Gardena Classic Spray Sprinkler Fox: Gentle lawn sprinkler for small gardens (maximum 11 m diameter), ideal for beds and front gardens, can be fixed securely in the ground; mobile use (1951-20)

I usually don't get that excited about any garden tools, but I do love this thing. I bought it to replace an oscillating sprinkler from another brand that was constantly getting clogged with dirt from the hose and that, eventually, broke on its frame. I've long trusted Gardena as a brand, so the only choice for me was which Gardena sprinkler to go for - I eventually chose the ZoomMaxx as it caters for smaller gardens, and our front lawn is something like 500 square feet in size.The ZoomMaxx comes in two parts - the plastic base and the plastic head - in a cardboard box without any instructions. It's not the hardest thing to use, and instruction videos are available on YouTube, but a `quick start' user guide would be helpful as the controls aren't marked, or even overly obvious. The only assembly you have to do is to screw the base and the head together, making sure that the included mesh water filter is inserted between them.In the pictures the base doesn't look overly big or stable, but I've found it more than adequate to keep the sprinkler level and secure whilst it's doing its thing. The head is the strongest point on the ZoomMaxx and feels very well put-together with no rattles or looseness; pretty typical for Gardena. Not so typical is the thin joint where the head meets the base, which is undoubtedly the weakest point on the ZoomMaxx; I'm sure that any rough treatment could easily cause it to snap. Given that the hose connector is on the base, the two breaking apart would render the whole sprinkler useless, so my advice is to be very careful with it.The ZoomMaxx has three orange-coloured controls - a small flow rate screw on the front, two angle control wheels above it, and two width switches on the sides. The flow rate screw, as you've probably guessed, adjusts how much water flows through the ZoomMaxx and, thereby, how far the sprinkler throws its water streams. With the angle control wheels, you can adjust how far the sprinkler head tilts backwards and forwards, whilst the width switches move the angle of the 16 sprinkler nozzles, enabling you to alternate how far to the sides the streams go.The controls combine to give you a lot of control over the shape and size of the water spread the ZoomMaxx throws out, which is perfect for those with differing sized and shaped lawns. There is a limit as to how small you can make the size of the spread, but according to Gardena this is as little as 97 square feet at 4-bar water pressure - lowering the flow either at the tap or on the sprinkler will bring this down considerably. Gardena states that the maximum area the ZoomMaxx will do at 4-bar is 216 square metres (about 2300 square feet) but with our water pressure there's no way I could test this. I will say, however, that I have to dial down the tap a bit and not use the full range of the ZoomMaxx to cover my 500 square-foot lawn, so 2300 seems achievable.To use, and like pretty much every sprinkler the ZoomMaxx is simplicity itself, and is just a case of positioning it and turning on the tap. The nozzle angle switches are a little awkward to move when the sprinkler is on, so it's best to avoid a drenching either by adjusting the sprinkler before you turn it on or by turning it off at the tap before you venture anywhere near it. The angle wheels are easier to move, but the ZoomMaxx has a knack of throwing water up quite efficiently and quite far so you'll still want to take care unless you like an outdoors shower.As a means to water our lawns, the ZoomMaxx really is the best sprinkler we've had. Having had nozzles clog up on in the past, the included mesh filter is a cheap but thoughtful inclusion, and the whole sprinkler feels really well put-together. It covers a good area, even with our fluctuating water pressure, and the adjustability means that it can do a whole variety of lawn sizes. I do have doubts about the durability of the joint between the head and the base but I won't mark the ZoomMaxx down for that until and unless it actually breaks there.

Delivered swiftly, they work really well. I bought 4 to create a watering system for the various pots and flowerbed around the garden and have used 3 of them so far.....The size of the main body of these devices (not including the spike on the bottom) is smaller than your average fizzy pop can so not too intrusive really.These devices are what I would call non-mechanical, ie if you look into the top opening of these they have a cylindrical chamber with angled spray jets/vents around the bottom. What this does is spiral the water up and out of the top opening in a circular fashion, creating an even spread of sprayed mist. Simple but genius methinks. Nothing mechanical to break down! The only thing that might (I say might as I think it not very likely) is that the jets could get blocked if anything falls into them, but equally likely they would blow clear when the water is switched on. Still, I reckon a cocktail stick would clear them no problem should they ever clog.With my water pressure (which I don't think is particularly strong for a standard domestic water supply) I found that one of these on its own creates a circle of around 6 to 7 metres across, so over 3-3.5 metres in each direction from the sprinkler. It sprays up to about waist heigh and creates a fairly even spread of rain-like spray so perfect for the lawn & its surrounding pots and planters.I've also used a system of basic T pieces and hose to connect two in one go and they still spread about 3 quarters of the distance of the one. Sadly when I added a third the pressure was too weak to be effective, so for me two sprinklers is the max any one time..What I've done is position 2 sprinklers on one hose to water two specific areas, and then one on its own hosepipe to cover another larger area of pots & planters. Each sprinkler "circuit" is then fed separately from a dual output timer device on the garden tap to allow independent function. In doing so the pressure for each "circuit" is kept at a workable level. Hey Presto! An automatic garden watering system.