About Sprinkler Systems

A traveling sprinkler is a mobile watering mechanism, capable of moving from one place to another and thus is able to irrigate an entire lawn without electrical or gasoline power. A tractor traveling sprinkler has an ingenious design which functions with simple water pressure. It effectively eliminates the need to move the sprinkler from time to time.

Relationship between pressure, torque and gears of a traveling sprinkler

A traveling sprinkler runs on water power, which enables a series of gears connected to an axle to rotate. This axle, in turn, slowly rotates the wheels of the sprinkler. The main parts of a tractor sprinkler system are:

1. Sprinkler arm assembly 2. Worm gear 3. Transmission 4. Three wheels 5. Plunger on the sprinkler bottom 6. Ramp 7. Hose connection

The water supplied by the water company, being the chief source of water in your house, has pressures ranging from 40 to 60 pounds per square inch (PSI). Upon opening the faucet, pressure drives the water to the sprinkler through the hose. In the sprinkler, the water passes through a pipe and then out of the two sprinkler arms. Again, the force of the water propels the arms to rotate while discharging water. On the other hand, the arms are linked to a gear in the tractor body. While rotating, the arms turn the said gear, which in turn activates another gear in the transmission. The transmission is a set of gears where the power is transmitted from the gear to the axle which then thrusts the tractors wheels to move forward.

How does a traveling sprinkler operate?

Normally, the traveling sprinkler has three settings/devices — the high speed device, the low speed device and a neutral device for stationary watering. Regulating the settings either holds or releases the gears during transmission. Releasing the gear train totally from the drive axle places the sprinkler in a neutral position, while transferring from one gear to the next alters the turning speed of the axle. The gear drive mechanism resembles that of a cars gear train except that the former undergoes slow motion at 60 feet per hour. It is the back wheel of the tractor that thrusts the front wheel, which, in turn, steers the tractor together with hose.