Orbit Traveling Tractor Sprinkler

This cute tractor does the job ! Twenty yrs ago a company told me that it would be at least 10K for a sprinkler system. I sighed and thought I’d better assign watering to the kids… Watering myself now and I discovered last year that this (seemingly) spendy sprinkler does the job of an expensive system. I should have invested in this years ago. It is much more budget friendly compared to sprinkler system that constantly needs maintenance, head replacements, and winterization. My very large yard is in a rural area. I use 3 garden hoses totaling 200 feet. I set the hose formation and the sprinkler does the rest. Low setting allows it to run all night and give the grass a good soaking. I use hi setting during the day if I need to. Range of coverage I couldn’t ask for better. It is heavy enough that I believe it will last for years; it can’t be knocked around. No leaking when in use. Instructions were easy to follow. After about a month I had a problem with the gears not fully engaging. The instructions said to contact Orbit, not the seller, for service. I did and Orbit promptly responded and sent a new one. I’ve had this approximately 1 year before writing this review. I am MORE than satisfied with this sprinkler ! I am looking to purchase another so I don’t have to move it back and forth from the side yard to the front.

I was pleasantly surprised by this sprinkler tractor. It is a bit larger and heavier than I expected, which actually made me feel good about its durability right out of the box. The construction feels sturdy and well-built, not flimsy or gimmicky. Setup was quick and easy, and it started working right away. It travels smoothly across the yard and provides great water coverage. I've been using it to help establish new grass, and it's been a great! It’s a great way to keep the area consistently watered without having to move a sprinkler around. Overall, it's a solid, well-made product that does exactly what it's supposed to do.

You lay out the path with the hose, and this thing just does its thing. Wow, where have you been my whole life for the last 26 yrs I had homes with lawns? Now, there's some quirks with this sprinkler, like you have to make sure how you lay out the hose, and you have to be kind of exacting with how you place the stop bracket (it will miss it if it's not a perfectly straight path)...just learning curves to adapt to, as with all things. But I will say that overall, this sprinkler is awesome and WELL worth the price.

We have only used this a few times but so far we like it. It had an orifice at the outlet which flew off from the water pressure. We couldn’t find it so my husband had to do a MacGyver and jury rig the end; the other side was fine and it works beautifully since he fixed that. It is adjustable by the arms insofar as how far the water flings. The coverage was fantastic! The area we are doing gets completely soaked which is what we want there is a lever you can mess with which helps it move a little faster/slower (not a rocket by any means) We are planning on using PVC piping for the track rather than hose. It is very heavy metal and other than the one piece which flew off, very nicely made.

This cast iron tractor was originally invented by John “Jack” Wilson in 1930 and it was called the "Automotive Traveling Sprinkler" in North Platte, Nebraska. A patent was applied for in Oct 19, 1937 and approved on March 1, 1939. Throughout 1930 to 1941, Wilson was an engineer and custodian at the senior high school and frequently used the invention to water school grounds. Wilson applied for a patent on October 19,1937 and it was approved March 1,1939. The inventor’s description : "A purpose of the invention is a sprinkler that is movable over a lawn. Due to water being forced through the sprinkler, the sprinkler is moved along the route of a hose through a motor-like interchange,". The Tractor Sprinkler was easy to set up and use. I had the Tractor Sprinkler running and functioning immediately out of the box. Very little assembly is required. One of the most striking features of this machine is that if ANY part breaks or fails, ever, you can simply replace that piece for a very little cost. I am 56 and have never had any of them fail on me, ever. They are heavy and work so incredibly well. I do recommend this for your lawn and it saves you so much money and time with anything else. It has a perfectly operation out shut off feature so you can let the Tractor run on it’s own and know for certain that when the cycle is complete, the Tractor Sprinkler and water has shutoff right where you want it to. Perfectly. You get a very nicely watered lawn to your exact desire, where you want it and also, when and where you want it to stop. No wasted water running forever, should you forget. This systems is excellent in that you do not have to worry about shutting it off after the cycle is complete. The Tractor will easy follow the exact trail of hose you lay down out for it to follow and watering all along the way. The diameter of the water or spread area is easily changed or adjusted. It is really the easiest, most reliable, accurate and precise watering systems without having a Professional install a in ground irrigation systems which could cost you a lot more than it’s worth. This Orbit Tractor will last you a lifetime. I certainly like mine.

This thing works great if you have a larger area to water. The spray radius is very easy to change. You just need to keep an eye on it when it os nearing the end. I have used 5 times now and the shutoff plunger has not engaged once. Three times it drove off the ramp instead of over it and twice it just moved the ramp because the spike underneath did not hold. It is not really a big deal once you have an idea of how long it will run. Overall I would definitely recommend it. Whoever thought of this had a great idea.

SUMMARY (since this review is so long): I think this works fine if used in straight lines with a 100ft or less hose and are able to keep an eye on it while in use. I think it will last a reasonable amount of time if the sprinkler is always lifted from and placed parallel with the ground with two hands (not letting the arms hit the ground), always putting the sprinkler away after using it (not leaving it in the sun or inclement weather), and don't overtighten the compression fittings for the arms. If 100ft or more of hose is to be used, the sprinkler needs to turn during use, or you are looking for a "hands off" solution, then continue reading below. WHAT: "Orbit Tractor 58322 Traveling Sprinkler, (Pack of 1), Green" WHY: My backyard is something around 75ft by 100ft. Watering it by hand takes hours. Using a sprinkler I have to move around is prone to over/under watering and interrupts whatever I am doing to move the sprinkler. I wanted something that would provide even coverage and water distribution while also being "hands off" once set up. PROS: - Works great when used in straight lines or with hoses 100ft and under - Angle of the arms is completely adjustable to set how wide of an area to water - Two travel speeds allows for lightly watering in high speed or double the watering in low speed CONS (explained below): - Easy to "derail" and start traveling unconstrained through your yard - Arms can come out of the spinning T coupler and waste a lot of water - Sometimes doesn't stop when running over the ramp that is supposed to shut it off - While the body is cast iron, the wheels, stop valve, spinning T-coupler, and "motor assembly" are all plastic This sprinkler easily gets pulled/pushed off of the guide hose in a few situations. Turns have to be gentle and somewhat large (I found 5ft radius or larger works well enough). If a lot of hose is being dragged behind the sprinkler (75-100ft or more total in my case), it is likely that it "derails" even with big gentle turns. I can clearly see the whole sprinkler getting pulled and tilted to the side with the dragging hose. This is with my lawn cut at 2.5-3in. What I found is pulling the loop of hose that is getting dragged so that it is in front of and alongside the path will greatly decrease the likelihood of the sprinkler "derailing" as long as the length of hose it is dragging is kept at or under 50ft in total. On two occasions, I have had one of the arms pop out of the spinning T-coupler on the top of the sprinkler. That results in much less travel speed, coverage, and the sprinkler just dumping a ton of water out within a few feet of the sprinkler. Considering that the whole spinning T-coupler that holds the arms in and attaches to the body of the sprinkler is plastic, I don't dare to use tools on it to tighten the arms in more than I can do by hand. The arms are just straight metal pipes and it is a simple compression fitting that holds them in. There is nothing that holds the arms captive to the sprinkler if the compression fittings are not completely tight which is unfortune as simply adjusting the arm angle is enough to loosen the fitting where the arm could come loose during use but not enough to be apparently too loose. On two different occasions now, I have had the sprinkler not stop after reaching the stop ramp. The first time I checked on the sprinkler only to find it had traveled past the stop, derailed, and was still running. The second time I found the sprinkler to be sitting on the ramp not moving but still running with the back wheels digging up the grass and the stop valve only partially depressed resulting in the sprinkler spinning at a lower speed. This is with my lawn at 2.5-3in of height and the sprinkler on flat ground. Perhaps this has something to do with water pressure, I really can't say for sure, but I usually see 60-65psi at the wall with the sprinkler running (though 100-105psi when shut off). As for all of the plastic parts, I am certain they will fail long before the cast iron body does. If I don't pick the whole sprinkler up with two hands, just lifting it by the front handle often results in the arms hitting the ground thus putting undue stress on the plastic spinning T-coupler. The hose attachment, while brass, is connected to the plastic drive mechanism so I suspect that any sudden yank on the hose to either side of the sprinkler could result in that snapping the plastic housing. The fact that an entire drive mechanism assembly with wheels is readily available for purchase is not a good sign to me in terms of long-term durability. POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS: I think there are numerous improvements that could be made to turn this 3-star product into a 5-star one. Firstly, change the front wheel design so that the wheel sits behind the pivot point (like a shopping cart wheel) instead of being directly below the pivot. That will improve its ability to follow the hose without getting pushed over it by the back wheels. Second, widen the track width of the rear wheels. With the wheels close together, simply dragging the hose behind the sprinkler after a turn causes the whole unit to tilt towards the side with the dragging hose. By widening the back track width, side-to-side stability would be improved and also help keep the front wheel from "derailing". Third, provide some means of holding the arms captive to the spinning T-coupler so that they cannot pop out of the sprinkler during use even if the compression fitting is not completely tight. Fourth, improve the stop ramp and stop valve design for more consistent and reliable stopping. OVERALL: As seen in the summary at the top, I think this sprinkler is going to work fine and last a good amount of time when treated well and used in constrained situations. Once you wish to go beyond 100ft of hose or add turns, the idea of a "hands off" solution really goes out the window which is unfortunate since that is exactly my use case and why I got this sprinkler to begin with. I plan to do several modifications and improvements to the sprinkler and will report back on my findings.

Orbit isn't making their sprinters as well as the once did. I am a fan of traveling sprinklers. You can set a relatively small broadcast area without having to constantly move the sprinkler to other areas. The coverage is consistent providing you with a moving circumference of equal coverage. Keep in mind that in order to receive the entire coverage, both the leading and trailing edge of the spray must travel over the area. The sprinkler arrives unassembled. You need to add the T splitter and the spray arms before use. If you put the arms on backwards, the sprinkler moves backwards. Rotate the arms 180 degrees to fix the error. Rotating the angle of the arms between flat to about 30 degrees increases or decreases the diameter of the circle. The leading wheel follows a hose on the ground for the path. If you have curves, make sure to use a large radius or the wheel is likely to jump the hose and continue in a straight line. Once you have a path that works for your grass, you can take an old hose and keep it in place with landscaping staples to ensure consistent watering. The low angle of the spray helps reduce evaporation in dry climates. It also allows the sprinkler to travel near trees and other landscaping with lower branches without having the water hit the branch instead of traveling to the intended coverage area. The sprinkler body itself is metal and weighs about 20 pounds. It tracks well on uneven surfaces and can make its way through Colorado sand, clay, and rock. Keep an eye on the sprinkler though. If it gets stuck, it will dig itself down to the frame and will damage your landscaping. Unfortunately, the transmission is plastic. Failures are common enough that replacement transmissions are readily available online. My problems with one unit began almost immediately. First, the button on the bottom of the sprinkler to automatically stop the water acted like a hair trigger due to a very weak spring. I opted to remove the button since I don't use the auto stop feature. This required disassembly of the transmission. Four screws are easily spotted. They hid a fifth hex screw inside the sprinkler plumbing. Next, the plastic tips blow off due to air bubbles when you first turn the hose on. I suggest removing the tips and gluing them in place so you aren't walking around your landscaping searching for a little black piece of plastic. Traveling sprinklers are still the best for large and odd shaped coverage. If you can find an old metal one, jump on it. Otherwise, this is a decent option with a lower price.

Irriga e cammina!!! Proprio bello!

Super sprzęt musi mieć tylko właściwy wąż 5/8 cala, dobre ciśnienie wody. Robi dobrą robotę. Polecam

O produto é de excelente qualidade, veio embalado e protegido corretamente e chegou dentro do prazo.

I had one of these 20 yrs ago. It travels along the hose watering as it goes. My yard was flat then, now my yard has tree roots, holes and has a definite slope. The tractor handled it all. The one thing it can’t do it turn a corner but if you can make it a gentle curve of less than 45* then it just goes. I highly recommend this for someone who has plants to water but no sprinkler system put in

Super quick delivery and item works as expected. No issues.