The best DIY sprinkler system kits

Short answer

The Rain Bird 32ETI is the best DIY sprinkler system kit for most lawns: six buried pop-up rotors, a programmable hose timer and drain valves in one box, fed from an outdoor faucet. The Rain Bird 32HE buries four of the same rotors for about half the price, with no timer. Check your faucet first: Rain Bird’s kits need at least 6 gpm and 40 psi, and every kit is sized to what one faucet can feed.

Best overallRain Bird 32ETI Self Install Automatic Sprinkler System

$169.99at Rain Bird Store · checked 2 Nov 2026

Check price at Rain Bird Store (opens in a new tab)

Every boxed in-ground sprinkler kit we could find in North America runs from an outdoor hose faucet, and there are only five: two from Rain Bird and three from Orbit. Because none connects to the main water line, the faucet’s flow and pressure decide how much lawn a kit can water. We ranked them on what’s in the box, how plainly the maker states its limits and how well its documents guide a first install. See every kit’s specs in our sprinkler system kit comparison.

Three checks before you buy any kit

• Flow and pressure. Rain Bird asks for 40 to 75 psi and at least 6 gallons per minute. Orbit asks for at least 50 psi and 5 gpm on the 50020 and 50021, and states nothing for the 50024. Read pressure with a gauge on the faucet and flow with a 5-gallon bucket: 300 divided by the seconds it takes to fill. Our guide to measuring water pressure and flow has the steps.
• Rise. Rain Bird’s guides allow no more than 6 ft of rise from the faucet to any head; beyond that the throw shrinks. Orbit gives no rise limit that we could find.
• Room to grow. Rain Bird says the 32ETI isn’t designed for expansion: extra tubing or rotors can stop heads turning or popping up. If more zones are likely, read whether a faucet kit or a full in-ground system suits you.

Our picks at a glance

1. 1
   Best overall

   Rain Bird 32ETI Self Install Automatic Sprinkler System

   Six rotors, a timer and drain valves: a whole lawn system in one box

   • Covers 3,000 sq ft
   • 1-zone
   • Batteries power
   $169.99at Rain Bird Store · checked 2 Nov 2026

   Check price at Rain Bird Store (opens in a new tab)
2. 2
   Best budget

   Rain Bird 32HE Sprinkler System with Click-n-Go Hose Connect

   Four pop-up rotors fed by a click-in hose connector, no timer to buy

   • Covers 3,000 sq ft
   • 1-zone
   • None (manual) power
   $79.99at Rain Bird Store · checked 2 Nov 2026

   Check price at Rain Bird Store (opens in a new tab)
3. 3
   Best for large yards

   Orbit 50021 2-Zone In-Ground Sprinkler Kit with Hose Faucet Timer

   Two zones and 12 sprinklers from one faucet, push-fit tubing

   • Covers 2,500 sq ft
   • 2-zone
   • Batteries power
   $284.99at Orbit · checked 2 Nov 2026

   Check price at Orbit (opens in a new tab)
4. 4
   Best smart

   Orbit 50024 In-Ground Sprinkler Kit with B-hyve Wi-Fi Hose Faucet Timer

   Buried sprinklers plus a B-hyve app timer and hub in one box

   • 1-zone
   • Batteries power
   • 6 sprinklers or emitters
   $184.99at Orbit · checked 2 Nov 2026

   Check price at Orbit (opens in a new tab)

The fifth kit, the Orbit 50020, carries no badge. It is Orbit’s plain one-zone kit, and it has its own section below.

Side by side

Treat the coverage row as each maker’s best case. Rain Bird’s own table for the 32ETI puts a rectangular lawn at about 1,035 sq ft at 6 gpm and about 2,312 sq ft at 10 gpm; it only passes 3,000 sq ft with every head set to a full circle. The 32HE’s table gives about 660 to 1,160 sq ft over the same flows. Orbit says its figures depend on your pressure and flow, and publishes no table we could read.

Best overall

1. Rain Bird 32ETI

Coverage

3,000 sq ft

Minimum flow needed

6 gpm

Minimum water pressure

40 psi

Zones

1

Sprinklers or emitters

6

Power

Batteries

The 32ETI has everything a one-zone lawn system needs, and the clearest documents of the five. The box holds six 32SA gear-drive rotors with 0.75 gpm nozzles, 125 ft of tubing, two automatic drain valves, 12 spare nozzles and Rain Bird’s 1ZEHTMR hose timer, which waters on the days you choose with up to two start times and a rain delay of up to 96 hours. The June 2025 guide lists a backflow preventer in the faucet connection where the 2020 edition had a pressure regulator, so check which your box holds. The catch is the supply limits above, and no adding heads. The recurring complaint among the owners we read is heads falling short on a weak faucet, and they report five to eight hours to install working alone. See the full 32ETI review.

Where to buy the Rain Bird 32ETI Self Install Automatic Sprinkler System

• Rain Bird Store$169.99In stockchecked 2 Nov 2026Go to Rain Bird Store (opens in a new tab)

Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.

Best budget

2. Rain Bird 32HE

Coverage

3,000 sq ft

Minimum flow needed

6 gpm

Minimum water pressure

40 psi

Zones

1

Sprinklers or emitters

4

Power

None (manual)

The 32HE buries four of the same rotors on 90 ft of tubing and leaves out the timer. To water, you lift the lid of a buried Click-n-Go housing, push your hose connector in until it clicks and open the faucet. It’s the cheapest way we found to get pop-up rotors that sit flush for mowing, and two filtered drain valves empty the lines after each use. It asks the same of your faucet as the 32ETI. There’s no backflow device in the box, so Rain Bird tells you to make sure the faucet has a vacuum breaker and to check your local plumbing code. Its guide shows the 1ZEHTMR timer as an optional add-on to automate it later. We found too few independent owner reports to summarize. See the 32HE review.

Where to buy the Rain Bird 32HE Sprinkler System with Click-n-Go Hose Connect

• Rain Bird Store$79.99In stockchecked 2 Nov 2026Go to Rain Bird Store (opens in a new tab)

Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.

Best for large yards

3. Orbit 50021

Coverage

2,500 sq ft

Minimum flow needed

5 gpm

Minimum water pressure

50 psi

Zones

2

Sprinklers or emitters

12

Power

Batteries

The 50021 is the only two-zone kit we found. A two-outlet digital hose timer splits twelve gear-drive sprinklers into two zones, each outlet with its own run time and interval, for up to about 2,500 sq ft by Orbit’s figure: large for a faucet kit, small for a full system. The box adds 250 ft of push-fit Blu-Lock tubing, auto drain valves, a tubing cutter and a pressure gauge. Orbit asks for 50 psi and 5 gpm, more pressure than Rain Bird needs; its page links no manual and gives no maximum pressure, rise limit or spare part numbers. Its warranty table gives 5 years on gear-drive sprinklers and 6 on hose timers, none on underground fittings, and doesn’t list kits. A single owner review on Orbit’s store is too few to judge. More in the 50021 review.

Where to buy the Orbit 50021 2-Zone In-Ground Sprinkler Kit with Hose Faucet Timer

• Orbit$284.99In stockchecked 2 Nov 2026Go to Orbit (opens in a new tab)

Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.

Best smart

4. Orbit 50024

Zones

1

Sprinklers or emitters

6

Tubing included

125 ft

Spray radius (max)

25 ft

Main tubing size

1/2 in

Power

Batteries

The 50024 is the only boxed lawn kit you run from a phone: six gear-drive sprinklers and Blu-Lock tubing with a B-hyve Wi-Fi hose faucet timer and its hub, set up in the free B-hyve app, which adjusts the schedule from weather updates. It also has the biggest gaps. Orbit’s 50024 page states no coverage, pressure or flow, and its contents list doesn’t mention drain valves or a gauge as the 50020’s does, so ask Orbit for its faucet figures before you buy. You need home Wi-Fi in range of the hub, and Orbit’s warranty table gives B-hyve devices 2 years against 6 for its plain hose timers. Orbit’s store showed no owner reviews for it when we looked. See the 50024 review.

Where to buy the Orbit 50024 In-Ground Sprinkler Kit with B-hyve Wi-Fi Hose Faucet Timer

• Orbit$184.99In stockchecked 2 Nov 2026Go to Orbit (opens in a new tab)

Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.

Plain timer, one zone

5. Orbit 50020

Coverage

1,250 sq ft

Minimum flow needed

5 gpm

Minimum water pressure

50 psi

Zones

1

Sprinklers or emitters

6

Power

Batteries

On paper the 50020 is the 50024 without the app: six gear-drive sprinklers described the same way, on Blu-Lock tubing, with a plain digital timer that runs for 1 to 240 minutes at intervals from 6 hours to 7 days and has a rain delay. Orbit rates it for up to about 1,250 sq ft, includes drain valves, a cutter and a gauge, and asks for the same 50 psi and 5 gpm as the 50021. Next to the 32ETI it needs more pressure but less flow, so it can suit a faucet that reads well on the gauge but fills a bucket slowly. It has no badge because the 32ETI does the same one-zone job with clearer limits. More in the 50020 review.

Where to buy the Orbit 50020 In-Ground Sprinkler Kit with Hose Faucet Timer

• Orbit$174.99In stockchecked 2 Nov 2026Go to Orbit (opens in a new tab)

Prices and stock change; the retailer’s page is always the final word.

How to choose a DIY sprinkler kit

Choose by your faucet first, then by how you want to water. A kit that matches your supply beats a bigger one that doesn’t.

• Match the kit to your faucet. At 50 psi and 6 gpm or more, all four kits with published figures fit. At 40 to 50 psi with 6 gpm, choose a Rain Bird kit; at 50 psi or more with 5 to 6 gpm, the Orbit 50020 or 50021. Below 40 psi or 5 gpm, none will work well. A timer costs some flow, so Rain Bird says to retest with it fitted if the bucket shows under 8 gpm.
• Timer, app or hose. A plain timer waters while you’re away on batteries. The 50024’s app adds weather adjustments but needs Wi-Fi and a hub. The 32HE needs you there each time unless you add a timer; our hose timer comparison covers the options.
• Budget tiers. Under $100 buys buried rotors with no timer. $150 to $200 buys six heads on one zone with a plain or app timer. Above $250 buys a second zone and twice the heads. We found no Canadian retailer we could read for any of the five, and Orbit’s Canadian store charges in US dollars.

Plan the dig

Rain Bird’s guides have you cut slots with a flat spade or half-moon edger just deep enough for the rotor tops to sit flush, about 7.75 in in their drawings. Lay everything out and run the water before you bury it, and move any head that leaves a dry patch. More in how deep to bury sprinkler pipe.

Backflow and winter

Only the 32ETI’s current guide lists a backflow preventer in the box. For both its kits, Rain Bird says to confirm the faucet has a hose bibb vacuum breaker or other anti-siphon device and to check local code; Orbit’s kit pages don’t say. Rules vary by town, so ask your water utility, and see whether you need a backflow preventer. Before it freezes, every timer comes off the faucet and indoors. Rain Bird says the 32ETI’s lines need nothing more if the drain valves sit at the low points; Orbit recommends blowing out buried lines and suggests a professional. Details in how to winterize a sprinkler system.

How we chose these

1. Started from what decides a faucet kit: the flow and pressure it needs, its heads and zones, and what comes in the box.
2. Compared the makers’ published specs, install guides and warranty terms for all five boxed in-ground kits we found.
3. Checked prices at the Rain Bird Store and Orbit’s own store, and show the date we checked.
4. Read owner reviews where we could reach them. Only the 32ETI had enough to summarize.
5. Revisit the list when prices move or a kit is replaced.

What we don’t do: lab or yard tests. We haven’t installed these kits; everything here comes from the makers’ documents, retailer listings and the owner reports we read.

Our full method

Sprinkler kit questions

Which sprinkler kit works best with low water pressure?

None of them is built for low pressure. The Rain Bird 32ETI and 32HE ask the least, 40 psi, but also need at least 6 gpm of flow. Orbit asks for 50 psi and 5 gpm on the 50020 and 50021 and publishes no figure for the 50024. Below those, water beds with a drip kit instead: drip runs at about 30 psi through a regulator, on far less flow.

How long does it take to install a DIY sprinkler kit?

Plan on a full day. The Rain Bird 32ETI owners we read report five to eight hours working alone, or a day for two people, using a spade or a rented trencher. Add the wait for utility marks before you dig: 811 asks for a few business days’ notice in the US, and Canada’s provincial services ask for three to five working days.

Should I fit the spare nozzles that come with the 32ETI?

Only if your faucet has flow to spare. The 32ETI ships with 0.75 gpm nozzles that throw about 15 to 18 ft. Rain Bird’s spare 1.0 and 1.5 gpm nozzles reach about 20 to 24 ft, but the guide says they need at least 8 gpm at the faucet. Fit them only after a bucket test shows that much; otherwise heads can fall short or stop turning.

Can I buy these sprinkler kits in Canada?

Not easily. We found no Canadian retailer we could read selling any of the five, and Orbit’s Canadian store charges in US dollars, so we show no Canadian prices. Rain Bird prints the 32HE guide in French as well as English and Spanish. If you do buy one, request a locate through Click Before You Dig before digging, and bring the timer indoors before the first freeze.