Are these the impulse sprinklers that spike into the ground?

yes, they are

I have never liked the way impacts spray, all the ones I tried sprayed way more water around the base than anywhere else.

Here is an option for you. First remove on of the impacts from the spike, the thread going into the spike should be 1/2" female npt.

Now go back to Lowes, and go to the PLUMMING SECTION, they should have the Rainbird inground pop-up ROTORS there. The largest Size 42SA $12.57 each, sprays up to 38 feet and is a 3/4" female npt. The next size down 32SA sprays up to 32 feet and uses a 1/2" female npt. these may be $11.00 each.

In this same section they have the cut-off riser extentions to connect to the spike. Don't forget some teflon tape. These will spray WAY BETTER than the impacts that you have.

Should you ever choose to put a inground system in, you will already have your spray heads.

I second what eastpenna says. (I originally saw this tip on blip01's sprinkler thread).

This is the 2nd best solution, other than installing an inground system.

These will spray WAY BETTER than the impacts that you have.

I can second that remark from firsthand experience. :-) I pulled the impacts off what I had and went with Hunter PGJ (a shorter throw, slightly, but a mistier pattern, which is what I wanted).

You'll be thrilled with the Rainbird, and they look great when working, too. Plus--they're absolutely silent except for a slight hiss of water you can't hear from five feet away.

If you're going to use the inground type sprinkler heads, I would strongly recommend buying gear driven sprinkler heads rather than the impact sprinklers. Especially if water pressure is ever a problem.

The gear driven heads are more reliable because they're sealed units. They're almost completely silent. It's easier to get more even coverage.

The impact sprinklers have a lot more exposure to the elements and tend to get dirt inside them and so forth. If water pressure drops, they'll turn in one direction and stop, so you'll get a stripe that gets all of the water and the rest of the arc will get nothing.

I've been battling the impact sprinklers for the past 10 years, but I'm now replacing them with gear driven heads as they need replacing.

All great advice and I wish I had seen posts about these rainbirds earlier, but at this point I think I'm going to stick with what I have because,
A. I don't want to walk on the lawn on day 6 to replace 6 sprinklers
B. I really don't want to shell out another $80 on sprinklers at this point.
It says they are impulse. It also says that 3 hours of watering = 1/4 inch of water. So I think I want at least 1/4 inch of water per day so If I stick with these Gilmours, I really need to be watering for a longer duration, maybe 45 minutes three times a day? So if these are putting out that little amount of water, what damage has been done to my seed by not watering them enough for the first 6 days?
Here is a link to the sprinklers I have.
I'll send a video link of these Gilmour in action shortly.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gilmour sprinklers Model No. 967HZS

Here's a video link of the sprinklers in action

Here is a link that might be useful: video of sprinklers in action

Here's a video link of the sprinklers in action

That's great! It looks like you have good coverage with those. I'd be tempted to engage the screw and break up that water stream a bit for more even coverage, but it depends on how far you need them to go.

Back before I had a clue, I brought in a new lawn watering it fifteen minutes once a day with an impact that threw further than the Gilmour. The lawn came in fine, although very slowly. Seed can't go dry, but it does take an awful lot to evaporate all the water out of the seed coat. Even so, the internal embryo doesn't go dry even that quickly.

Your seed, buried, doesn't dry out as fast as the top layer does, and stays at least minimally damp. It won't germinate fast, but it will germinate. I very strongly doubt you did any harm to it--and I very much think you're watering enough. Test the soil just before a cycle goes off. If it's damp to the touch, it's wet enough.

Sure, increase the timing if you like. If you see water puddling on the soil, back off a bit. Since today you can keep an eye on 'em (I assume), try 20 minutes and go up from there.

But really...I think 15 minutes times three, in very pleasant weather like we're having, will be fine.

gbig2, I did not realize that you had them set up in the middle of the yard, I thought that they were around the perimeter. I would suggest that you measure the amount of water being applied. You can use a couple of empty tuna cans, or get a inexpensive rain gauge at Home Depot.

Depending on temperature and sunlight, you want to apply about a 1/4" of water per day. I would not go by what the sprinkler says it puts out.

Morpheus, it's funny you mention that screw because I went out this morning and adjusted them for more of a light mist. Ok, cool, I'll try to slowly increase the time and I'll put out a can to measure the water.

oh, one more factor is the wind effect. I'm right against the Blue mountains and the wind gets funneled through here. So that would affect soil moisture which is why I think I'll increase the duration.

hey folks, very interesting and cool idea about sprinkler heads which I just saw from your post. So, here is how I understood you guys. An impulse sprinkler can be modified by removing the head and replacing it with a rainbird sprinkler head instead.

The sprinkler I have looks similar to this picture below.

{{gwi:112904}}

and you can put this on?

{{gwi:112906}}

That's it.

You might want to read this thread

It is a bit long (and never ending -- posts for over two years now) and you obviously don't want an inground system. But blip01 originally posted this idea here. You can see a small picture in the 6th post (there are over 100 now).

Yep, Ron. You'll need a connecting nipple (plumbing terms are so provocative!), but those will be available in the same area. The sprinkler zinc base is usually 1/2" FPT (Female Pipe Thread), the Rainbird (or whatever) is usually either 1/2" FPT or 3/4" FPT (my Hunter PGPs). The Rainbird will tell you what it has on the box. The 32SA uses 1/2".

So you'd want a 1/2" MPT x 1/2" MPT to connect, or a 1/2" MPT x 3/4" MPT, depending.

The Rainbird 32SA comes with a 3.0 GPM pre-installed nozzle. If you're using that as the only one on the chain, that's fine. You may have to play a bit with the nozzles if you chain 2 or 3 together--you probably have 4-6 GPM from your hose.

It's that simple. Hook up hose and use.

Excellent idea! It took me trips to 2 Home Depots and a Lowes to get all of the parts necessary but I've got them running now. Wife loves the silence and I love the even coverage.

So is there any way I can just buy spikes and then buy the rainbird or do I need to buy some impact sprinklers and remove the spike? I found some online but I need them by Tuesday when I reseed.
Does anyone know if home depot or lowes sell spikes for a couple dollars like the one below?

{{gwi:112907}}

I have seen just the spikes at lowes earlier in the year. If they don't have you could get the cheapest one with the plastic impulse and just remove.

I pulled the impacts off what I had and went with Hunter PGJ (a shorter throw, slightly, but a mistier pattern, which is what I wanted).

I ordered four Hunter PGP's and one PGJ that should be here tomorrow. I plan on switching my impacts out with these. They were quite a bit cheaper than the Rainbirds sold at Lowes. Hope to get better coverage than what i'm currently getting.

Regardless of sprinkler head, here is what I have always found about keeping a seed bed moist. The first day or two you need to run the water more to get the subsoil good and wet. Once it is basically "full" so it quits sucking down water, then you need to go to lighter but more frequent waterings.

So, if you think you are having it dry out on top, go to shorter but more frequent waterings. Depending on sunshine, humidity, wind your soil and whatever, if anything you have for cover, it could be several times a day to keep it ideally moist.