Metal sprinkler buying guide
Updated: 23 October 2026
A cracked plastic sprinkler usually fails at the arm or the base, and a metal body looks like the tougher replacement. This metal sprinkler buying guide is the order to decide in: pattern, then base, then whether your outside tap and hose fitting can feed it. The eight amazon.co.uk listings, from about £7.82 to about £49.78, sit on the [metal sprinkler comparison](/hub/garden-watering/metal-sprinkler), which keeps the full table. Peter F. used those listings and public UK sources, read for 21 October 2026. This is not a lab test. If you buy through a link, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
A cracked plastic sprinkler usually fails at the arm or the base, and a metal body looks like the tougher replacement.
A cracked plastic sprinkler usually fails at the arm or the base, and a metal body looks like the tougher replacement. This metal sprinkler buying guide is the order to decide in: pattern, then base, then whether your outside tap and hose fitting can feed it. The eight amazon.co.uk listings, from about £7.82 to about £49.78, sit on the metal sprinkler comparison, which keeps the full table. Peter F. used those listings and public UK sources, read for 21 October 2026. This is not a lab test. If you buy through a link, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Pattern | Base | Stated pressure | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  LATERN LATERN spike sprinkler | Title says impact. Bullets say fan, cone, or stream | Spike with stability arms | n/a | 9.0 | about £9.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  Winbay Winbay brass spike sprinkler | Twist nozzle: fan, cone, or stream | Spike | n/a | 8.4 | about £7.82 | View offer |
| Alternative |  GRÜNTEK GRÜNTEK oscillating sprinkler | Oscillating | Metal base, ABS body | 2.76–8 bar | 8.8 | about £49.78 | View offer |
On this page
Three patterns, not one metal sprinkler
Metal on the carton does not mean one kind of spray. An impact head throws a jet and clicks round a circle or a wedge. The sled versions here are the two FANHAO listings and the STYDDI. The spike versions with an impulse arm are the GARDENIX, stated at up to 27 m diameter with no pressure beside it, and the LATERN ET-A1609 at about £9.99, which prints a 15 m radius and 530 m² on the same card.
A twist nozzle is different. The Winbay at about £7.82 turns a barrel through fan, cone, or stream. The other LATERN, also about £9.99, puts impact in the title and fan, cone, or stream in the bullets. The GRÜNTEK at about £49.78 is the only oscillator, a bar that sweeps a rectangle. Both FANHAO style fields say oscillating while the bullets describe impact heads. A long rectangle belongs on the impact or oscillating sprinkler page.
Spike, sled, and where each sits
A spike belongs in soil you can push into. The Winbay is 130 g, the lighter LATERN is 160 g, the impulse LATERN is 300 g, and the GARDENIX is 295 g. UK reviews of the impulse LATERN say the spike bends in hard ground. The bullets call those spikes stainless steel, and a review says the metal is aluminium.
A sled uses weight. The STYDDI is 650 g of zinc, the lighter FANHAO is 740 g, and the heavier FANHAO is 970 g. Reviewers say that mass stops the unit walking off when the hose tugs. The GRÜNTEK base is metal under an ABS body at 875 g. A spike has nowhere to go on paving. Printed area, including 5,800 square feet and a 27 m diameter, is the sprinkler for a large lawn page.
Pressure and the hose thread
The pressure that matters is at the hose end, after the tap and the length of pipe. The guaranteed minimum in the communication pipe is 7 m head, about 0.7 bar, under regulation 17G of the GSS Regulations 2008. GRÜNTEK states a minimum of 2.76 bar and a maximum of 8 bar. The lighter FANHAO states 20 to 80 psi, about 1.4 to 5.5 bar, and UK reviews say the arm wants a lot of pressure before it spins.
None of these listings names 3/4 inch BSP or Hozelock. Hozelock’s tap guide says a 3/4 inch BSP thread is usual and a 1/2 inch BSP thread turns up on older taps. A UK review of the heavier FANHAO says three units did not work with standard Hozelock connectors. Silence on the other cards is not a yes.
What the listing will not decide for you
An outside tap needs a double check valve under the Water Fittings Regulations 1999, Schedule 2, paragraph 15. Do not leave the hose end in a pond, a water butt, or a bucket. No listing in this set claims WRAS approval. If the tap has no double check valve, if the mains joins a butt, or if you want several permanent heads rather than one hose-end sprinkler, call the water company or a WaterSafe plumber.
The about £9.99 LATERN twist spike is 4.4 from 50 reviews, and the impulse LATERN at the same price is 3.4 from 861.
Common questions
Will it click onto the hose I already own?
Only if the fitting matches, and none of these eight cards names Hozelock or 3/4 inch BSP. Hozelock says most outside taps are 3/4 inch BSP, with 1/2 inch BSP on some older taps. The heavier FANHAO failed standard Hozelock connectors in a UK review of three units. A brass quick-connect in the Winbay box is still an unnamed brand. Fit the connector you already trust, or expect an adapter.
What pressure should I expect from a UK outside tap?
About 0.7 bar in the communication pipe is the legal minimum, not a promise at the nozzle. A published Claber impact page, which is not one of these eight ASINs, sits at 1 to 3 bar and 11 litres per minute at 2 bar. If the arm will not click, the tap and any leak come before a new head. Time a bucket at the hose end if you want your own litres per minute.
Why do two listings both say 5,800 square feet?
Both FANHAO cards print up to 5,800 square feet, about 539 m², and neither ties that figure to litres per minute. The lighter one states 20 to 80 psi. The heavier one does not state a pressure. A UK review of the lighter sled put coverage nearer 100 square feet in that garden. The same square-foot line on two weights is a shared claim, not two measured lawns.
Should I buy during a hosepipe ban?
If your water company has banned hosepipe watering of gardens, a new sprinkler does not create an exception. Section 76 of the Water Industry Act 1991 is local, the 2010 Order counts a lawn as a garden, and the fine Ofwat describes is up to £1,000. You can still compare fittings and bases. You should not run water to test a sector while that ban covers lawns.
What belongs on the comparison table?
The eight shelf prices, star lines, and the rows for pattern, base, arc, and connector live on the main comparison. This page is the if-then: which pattern, which base, and whether the tap and thread can feed them. Trip-pin steps stay on the how-to page. Square-foot conversions stay on the large-lawn page.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources listed in the research digest. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts are the saved listing lines for these eight products. Last reviewed 22 October 2026.
- Water Industry Act 1991, section 76 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Water Fittings Regulations 1999, Schedule 2, paragraph 15 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- GSS Regulations 2008, regulation 17G (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Ofwat, hosepipe bans (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Hozelock, how to measure your tap (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- RHS, watering (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- RHS, August lawns (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Claber impact metal jet spike, via LBS (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Easy Garden Irrigation, garden skid sprinkler pro (retrieved 22 October 2026)