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Night Sprinkler
Ooooohhh! Aaaaahhh!
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Rotary sprinklers are used all over the world, for watering lawns and gardens. They are easy to see in daytime but a trap for the unwary, at night.

The Night Sprinkler has a small hydroelectric powerplant built into the spindle assembly, generating enough charge to run a few high intensity LEDs. A simple rotary switch and some gearing and different coloured LEDs are illuminated in a slow sequence, making a dazzling nighttime water feature of your lawn sprinkler.

Tiny, sparkling diamonds of light, showering your lawns in brilliant colours, whilst rehydrating your plush, emerald carpet of bentgrass or couch! You'll never walk through a sprinkler in the dark, again.


UnaBubba, Jun 03 2004

water restrictions http://www.sca.nsw.gov.au/
What Zanzibar said [Lacus Trasumenus, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

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       so simple you wonder why it hasn't already been done.

neilp, Jun 03 2004
  

       It would be pretty easy to make.

UnaBubba, Jun 03 2004
  

       sounds like a challenge..

neilp, Jun 03 2004
  

       sometimes it gets dark early ?

neilp, Jun 03 2004
  

       [Z] Use of sprinklers (and any other automated watering system) currently a no-no due to water restrictions in my neck of the woods, I'm going to have to move so I can use this. +

Lacus Trasumenus, Jun 03 2004
  

       No restrictions here. The reservoirs overflowed, leaving us 7 years reserve.

UnaBubba, Jun 04 2004
  

       Nice (+)   

       I'll just affix the hydroelectric powerplant to the nozzle of my hose and twirl myself around... will that generate the necessary charge?

Lacus Trasumenus, Jun 04 2004
  

       I presume there would be a greater charge if you left the hose unattended and a water inspector chanced by your premises?

UnaBubba, Jun 04 2004
  

       Yep. ;) Link...

Lacus Trasumenus, Jun 04 2004
  

       //I thought you were not suppposed to water at night...//
There may be legal restrictions I am not aware of, but for practical reasons watering at night is actually preferred. In the cooler night hours, there is less evaporation and therefore less waste. If your local utility bills use based on time-of-day, perhaps to manage demand, water might be cheaper at night.

krelnik, Jun 04 2004
  

       I think light will only travel down a stream of water if it remains unbroken (not seperated into droplets), so I'm not sure how colorful this would turn out to be. But I could be wrong...

luecke, Jun 04 2004
  

       If I had a lawn, I'd get this just for the light show.

DrCurry, Jun 04 2004
  

       Watering at night is generally bad for plants, though. Mildew. Early morning is the best.

bristolz, Jun 04 2004
  

       The resistance will cut out on the radius of the spray. But, its a small price to pay for dry burglars... Seriously, though, good idea!

daseva, Jun 04 2004
  

       Watering at night is not as much of a problem in locales where the temperature can be 90 degrees at sunrise. Water, however, is a different matter.

half, Jun 05 2004
  

       Watering at night in locales that are at all humane or desirable to live in is a bad thing for plants.

bristolz, Jun 05 2004
  

       I'm for twilite showering! I think I'll just drag my sprinkler into the bathroom and let the lawn burn.

dpsyplc, Jun 06 2004
  

       all you really have to do is shine a light through the bottom of the sprinkler, like they do with those fancy water fountains at resturaunts.

snboardcj, Jun 06 2004
  

       Yep. Makes you wonder why you can't get one, right?

UnaBubba, Mar 14 2005
  
      
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