Fixed or Adjustable Spray Nozzles?

[Dripit good]

Other than the bastard area a fixed can't do...vans suck.

[grassman177]

that is why i switched to the new hunter ones, cuz rb vans do suck for durability reasons etc, but i still like the water pattern from them better, cuz i always want a bit more arc than what the fixed patterns give, almost always it seems.

i think as far as that goes, it is a matter of opinion, but durability issues are fact, along with water usage of course.

[jbell36]

talked to a distributor today that sells all brands...his point was a lot of maintenance only tech's will mostly only stock van's so they only have to stock 7 nozzles as opposed to 36 or so, and new systems will be fixed because they are cheaper and the installer knows exactly what he needs at the time of the install...the clogging issue happens to both, and it seems if you close and open the vans a couple times that usually does the trick, a little easier than fixed...he did say they usually put out a higher GPM than fixed...but is that technically a problem? couldn't you just turn the time down on the clock?

[jbell36]

he also said van's are better than when they first came out, maybe some guys still have that bad taste in their mouth...he seemed to think the rain bird's were the best, said they are very close anymore to the fixed GPM

[DanaMac]

Originally Posted by jbell36

talked to a distributor today that sells all brands...his point was a lot of maintenance only tech's will mostly only stock van's so they only have to stock 7 nozzles as opposed to 36 or so, and new systems will be fixed because they are cheaper and the installer knows exactly what he needs at the time of the install...the clogging issue happens to both, and it seems if you close and open the vans a couple times that usually does the trick, a little easier than fixed...he did say they usually put out a higher GPM than fixed...but is that technically a problem? couldn't you just turn the time down on the clock?

Your distributor is clueless. The van nozzles do clog and become distorted more often than fixed nozzles. You know what that means? MORE CALL BACKS. Meaning I am going back more often to "close and open" just to fix the issue.

Higher GPM means the zone may be over stretched. If the installer figured 2 GPM for a 15'H, and used the same math using a VAN, then the zone is designed wrong. Lets say there are 10 heads at 2 GPM with fixed, totalling 20 GPM, and if a VAN puts out 1/3 more water (33%), that totals up to 26.6 GPM. If you only have 22 GPM to start with, you're screwed. Believe me, too many of us have "fixed" the all VAN zones. The heads may have 15-20 PSI with all vans, and swapping out to fixed can easily increase to 30-35 psi, and the heads pop up the full height. The heads now spray the full 15' instead of 12'-13'.

Use the correct product, not the easily stocked product.

[greenmonster304]

[QUOTE=jbell36;4474836t said they are very close anymore to the fixed GPM[/QUOTE]

What does this mean?
Posted via Mobile Device

[jbell36]

Originally Posted by greenmonster304

What does this mean?
Posted via Mobile Device

...that the rain bird VAN's ouput is very close to the fixed

[jbell36]

i'm just trying to get everyone's opinions, i'm not arguing one way or the other...seems like the verdict is definitely fixed, and i do value the opinions on here...i wouldn't say my distributor is clueless though, he was in charge of the irrigation dvision for a huge very well respected company in Kansas City for 20 years and now he's the top salesman at one of the biggest distributors...

[grassman177]

I admit, starting out as maint only does lend one to stock less nozzles (vans). but still prefer the tweaking one can do with them. I have changed many fixed out for vans to get better coverage ......it happens
Posted via Mobile Device

[Wet_Boots]

While not giving them a total pass, I have occasionally made very good use of VAN nozzles from Rainbird. Sometimes from their higher trajectory. Sometimes when combined with a PCS screen, and opened to an arc not available as a fixed, for use by a curving driveway.