How To Adjust Weathermatic Sprinkler Head

Adjusting a Weathermatic sprinkler head may seem easy on paper but it demands attention to detail and a perfect plan otherwise things might soon start to fall apart. Set the Weathermatic sprinkler head just a few degrees off, and suddenly you will come to the realization that the entire zone starts behaving strangely. A reputable name in the sprinkler industry, Weathermatic has been manufacturing irrigation components for both homeowners and commercial landscapes for decades. Here in this guide, we will show you how to adjust a Weathermatic Sprinkler Head without losing your mind in the process.

Understanding How Weathermatic Sprinkler Heads Actually Work

It makes sense to have a better understanding of how a Weathermatic sprinkler head actually works before you start toying with a screw or nozzle. Weathermatic Sprinkler Heads can be categorized into two types: rotating head and fixed spray head. A spray head mostly relies on water pressure balance and nozzle size in order to operate smoothly and to create a fan shaped-pattern. Rotors, on the other hand, form a single stream and rotate it evenly across the area. Each of these head types reacts differently to adjustments, no matter how small or large the adjustment is.

Tools You Need Before Making Any Adjustment

You don’t need any fancy set of tools to adjust Weathermatic heads. Basic tools are more than enough to do most adjustments. A simple flathead screwdriver is more than enough in most cases. However, it would be great if you have got access to a small adjustment key as some models of Weathermatic heads tend to react a bit more precisely when you use a manufacturer-specific tool to fine-tune instead of using a generic screwdriver.

Don’t forget to keep a towel or a rag at handy while making the adjustments. It can help you keep the riser protected, preventing grass clippings and dirt from falling straight into it when the sprinkler head pops up.

Using pliers to grab plastic components is a terrible idea to say the least. The metal teeth of pliers can easily damage Weathermatic heads. Cracks can easily form if you are not careful with the metal teeth.

How to Adjust Weathermatic Spray Heads Step by Step

First, you need to turn the irrigation zone on. Don’t make the rookie mistake of trying to make adjustments to Weathermatic Spray Heads while keeping the system off. You will have no idea how the sprinkler is reacting to those seemingly minor tweaks and soon things can go out of hand.

Try to locate a small adjustment screw sitting on top. To reduce the spray distance, just turn the screw clockwise. In order to increase the spray distance, all you have to do is turn it counterclockwise. However, you might need to tinker with the adjustment screw several times to get the desired outcome. The spray pattern reacts sharply to even small changes made by the adjustment screw, which means, you will have to exercise a lot of patience here.

Uneven spray pattern clearly indicates that the nozzle is having some difficulty with the dirt and debris inside it. In that case, you need to clean the nozzle carefully so that nothing prevents it from performing the basic functions. If the nozzle is too dirty, you need to pull the riser up and then unplug the nozzle from it. Clean the nozzle thoroughly and then only plug it back to its former position.

Adjusting Weathermatic Rotors Without Overcorrecting

Next comes the rotors. Rotor adjustment takes a lot of time and patience. You simply can’t employ brute force to get things done here.

First try to locate the arc’s fixed left boundary. Use this as a reference point and try not to make any changes to this. Grab a flathead screwdriver and place it in the arc slot but make sure that the rotor is running the whole time. To reduce the coverage area, just turn it clockwise and to expand the coverage area, turn it counterclockwise. Make a small change first and observe how the rotor responds to the spray pattern. Before making another round of adjustment, you need to allow the rotor to complete several full rotations otherwise, you might end up making the wrong decision.

For distance control, Weathermatic has equipped its rotors with radius screws. To pull the spray inside, all you have to do is to tighten it slowly. Don’t even think of overtightening it because that would interfere with the spray pattern and spray distribution.