Are you a passionate Do-It-Yourself gardener with no ample time to water your garden? The oscillating sprinkler is the perfect answer for your yard’s watering needs.

While oscillation is not a simple word, the best oscillating sprinklers are a marvel of simplicity in usage and design. Just attach a garden hose to them and voila!

We have scoured the internet for youto showcase five of the best oscillating sprinklers in the market today.

GARDENA ZoomMaxx Oscillating Sprinkler on Metal Step Spike

Our top pick is the king of adjustment options and portability. There’s no learning curve here, just push the spike into the ground and use.

Melnor XT Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler

The most powerful of the oscillating sprinklers on our list and can cover at least 4000sq ft of yard.  This beauty is also clog resistant, and that’s a huge win.

GARDENA 1975 Aquazoom

We love how this sprinkler will water the varied nook and crannies in your garden effortlessly. It’s easy to adjust, connect and disconnect.

GARDENA ZoomMaxx Oscillating Sprinkler on Weighted Sled Base

Because of its weighted sled base, this is the most stable oscillating sprinkler on our list. It is not a budget item though, and that is a bit of a letdown.

Dramm 15004 ColorStorm Premium Metal Oscillating Sprinkler with Brass Nozzle Jets

We love the color and robust metallic build on this sprinkler.  The good folks at Dramm designed it to be an instant hit with your kids, yard, and plants in summer.

1. GARDENA ZoomMaxx Oscillating Sprinkler on Metal Step Spike

The ZoomMaxx is the darling of the Gardena family of sprinklers and most gardeners at large. Our favorite sprinkler is not a large space sprinkler, as it has a 2300ft2 sprinkler radius.

Its power of irrigation though lies in its infinite water-flow parameter.  We love this feature because it gives the most consistent spray pattern of all sprinklers on our list. 

​

We love its sturdy adjustable swivel head. Its 16 adjustable nozzles, eight on each side allow you to adjust the width and length and water flow to any spot in your garden.

Isn’t it great that you can easily move it to any preferred spot? Just dig in the spike in your favorite place. When clogged, open up its fine mesh filter and clean it up.

Things we like

• •    Great for small rectangular yards
• •    Easily connected to other sprinklers
• •    Very precise on areas adjusted for watering, therefore, no water on your pathways

Things we don’t like

• •    Stabbing it to the ground is not pleasant and may cause damage to the swivel head

​

2. Melnor XT Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler

This, ladies and gentlemen is the big boy of large sized yards. Not only can it cover 4000ft²ofyard it has 18 nozzles to aid it.

Our favorite feature is its infinity turbo system, which powers it to evenly distribute water drops on large spaces. Low water pressure and debris can be a drag for most oscillating sprinklers, but not for the MelnotTX’s turbo system.

You will love its One-Touch system. At the touch of a lever, adjust the width of the water spray from a large 53 inch to a 20-inch spray range. Then let the kids enjoy adding or shrinking the spray pattern with itseasy integrated flow knob.

Things we like

• Its infinity turbo drive makes it clog resistant and can power the sprinkler in low pressure and debri prone water areas

• We love its simple minimalistic design

Things we don’t like

• •    The plastic build gives it a cheap light feel

3. GARDENA 1975 Aquazoom

This product greatest feature is its flexible width controls, which grants it precision in watering varied rectangular size yards most efficiently. If your garden is a medium size to large, then this oscillating sprinkler has you covered. It can easily take on yards 3900ft²large.

We love that you can raise it on a sprinkler tripod and water your plants from above, without affecting its stability. While it’s made of plastic, it still has that sturdy feel that we all love.

Things we like

• •    12-month labor and parts warranty
• •    Easy quick connect and disconnect

Things we don’t like

• •    Pricey for its plastic build

4. GARDENA ZoomMaxx Oscillating Sprinkler on Weighted Sled Base

Just like its sister above, this is the big Kahuna of small spaces, effectively watering 2300ft² size yards. Our favorite feature is its weighty sled base which makes it easy to move around and gives it the much-needed stability for oscillating sprinklers.

We assure you that you will love its consistency as it will uniformly deliver the same amount of water to all areas of your garden. No splotchy yard here.

​

We love its integrated timer that can be set for 1 to 120 minutes of watering.  The ZoomMaxx comes with a durable sealed turbo gear drive unit and directional control of its 16 rubber nozzles.

Things we like

• •    Two-year warranty
• •    Easiest to control and adjust

Things we don’t like

• •    Pricey
• •    Needs a specialized Gardena snap-on connector to attach to a hose

​

5. Dramm 15004 ColorStorm Premium Metal Oscillating Sprinkler with Brass Nozzle Jets

Now Dramm may be at the bottom of our list, but this sprinkler is the beast you need in case you have kids who love playing with water out in the yard in summer. This big boy can effectively water yards 3036ft²large.

Any kid at heart will love its attractive chassis colorsranging from a berry blue, yellow, red, orange and green.

We especially love that itcan withstand any rough play since it's built from zinc and brass. How cool is that? What’s more, it comes equipped with 18 brass nozzle jets and adjustable dials to deliver entertaining and moisturizing water fun for the kids and plants alike.

Things we like

• •    Needle plug supplied for cleaning out the nozzles
• •    Lifetime guarantee

Things we don’t like

• •    Nozzles and filter easily block causing oscillation problem

How to choose the best oscillating sprinkler for your garden

Oscillating sprinklers create beautiful waterfall fan-shaped water droplets by passing water through a turbine and a metal oscillating arm.  Take into consideration the factors below as pertains your yard or garden, when choosing an oscillating sprinkler.

• Water pressure

According to how stuff works, this sprinkler’s simple design heavily relies on proper water pressure from your hose to turn the turbine and gears on its interior. If the pressure is too low or too high, this will negatively affect the oscillation of the sprinkler.

If turning the water volume on your faucet high or low does not offer better oscillation, then consider purchasing a different model of sprinkler for low-pressure water areas or buy a water pressure regulator where the water pressure is too high.

• Coverage

What’s the size of your yard? Will a portable oscillating sprinkler fulfill its hydration needs or not? Most oscillating sprinklers are touted as best for use in regularly shaped yards. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but curved irregular yard areas may not get equal water coverage from this model of a sprinkler.

• Build

The stronger and robust the build of the sprinkler, the more efficient it is in water dispersion. A sturdy oscillating sprinkler should have more than fifteen spray jets.  More nozzles imply more customization options and broader water spread range.  A wide range sprinkler may cost more but will also cover more ground.

The oscillation of the nozzles should be fast enough to prevent the formation of puddles in your yard. The implication is that the sprinkler is always in constant motion and that a cheap build will experience a quick breakdown of parts, fast.

• Sprinkler head

Robust sprinklers have heavy duty filters to prevent clogging from debris. A cheap build of sprinkler may have a weak screen too that may lead to blockage, therefore halting oscillation. When oscillating, an excellent adjustable head is critical in dispersing water even to the remotest parts of your garden.  Always go for a reliable, robust build of the sprinkler’s head.

Conclusion

In a world where most simple everyday items invariably turn into big business, we love that the old oscillating sprinkler still exists with remarkable improvements that make our gardening easy and cost efficient to water. The GARDENA ZoomMaxx Oscillating Sprinkler on Metal Step Spike is the epitome of these good attributes and we would recommend it to any gardener.  This simple plug and play sprinkler will make your yard the darling of all flora and fauna when the heat strikes.