in our donut-free house and I stand by my comments from back when this post originated. I have not had a bad sprinkler head from heavy lawn mowers or had a head that became overgrown with zoysia such that it doesn't pop out. Spend your money and time on them if you wish, but their requirement is grossly over-stated.
I have to agree with you NJBlue!!! If you look all over The Villages property, (roadways, islands, gate entrances, and everything else maintained by The Villages, there's no donuts what so ever!! (And they even use the heavier lawn mowers)

[PaPaLarry]

Does this mean you have pulled up all your concrete sprinkler donuts for the last time in your own lawn? I was very surprised to read this from you.

TV has irrigation pros that do nothing but repairs on their irrigation system. It's a full time job, they work year round keeping their system up and running. If they didn't, TV wouldn't look as it does.
Firstly, NO!!! I'm not picking up the donuts in my yard. Having the donuts help me locate the sprinkler heads. If your going to have donuts, concrete donuts are the way to go, the cheapest and the most versatile. Starting to catch on to your game, of responding to everything written, to keep your name on this thread.



TV has irrigation pros that do nothing but repairs on their irrigation system. It's a full time job, they work year round keeping their system up and running. If they didn't, TV wouldn't look as it does.

__________________I would think that home owners do the same thing (look out for their own lawn) The Villages doesn't have to keep working on sprinklers systems. Once set into place, its mostly maintenance (if any) to make sure sprinklers working correctly and are not getting clogged etc. Nothing to do with donuts. (Just like homeowners do) That's just a scare tactic!!!! Like NJBlue said "The requirement is grossly overstated" Villagers should not have to worry about the sprinkler heads like you say (so you can push your product on Villagers) If concrete donuts didn't work, how come 99.9% have them? Good Luck in your endeavor, but not playing game you want!! Have a nice day, and back to practical situations.

[NoMoSno]

I installed these with my St. Augustine lawn.
They are much better than the concrete donut.
No more trimming around sprinkler heads for me.
Great product...:coolsmiley: