How to Adjust the Rainbird 3500

The Rain Bird 3500 is a reliable sprinkler watering system for small to medium yards. Each Rain Bird 3500 can be adjusted to reach anywhere from 15 to 35 feet from the sprinkler head, and each comes with a number of nozzles that will let you direct the arc of the spray where it's needed. The best Rain Bird sprinkler heads will vary based on your needs. Rain Bird is also known for providing irrigation products for a variety of properties, from home yards all the way to sporting arenas.

Impact-drive sprinklers, which were invented by Orton Englehart and sold to the founders who would create Rain Bird, work by using the force of its water supply to turn the sprinkler on a set arc over a stretch of yard. Rain Bird 3500 sprinkler heads consist of a rotor that controls the water spray's turn and a nozzle tree that contains a number of nozzles on it that allow the spray's radius from the routs to be adjusted depending on your preference. The rotor itself connects to an underground water supply at its bottom.

There are two main properties you may adjust on your Rain Bird 3500 sprinkler system. The first is the radius: the distance from the center (the rotor) that you need to water. The 3500 series comes with six nozzles that allow you to water anything from a 15-foot radius up to a 35-foot radius depending on the nozzle you choose and the pressure of your water supply.

The second factor you need to decide is the distance of the spray's arc across your yard. The arc is usually given as a fraction of a circle, which is 360 degrees. The Rain Bird 3500 can be adjusted anywhere from a small slice of 40 degrees up to a full 360-degree circle around the rotor itself. These two factors control the wedge of lawn you water.

If this is confusing, consider a round pizza. Are you ordering a small, medium or large? The size of the pizza in this analogy is the radius, which is determined by the nozzles. Then, what portion of your pizza should have pepperoni – half, the whole thing or one small slice? That's what the arc determines.

If you need help, it can be useful to draw a to-scale diagram of your yard and mark out where the sprinklers would be placed. Then, you can mark out where the sprinklers would reach.

There are many ways to adjust Rain Bird 3500 sprinklers. To change out nozzles, start by relieving water pressure on the system and then remove the rotor using the tool provided with the system. Turn the radius reduction screw counterclockwise to loosen the nozzle already in the rotor and then gently remove it using a flathead screwdriver or needle-nose pliers. To install the new nozzle, push it until you can feel it seat in place. Then, tighten the radius reduction screw until the new nozzle is secure.

To adjust the arc of the rotor, start by finding the reset distance adjustment screw on the rotor head. To widen the spray's arc, turn the screw clockwise with a flathead screwdriver. To narrow the arc of spray, turn the screw counterclockwise. If you need to realign the arc after adjusting, you can rotate the stem so that the left stop aligns with the left edge of the area you want to water.