RB rotor questions

[irrig8r]

Are the only differences between a 5000 and 5000 Plus rotor the green colored cap and the ind. head shut-off feature?

And what about those MPR nozzles.. Anyone using them? Why do they only come in Q, T, H and F? So why not a 240 (TT) or 270 (TQ)?

Anyway, I used the rain curtain nozzles yesterday and got pretty good coverage with some adjustment screw tweaking... curvy edged lawn on a fairly steep slope... part shade/ part sun. Used PRS 5000 Plus heads to replace old PGPs.

I used #4 nozzles throughout because the smaller arc areas (105 to 130 deg. mas o menos) also were in more sun. Seemed to get both some good overlap and close in watering too.

[Mike Leary]

We like them a lot; we use the 6" stainless 5000+ with the mpr nozzles. I wondered why no 240/270 also, but depending on the sun/shade the H & F work fine. I've also used a larger mpr nozzle where I felt the coverage was not right. The pattern is as close to perfect as I've ever seen on a rotor. We still use the I-20 ultra on larger sites, also a great head. Prolly not many T-Birds still in service (a great head, we still have tons in service), but a 5000 series will retro in to T-Bird cans.

[keepcuttin]

There is also a check valve on the 5004plus....

[Mike Leary]

Originally Posted by keepcuttin

There is also a check valve on the 5004plus....

Unless you want to raise those every few years, use the 6".

[irrig8r]

Originally Posted by keepcuttin

There is also a check valve on the 5004plus....

I kind of thought there was too, except that they didn't behave like they had check valves... ones at the bottom end of the hill were still draining water long after the valve shut off. These were PRS, but not SAM... that's probably the difference. Downhill are English ivy and large pine trees... not like the water is wasted.

[Wet_Boots]

How do the "official" tests bear out the "superiority" of the Rain Curtain types of nozzles? I believe the heavier close-in coverage of these nozzles equates to over-watering those areas.

[Mike Leary]

Originally Posted by Wet_Boots

How do the "official" tests bear out the "superiority" of the Rain Curtain types of nozzles? I believe the heavier close-in coverage of these nozzles equates to over-watering those areas.

You might remember I had the same concern when I first started using the MPR nozzles with Rain Curtain technology years ago. With the Lincoln meter, I found the application to be perfect, despite what looked like heavy front-end loading. I like the 6" on a slight slope,any 4" head will drill into a slope, especially if the head is not raised from time to time. I've used the 12" 5000 w/mpr on steep slopes and been happy as a clam, as we say up here.

[Wet_Boots]

I speak of single-head test performance, and NOT what is achieved with installations with head-to-head spacing, which can work with all kinds of nozzle distributions.

As long as you install head-to-head or closer, all sorts of looks-good-but-really-isn't nozzle performances will give even coverage. And I can think of some incredibly crappy old Toro rotors with one single perfectly-round nozzle, that gave great coverage with closer-than-head-to-head spacing.

[Mike Leary]

The only way to test that sort of thing is to Lincoln probe the head itself, WITHOUT any opposing head-to-head coverage, which is EXACTLY what I did as the system was being installed. That's a very cool rotor; you're stuck in impact la-la land.

[Wet_Boots]

Uhhh, no. You employ catch cans. In a lab environment, for still air. And outdoors, for performance with a breeze.