Gear-Drive Sprinklers
The other popular choice in sprinklers is gear driven
sprinklers. They use in an internal gear system which
uses water pressure to advance the nozzle in a circle.
Here are some reasons why you should choose gear-
driven sprinklers:

  • They never hang up: sometimes impact sprinklers
    can hang up, these never do
  • Go down on a more reliable basis
  • Quiet operation
Here are some reasons why you may want to avoid
gear driven sprinklers:

  • They are sealed units: if something goes wrong,
    you can't fix it, you have to replace the sprinkler
  • Expensive: traditionally gear-driven sprinklers cost
    more than impact sprinklers due to their complexity
  • Sand: if your ground is rich in sand, the sand
    often works its way into the internals of the
    sprinkler and bind it up
Image provided courtesy of Rain Bird Corporation.