Swing Joint Assembly for Sprinklers

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I recently had to dig up one of my sprinklers to replace it. For some reason, it started spraying as much straight up as it was outward. It was a sprinkler that I had installed recently so I just wrote it off as being defective.

As I dug the sprinkler out of the ground, I saw that it was one that I had installed with a swing assembly. Swing arm assemblies are great because you have full control over the level that the top of your sprinkler head is located. Sure, some risers let you cut them to size to somewhat control the height of the sprinkler, but there are cases when the pvc pipe is so shallow, that the sprinkler head is bound to be sticking above the ground. Anyone who has tried to mow a lawn around these sprinklers, knows its a pain. A swing arm would allow you to place the base of the sprinkler even lower than the original PVC thus allowing you to lower the sprinkler head flush to the ground.

Swing Joint assembly gives you flexibility when adding a sprinkler

The swing joint assembly attaches to the PVC Connector the same way that a riser does. It has male threads that screw right into the connector. In my case, the swing arm is attached to an elbow joint. The other threaded end is connected directly to the sprinkler. You can also attach a Marlex fitting that will allow you the flexibility to install the swing joint at different angles from the PVC.

Marlex fittings give you even more flexibility

Both sides of this arm can now pivot allowing you to raise or drop the level of the sprinkler while still maintaining an upright orientation. You can see how one can drop the level of the bottom of the sprinkler below the actual level of the pvc pipe. You wouldn’t be able to do this with a standard riser.

Bent down for cases where your pipe is too close to the surface

In the same manner, if your pvc pipe was too deep, you could raise the swing arm to a higher level. Yes, you could do this with a rigid extender, but the swing joint allows you to make small adjustments as you start burying your sprinkler. Swing joints also provide some flex so that the sprinkler and/or pipe won’t break as easily if stepped on. The swing joint was only $1.37 at Drip Depot. There are similar swing assemblies on Amazon but they are more expensive since you can’t buy parts in bulk. I was only able to find this product by Orbit at Home Depot but there were some negative reviews about it leaking.

Can be bent up for pipes that are deeper in the ground

So, swapping out my sprinkler was easy. I dug out much more than required just so I could show how the swing joint worked. Otherwise, I would have just needed to dig up enough to expose the side of the swing arm that connected to the sprinkler. I used a 360 degree sprinkler made by Hydro-Rain that I had purchased at Drip Depot. These sprinklers are flexible since all you need to do is replace the nozzle of the sprinkler in order to use a sprinkle that covers a different distance or angle. The sprinkler housing comes with a plug with a handle on it. When you’re ready to use it, just pull up on the handle which pops up the sprinkler. Then unscrew this cap and screw on the nozzle that you want to use.