Friday, July 8, 2011

Kid Washer - DIY PVC Sprinkler


Yesterday was a HOT HOT HOT day here in the Great North West... okay, it was hot for us!! My boys and I set out to make a PVC sprinkler / mister sprinkler so we all can run through or even ride the bikes in the cool water! :)


SUPPLIES:
  1. 2 10-foot sections of 3/4 inch pvc pipe
  2. 2 slip on t-connectors
  3. 2 90-degree slip on elbow joints
  4. 3 end caps
  5. hose connector  ~ a  PVC connector (slip on / male threaded) and a metal hose connector (female/female threaded)
  6. Drill with a 1/16" drill bit
  7. PVC cement ( optional ~ if you want to be able to disassemble your sprinkler you don't want to glue it together.)
  8. drip irrigation mister heads (we used 15 of them)
These supplies are for the sprinkler with only one top bar... if you'd like interchangeable bar like we made, you'll need an additional 5' bar.

DIRECTIONS:
Cut your PVC pipe.  Take one 10-foot piece and cut it into two 5' lengths.  Take the other 10-foot piece and cut it into one 4' length, and four 18" lengths.  

Assemble the 18" pieces as follows:
end cap -> 18" section ->t-connector -> 18" section -> end cap (or hose connector for second piece.  Then a 5' length goes into the top of the t-connector on both legs.


I hope this picture shows it clearly for you.

 The top (we made two top bars - each measuring 4' - one with holes drilled for a sprinkler top and one with the mister heads) is attached with the 90 degree connectors.  Then the connectors attach to the top of the legs.

We drilled holes along the length of the 4' bars (secured in a vise so it wouldn't move around on me).  For the sprinkler bar, you can drill as many holes as you'd like. For the mister bar, I measured in 3 1/2" sections and drilled a small hole for the mister head. The misters just screw into the hole (no glue required).


Here is the frame completed. As you can see, kids can easily and safely run under the bar.  If you put the sprinkler or mister out on the street, you'll have neighbor kids from all over coming to ride their bikes under the cool water!! :)

This is the sprinkler bar working hard to keep my boys cool.

And this is the mister bar... I glued all joints with the exception of the top bar so I can switch between the mister and sprinkler bar.  This also lets me take it apart for storage.

If you make one of these sprinklers, I'd love to see your pics!! Feel free to post a link in the comment section or email me at  cardsbycg at hotmail dot com. :)



Craft Junkie Too Friend

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4 comments:

Dominguezfam said...

Nice! My kids would love that!

abusybee - DoubleClick Connections said...

Super fun!

Unknown said...

Wow! what a great idea, my grand-kids would love it. Hugs, Pam at http://craftycards4u2.blogspot.com/

My 3 E Scrapbooking said...

Super idea for a sprinkler! We used to use one of these for the HS soccer team for a water fountain! I never thought to make it a little bigger for a sprinkler! I'm sure the kiddos have a blast with this! Thanks for the great idea!