# Sprinkler heads too large?



## ruffmagau (Dec 8, 2021)

Last year I changed my sprinkler heads from Mini Paws to Rain Bird 42sa, and for the rest of the season I fought with trying to dial back the throw so they wouldn't drench the sidewalk and street. I tried different nozzles, adjusting the flow at the valves, and ultimately tightening down the adjustment screw almost half way. This of course led to less than desirable coverage and results. My thought was that the water pressure was too high (80psi at the bib) but I consulted with a technician at a sprinkler store today who stated 80 psi is normal. He tried to sell me on changing to K-Rain 75i heads since you can control the flow at each head, but I'm not sure that will solve my problem because I'm now thinking the issue is really that the 42sa's are just too big for the lawn and I should switch to 32sa.

The 42sa states a distance of up to 36', so I thought with a lawn that is 30' at the longest point (front to back) I would have some wiggle room for adjustment, but I may have miscalculated how much adjustment it takes to knock off six feet. Plus they really seem to throw farther than 36' even with the low angle nozzles.

Is the technician correct and I should focus on controlling flow at each head, or is the issue really that smaller heads are needed?

For context, the front yard has two zones, top and bottom, each with 3 heads. The area is a rectangle, roughly 30'x65'.
The smaller yard is more of a square with one zone and heads in the corners, 27'x30'.


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## Captquin (Aug 22, 2019)

I'd try the 32SA. I have a mix of those and 42SA's in my set up for that same reason. Works well


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