 |
Hozelock 2520 Vortex 2-n-1 Sprinkler
by blissman70
I've been doing a few things around my garden over the passed few weeks, mainly due to the lovely weather we have been having, which no doubt won't last much longer.
Anyway, during the sorting out of my garden I noticed that my usual sprinkler system, which probably dates back to biblical times, had rusted up so much it no longer ... worked as it should do, more spluttering than sprinkling.
As I like to make sure my garden lawn gets a good watering without me having to wonder around it with a hose pipe, I decided to replace my now broke sprinkler with a brand new one.
The only trouble was, due to the fact that there are several sprinkler systems on the market, which one should I choose.
So, after a quick look around the internet, a bit of a walk around the nearby DIY stores and my local shops, I finally came across on a rather 'funky' little yellow number which would look quite nice in my garden.
The particular sprinkler I had found was the Hozelock Vortex 2'n1 Lawn Sprinkler, and considering that I had used Hozelock products before I felt that this sprinkler system should last the distance.
** WHAT IS IT..?
It's simply a small helicopter shaped device which spins around using the power of water pressure and sprays your garden lawn with a regular supply of fresh (ish) water.
** SETTING IT UP...
This is a breeze, you just place this in the centre of where you want to water, attach your garden hose into the 'click-on' part of the sprinkler and turn on the tap, standing well clear unless you want a good soaking.
Then you select one of the two sprinkler options, them being a Jet and a Mist.
** WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE..?
It has four 'arms' with each spray methods using two arms to spray the water around the garden.
The 'head' is positioned onto two 'legs', if you can call them that. To me they look like the landing 'skids'/ 'runners' on a helicopter, you know, the things that hit the ground first. In fact, this entire sprinkler resembles the front end of a helicopter. I wonder if this was intentional?.
** HOW DOES IT WORK..?
It uses the power of water pressure to turn the rotational arm and spray the water around your garden.
As I said, it has two forms of spray, these are a jet, which simply sprays water from the device with a bit of force, giving a good 18 meter in diameter coverage, so do make sure your gardens not a window box or you'll make your neighbours a little angry. The jets of water come out of four tiny holes in each of the two heads and you can adjust the actual spray heads to make sure you get your water exactly where you want it and not over your neighbours patio.
Then there's the second method which is a more gentle 'mist' spray, this is ideal for watering such things as your precious plants.
To change the choice of spray options is as easy as turning the small, 'Easy grip' button on the top.
There's no need for any other form of power, just the force of H2O as the pressure of the water flowing into this sprinkler forces the 'paddles' under the arms to turn, thus the arms then rotate as the water sprays out, either in a jet steam or a mist spray.
** MY OPINION...
I've been using this for a while now, even during the 'not so hot' days, just to see how it works and how good it acts as a sprinkler.
After a few minutes of use I had found the perfect position for it in my garden and had set the spray heads so that the water was aiming at my garden and not over the fence into my neighbours.
The spray methods are quite good indeed, with the 'jet' spray giving a good spraying scope around the lawn, again this is easily adjusted by moving the spray heads. The jet is not the type to blast anything in its way, it's not a pressure washer, but it is powerful enough to cover your average size garden.
As for the 'mist' spray, this one is a lot more gentle, as the name mist suggests. I mainly use this one nearer my flower beds so that they are gently watered, thus eliminating any damaged flower heads.
It's not the sort of garden sprinkler that will stand out in your garden due to it being approximately 175mm in diameter around the stands, so it doesn't stand out too much on the green grass, even if it is made of a bright yellow plastic.
As for the price, well, it sells for around £15.00 at most stores, this doesn't include the cost of the hosepipe itself, but for £15.00 you can keep your lawn and flower beds nice and moist without the hassle of having to wonder around your garden with a hose in tow.
Simply plug your hose into the connector of this sprinkler, twist the red knob on the top to set the spray choice and turn on the tap...
Then let the power of H2O do the rest.
And as it is made from a high quality plastic it should last quite some time without the fear of rusting away.
Read the complete review |
 |
Hozelock 4-Way Tap Connector
by tastydooyoo
A new house and a new, much larger, garden made the auto watering consideration a must if we were ever going to have time to do anything other than spend 3 hours a night watering all those lovely hanging baskets, vegetable plot, greenhouse etc.
After learning what was required for the system it became apparent that the 4 way ... tap connector was a must with only one outside tap available!
The 4 way connector comes supplied with it's own wall mounting bracket which is very straight forward to fit, the barrel that comprises the connector outlets then slot on the bracket and snaps in to place. The whole barrel can be easily taken off the wall at any time. You have the choice of connecting a hose from your tap to either the left or right side which is very useful. Once connected to your garden tap the idea is to leave the tap in the on position. From there you can individually operate each of the 4 'extension' taps via a control knob fitted to each extension tap. I used a hozelock connector for the garden tap end and the whole unit works perfectly without a single leak!
I have fitted a watering computer to the far right extension tap, this comes on once a day at the programmed time and then shuts itself off. During this time it's not possible to operate any of the extension taps unless disrupting the auto watering pressure. If you want more than one computer you will be able to fit 2 to this extension only, however be warned - you must set each computer to come on at different times in order not to disrupt the water flow!!
I use this with one computer, the garden hose permanently attached and the other two outlets as spare for filling up watering cans etc. the plan is to fit a 2nd computer for the front garden next year.
The only slight niggle with this unit is that the tap knobs are a little fiddly to operate and are a little stiff. However the whole unit is super water tight and well made. At £17 it's not that cheap but when compared to other watering system manufacturers it's definitely miles ahead in terms of quality.
Read the complete review |
 |
Bermuda Single Pond Light Underwater Pond Light
by RachyD
Adding lighting to your outdoor water feature or pond is something many of us have thought of. I think a lot of people are put off by the high purchase cost and high running costs of outdoor lighting. Bermuda pond lights offer a cheaper alternative for those on a budget or those who just want to experiment a little. They can be used ... either emerged or submerged and I paid £19.99 for my single light (but have since seen them on sale for £15).
The ten watt halogen lamp supplied is compact in size meaning it fits nicely into water feature sumps and remains inconspicuous in ponds when switched off. The unit, as with all outdoor lights I've purchased, comes with a small transformer into which the main length (3 metres) of cable is plugged.
Three metres of cable was sufficient to reach my water feature but I can see how this might not be long enough for some larger ponds. The cable can be extended through the use of a waterproof cable connector but at £15-20 a pop this doubles your initial purchase cost. If you require more than 3m of cable it would be worth doing a little research as £40 will buy you a larger, more powerful unit if that's what you're after.
The light unit has no on/off switch and so must be switched on at the mains or at the cable box they're wired into. I've found a timer works well if you've got them plugged into an ordinary socket. I'd also recommend the use of an external RCD with any electrical item you've got in the garden, never mind one that's submerged! My unit produces an admirable amount of light that's really quite bright for quite a small lamp. At 10 watts you'd perhaps expect it to be a little weak and feeble but the use of halogen bulbs mean this is not the case. I much prefer the stonger halogen lighting to the new LED lamps that are becoming more popular, purely because of the brightness produced.
The lamp comes with four different coloured lenses that are easy to fix into place and create a different effect to that of just plain, white lighing. I shouldn't think these are for everyone but the colour change is too dramatic and you might be pleasantly suprised if you decide to try them out. They do become a little more stiff to remove/change after they've been submerged for a period of months but they're by no means difficult to change.
For £15-20 I really don't think you can go wrong with this little lamp considering it's competitiors retail at £40 plus. They are also available as a set of three lamps (interlinked with one transformer) which I've also purchased for £19.99, quite incredible! Definitely recommended for smaller ponds and most self-contained water features.
Read the complete review |
