💧 Sprinklers
📖 Introduction
Sprinklers and the accompanying Central Irrigation Control (control valve) are a group of objects that can be crafted in the game using the crafting table and required resources. As you would expect, the primary function of the sprinkler object is to keep your gardens watered and looking wonderful all the time. The sprinklers also have the added benefit of providing some fun on a hot summer day.
Now you may be asking, why would I bother with expensive sprinklers when I could just hire the NPC gardener? Sprinklers have a couple advantages over the gardener; such as being able to water plants where the gardener cannot reach, like on a man-made island surrounded by a pool or in a corner. Another advantage is, plants that require extra attention such as the Mystic Tree will thrive when watered more frequently since the gardener only visits once every three Sim days.
🛠️ How to get a Sprinkler or Control Valve
There are a couple ways to get your hands on a sprinkler or control valve. The first way is to make the object yourself using a crafting table and the required resources. Crafting a sprinkler or control valve requires you to have 12+ points in two skill categories, the correct number of resources and enough money. See the chart below for the requirements, or visit our crafting guide for more information on how to craft.
| Object Crafted | Cost | Skills Required | Wood | Cloth | Parts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sprinkler
|
§24,000 | Body 12 Logic 12 |
— | — | 4 |
Water Sprayer
|
§32,000 | Logic 16 Mechanical 16 |
1 | — | 4 |
Irrigation System
|
§40,000 | Charisma 20 Logic 20 |
3 | 1 | 4 |
The second and much easier way is to purchase a sprinkler from a store lot, or use secure trading to obtain one from another Sim. Keep in mind that crafting sprinklers and control valves is very expensive, and it sometimes takes the crafter several attempts to make a single item. Because of this, the price of sprinklers and control valves are generally much higher than what it costs to craft them.
🌊 Types of Sprinklers & Watering Radius
There are two different models of sprinklers in the game. The WaterSpew Sprinkler (or small size), and the Vintage Aquafaculator (or large size). You should select which sprinkler you want to use based on the design and size of your garden, as each one has a different watering radius.
💧 WaterSpew Sprinkler (Small)
This sprinkler has a watering radius of 3 tiles, centered on the sprinkler head itself. It is ideal for smaller gardens, or a group of four Mystic Trees with the sprinkler placed in the center.
💦 Vintage Aquafaculator (Large)
This sprinkler has a watering radius of 6 tiles, centered on the corner of the sprinkler opposite the water valve. It is ideal for watering large gardens that may be broken up into different sections or a group of 8 Mystic Trees with the sprinkler placed in the center.
⚠️ Placement Tips:
- Sprinklers can only be placed outside on bare ground
- They do not water through walls, fences or across pool tiles
- They will water house plants from the decorative catalog if they are placed outside on the ground or on a table near the sprinkler
To operate your sprinklers, simply click on the object and select Turn On. If you have more than one sprinkler, each one must be turned on individually.
🎛️ Control Valve
While the control valve object is not required to operate your sprinklers, it offers the convenience of turning on all your sprinklers at the same time and programming them to run at regularly scheduled intervals for complete automation.
Clicking on the control valve brings up two options: Turn On All Sprinklers or Set Automatic Timer. The first option does what it says and turns on all your sprinklers for a set time and then off again.
Setting an automatic timer will bring up a dialog box that lets you edit the number of (Sim) hours to wait before turning the sprinklers on. Click Edit Hours or Edit Minutes to set your desired watering schedule.
To water your garden twice a day, simply enter 12 into the box and click OK then Done. Every 12 hours the sprinklers will come on, starting from when you set the timer. If you would like to stop your timer from activating, click the control valve again and select Disable Automatic Timer.
🎉 Having Fun
How do you keep your Sim cool on a hot summer day? Play in the sprinkler of course! When turned on, the sprinklers have a Play in Sprinkler action that lets your Sim throw on their bathing suit, run around and even hop through the sprinkler in a very amusing fashion.
