KidWash: PVC Sprinkler Water Toy

by discontinuity

221K29037

Intro: KidWash: PVC Sprinkler Water Toy

Make a fun summer sprinkler toy from PVC to help the kids beat the heat.

total cost: $9.51
total time: about 1 hour

STEP 1: Go Shopping

Head to your local hardware store and pick up:

2 ten foot lengths of PVC. (I used 3/4" but feel free to use other sizes, just be sure your fittings are the same dimension)
3 end caps
1 threaded hose connector
2 elbow joints (90 degree)
2 T connections
PVC Cement (I skipped on the primer, use this if you want)

STEP 2: Grab Your Tools

You will need:

a drill
1/16 or 3/32 inch drill bits (or other sizes if you're feeling sassy)
saw (fret saw, hack saw, Sawzall, whatever)
measuring tape
pen
PVC Cement

STEP 3: Start Cutting

Time to cut. You will need the following sections and sizes:
2 at 5 feet
1 at 4 feet
4 at 18 inches

Cut one of the 10' lengths in half so that you have two 5' sections.

Then, cut a 4' section from the second one. Cut the remaining 6' section in half and then each of the 3' sections in half.

STEP 4: Start Glueing

Be sure to do your glueing in a well ventilated area.

Lay your pieces out and get your PVC Cement ready. The glue dries fast so you'll want to just do one piece at a time.

Start with the feet. Take one of the 18" sections and an end cap. Daub some glue inside the lip of the end cap and around the outside edge of the piece and stick the cap on.

Repeat this 2 more times for 2 more of the 18" pieces. On the 4th one, attach the threaded hose attachment piece.

STEP 5: More Glue - Connect the Feet

Now connect the pieces you just glued using the T joins.

Repeat the process of daubing cement inside the T joins and on the PVC lengths and sticking them together.

When you're done, you should have 2 pieces as in the picture.

STEP 6: Add the Legs

Next, use your cement and connect the two 5' sections to the feet you just made.

After that, add the elbows at the top. Be sure the mouths of the elbows are pointing perpendicular to the direction that the feet are running.

See the picture for details.

STEP 7: Drill Some Holes

Put the cap on the PVC Cement for a bit and get your drill out.

I started out with a 3/32" bit but switched to a 1/16" bit for smaller streams. You can mix and match as you please.

Take your 4' section of PVC and drill some holes in a fun pattern that will spray water in the air.

I did 6 small holes (3 clustered on the left & right) on what would become the top that shoot water straight up. Then i did 2 rows of holes slightly offset from what would be straight down, that shoot water toward the front and back of the device.

You may want to experiment and see what works best. You can do this by not cementing this final piece in and if you don't like it, buy some more PVC and try again.

Once you have something you like, glue this last piece in and you're done.

STEP 8: The Finished Product

Technically, you're supposed to wait several hours for the cement to dry before you try it out. I waited about 10 minutes and then gave in to my curiosity. Didn't seem to matter and the kids love it.

35 Comments

gskkids 10 years ago

HI, great idea. We did this today for really cheap but I added 1/2 foot on each of the side pipes and a few more inches on the cross bar to better fit my oldest daughter and her bike. Because of it we had a bit less left for the feet but it worked even with the shorter amount but I think the 18 inch is better. We turned it into a drive through bicycle wash and had great success using the 1/16 inch drill bit and were able to add tons of holes. We added a few on the side poles all directed into the "door" and several going straight out or slightly up which created a fun spread of the water. It works without cement for us. It comes apart if you move it sometimes but easily pushes back in. We prefer this as we can take it apart and store it. THANK YOU.

hoosiermama 11 years ago

I made one of these two summers ago using misters for a finer spray. The kid loved it. The one draw back though is that it soaks the ground pretty quickly. So you'll need to put it over the sidewalk, or move it around frequently while playing or your kids will be running through mud.

mce128 13 years ago

Or you could use one of these since it's PVC.... http://centralonlinesales.com/show_Product.asp?ID=360 and save $10 and have something that's awesome for any kind of hosing as well.

dublinsmaster 13 years ago

We made it, here in canada it cost about $40 bucks. but the kids love it just the same :)

chs247 13 years ago

I made a nice wide and tall one, and my kids love it. I painted mine purple as my daughters ask, it looks great. Thanks for the idea. Great job. In fact half of the guys in work want one for there kids.

ranex 13 years ago

my idea would be to make a stand but has T connectors that are big enough to had the full crossbar to go through, that way you can just make a bar that holds the water and the rest is empty, you could also make it so the kids could use it like a limo stick as previously mentioned

balloondoggle 13 years ago

I made this last summer and the kids loved it - thanks a lot for the instructions! A drawback to the design, however, is that it is nearly impossible to drain the water out at the end of the summer. Due to the size and shape, it lived on our deck over the winter where that trapped water froze and destroyed one side. In making repairs, I added a threaded plug on the leg opposite the quick disconnect. Now I can drain water from one side through the connected hose and from the other through the threaded plug. My sister has asked me to make one for her daughter and as they have less storage space than I do I'll look at using all threaded connectors so that they can break down the unit and stand it in the corner of a utility closet.

burningsuntech 13 years ago

Absolute genius! Us desert rats could use a cool water toy and this one looks super. Nice job on the instructable. Well documented. RA

gvince4 14 years ago

Thanks for this Instructable I made one this summer for my son he thinks it's great!  I put side holes at an angle and the whole thing worked well. To drill the holes I used my drill press and the smallest bit I could find I used glue on all but one  joint so I could put it away for the winter. Thanks!
"G"

cpns72 14 years ago

Perfect to make "rain" for my pond to listen and watch rain right in my yard. Love all those ideas/tips. Will post it with pixies later. Thank you.

LoveMyPadres 16 years ago

Wait a minute...you can run water in PVC pipes? I'm not sure I've ever used it for that purpose before....huh.... Looks like a lot of fun, have to make one next summer!

tannerr52 14 years ago

i hope you were being sarcastic

toogers 14 years ago

that is the original purpose, it's for plumbing. if you could see through walls, that's one thing you would see. not to sound rude.

Granny_Leah 16 years ago

I wonder if this would be strong enough for hanging tomato plants... Maybe with larger diameter pipes? I hate watering hanging plants.

picbuck 15 years ago

It probably will be if you don't use too long a piece of pipe. You'd want to use "Schedule 40" PVC pipe. "Schedule" refers to the wall thickness of the pipe. Schedule 40 is the white, thick walled kind in the plumbing department. Home Ripoff sells it, as do most hardware stores. Not the thin-wall PVC pipe, that's sold for irrigation (lawn watering) systems. Schedule 40 is for drainage, you probably have it in your house. It's easily cut by hand. You'd want a coarse (not fine) blade in a hacksaw, or a regular wood saw also works well--if sharp. But 3/4" is not rigid enough to support a load. You'd want 1-1/2" or 2". Or if you could go to the 3" or 4" sizes you're getting some pretty strong stuff. Though still not as rigid as galvanized pipe, into which you could also drill holes. And 3/4" galvanized pipe is really, really strong.

Derin 15 years ago

there is also schedule 80

toogers 14 years ago

and don't forget schedule 120.

superhands 15 years ago

Made on last night, worked REALLY well, I bought some cement but didn't use it - pressure was not enough to cause leaks. BTW for UK folks, I used overflow pipe from the DIY centre - its a little thin but is only £1.99 per length - I bought 3 plus a threaded elbow joint for a toilet overflow that has exactly the right thread for a hose spiggot. I couldnt find a 3/4 (22mm) end cap anywhere, so I used some thick plastic wrapped over the end and secured with Jubilee/Hose clips.
More Comments