LR Nelson Raintrain Traveling Sprinkler #1865

List Price: $110.39 Discount Price: $56.98

Features:

• Traveling wheeled lawn sprinkler; travels along length of attached 5/8-inch hose
• Adjustable rotary spray arms; 2 speeds; auto shut-off ramp to stop sprinkler operation
• Rustproof c-iron construction; chip-resistant, powder-coat paint; assembly required
• Includes 1 sprinkler, shut-off ramp; hose not included
• 18.1 pounds; 2-year warranty

Accessories:
Jisco 2-3/4 Inch x24 Inch Bulb Planter	Lewis Tools Garden Kneeler & Seat

Customer Reviews:

Finikey, but useful. [Posted on 2008-02-13]
I like mine OK, as other reviewers have noted, it can be tricky to keep it from jumping the track - I have to keep "half an eye" on it. I've had mine for 3 years, and am on my third transmission - mainly due to it getting stuck somewhere and stripping the internal plastic gears. I do feel that a properly designed geartrain wouldn't break, it would just stop turning.

Nelson sells new transmissions on their website for about $15, so its isn't a big expense, just a hassle as their mail order delivery is a throwback to the 1960s - SIX weeks! No-one seems to sell them locally or online...

You have to remove the wheels from the old transmission which is a bit of a hassle but doable. Installation of the new tranny is straightforward.

Still, even with its downsides, it sure beats moving sprinklers around - at least until I get around to installing an automatic sprinkler system.

Great Tool  [Posted on 2008-04-10]
We bought 2 of these tractors last year to help water our 75 trees we have. We water over 100 feet at a time. We have a total of 500 feet of trees. Before we found these tractors we had 20 trees die on us since then we've had now die. Now we can set them and just let them go. These tractors are the best thing.

Works as advertised [Posted on 2008-04-25]
This looks like it will be a great piece of equipment. I've used it a couple of times so far and have been impressed. The only problem is if it hits a soft area of the yard, the wheels can sink in and it gets stuck. You certainly can't just set it and forget it. It needs to be babysat every half hour or so to ensure it is still moving.

Nelson Tractor Sprinkler [Posted on 2008-05-05]
I've owned this sprinkler for 5 or 6 years now and it still works like when I first got it. It stays outside all summer long and I have done no maintenace on it at all. I got tired of buying cheapie plastic sprinklers every year only to have them quit working half way through the summer. Although the initial purchase price is high it is cheaper in the long run. I like it so much I am going to buy another one.

Great product, works as advertised [Posted on 2008-05-09]
The Raintrain sprinkler can be purchased with confidence. It works as advertised. I've got a 17,000 sq ft yard which someday will be a good candidate for an inground sprinkler system. But until that day, the Traveling Sprinkler is a good workaround. I was always having to go back outside every hour or so to move the oscillating sprinkler, now the little yellow tractor does the job by itself. I still use an oscillating sprinkler for back corners and small spots, while letting the Tractor Sprinkler handle the big open areas.

I use and recommend 5/8" hose. You're going to be running a hundred, maybe 200 feet of hose when you use this sprinkler, so water pressure loss will be a factor with 1/2" hose.

With experience you will learn the best courses to run this sprinkler in your yard. As you know, you lay down the hose in the course you want the sprinkler to take, and the front grooved wheel rides on the hose and guides the sprinkler along. The manual says make your hose turns very wide and gradual, and this is important. The tractor will have trouble following sharp hose turns if they have a radius less than about 3 feet.

Another thing to remember is that the tractor sprinkler drags the hose behind it as it moves along. Early in the course, there will be just a small loop, but as the course runs along, the dragged hose loop gets longer and heavier. This can give the tractor a problem handling turns late in the hose's course -- at this point the mass of the water filled hose being dragged behind, can overcome the steering authority of the nose wheel, making the tractor jump off course.

This may not be a problem for smaller yards if you're not running more than 50 feet or so of hose. At 200 feet of hose, it's an issue. To avoid this, either keep the programmed run fairly straight... or put the biggest turns in the course early on in the run, where there won't be so much heavy hose being dragged behind. Or you could take a tip from the big tractor guys and add a little more weight to the nose, which would keep the wheel pressed down better on the hose. I haven't yet tried this myself, as the little tractor is already pretty at about 25 pounds.

Where you want the tractor sprinkler to stop, place that little yellow plastic stop bumper over the hose at that point. The Tractor nose wheel runs over it, then the top of the stop bumper hits a kill switch on the belly of the tractor, and she halts. This is a great feature which lets you start the thing and then go out for a while, or even go to bed for the night... and the tractor will be stopped there waiting for you when you get back.

You can fine tune the spray pattern from the rotor head. Point the spray heads up for high spray, or level for spray directed more horizontally. I like the horizontal pattern -- here in TX we get some wiiinnnndy days, and with this low horizontal pattern, the sprinkler shoots the water efficiently onto the yard without throwing a lot of it up into the wind where it gets lost to evaporation.

Vary the hose pressure and you can go from a coverage width of about 15 feet up to nearly 50 feet. There are two drive speed settings. I've always used the slow setting. This tractor lays down a LOT of water into the ground at the slow speed. If you've had trouble keeping your turf sufficiently hydrated, this is the answer.

This Tractor Sprinkler is meant for established lawns. Newly seeded turf can be chewed up too much by the lugged drive wheels, and the dragged hose. Nelson recommends an oscillating sprinkler for newly seeded lawns.

Can't think of much else to say about it just now. If I do, I'll come back and edit :). Bottom line, I give it a good recommend. Any questions, email me at KINGLEO1@AOL.COM.

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