3 inch Opening Sprinkler Head Protector Plastic Craft Mold to Pour with Concrete to Make Your own Guards 7146

Bought two of these molds to make protectors to fit around our sprinkler system spray heads. We have mostly Rainbird 5000 spray heads, and these fit perfectly around those heads. A little extra info.....we didn't turn on our irrigation system at all last year, because the weather stayed nice most of the summer. We have 10 zones to deal with around our house - and each zone has 5 sprinkler heads on it. When we turned on the sprinkler this spring (noting that a very hot summer was being forecast), but we couldn't locate many of the sprinkler heads. Some had become thickly overgrown with grass and thatch, and there were at least 10 that were damaged or wouldn't pop up at all. We had a few geysers where heads had broken off below the sprinkler head, but many were very difficult to locate. Let's just say it was a challenge to locate them. Once we did find them, we had to dig them out and all around them for any needed repairs - and so they could pop up without any problem. I thought there surely must be a better way, so I began looking online for ways to protect sprinkler heads - and came across these molds. We have now made almost 30 of them, using Quikrete and they have turned out quite well. We added "Willow Green Powdered Color" for Concrete to the Quikrete before pouring into the molds so they would match the grass a little better than just plain gray concrete. We poured the molds inside our garage and kept them at normal temperatures for 24 hours. After they were dry, we removed them from the molds and refilled the molds for another batch. They should hold up to high heat outdoor temperatures, water (cold or hot), and even freezing winter temperatures. However, we don't know what will happen if we accidentally roll over one with our truck, since we have 10 sprinklers that run along the edge of our driveway. So we added a little reinforcement wire ring in the center of the mold with some woven wire. We have not tested these out yet for durability under unusual circumstances, but the actual molds were good quality, these are easy to make, and two of the molds made it easy to get them done over the summer months. The molds don't need much support to hold their shape, and the result was great. They also came with an extensive instruction sheet from the supplier, which we found to be very helpful, too. I would definitely buy these again if I needed them, and I will do business with this supplier if we need concrete molds again.

The first one they shipped had small pits and rough spots on 1/2 of the top of the mold. I sent it back and had a new one in a week. The mold has held up very well. I do wish it was a half inch thicker but it’s sturdy and works well I’ve made about 20 of them so far. I coat the mold lightly with Vaseline. I found that it works a lot better than the spray Pam which left slimy, greasy residue, and the Vaseline does not.I use 2 cups Portland cement, 1 cup of play sand and 1 cup of water, and a small dab of green powder dye. It creates a fine and smooth finish. I mix it in a old Cool Whip bowl with a paint stick. I put half mixture in the mold , tap it a few times, lay some small pieces of wire mesh all the way around it and then put the rest of the mixture in, gently tap it on the counter and let it sit for 3-4 hours. I use my air compressor with the little blower tube around edges and it lifts right out, set it aside and make another one. I let it cure for 24 hours. This makes it so much easier to remove without breaking it or having cracks.

Well made, I made about ten donuts, and the mold is still in new condition.

It does what they say it does it is a real pain getting the rings out of the mold.

This mold has worked great! I have made 38 donuts and need 65 for my yard at $0.69 each. Retail on "Concrete Donuts" are roughly $13 each in my area. Do the math. My sprinkler system went in 15 years ago and have been overun by my st. augustine grass. The whole system has become less effective on coverage by the grass blocking the heads from fully extending and stopping the spray. I use quick set concrete at a 5:1 ratio, 2.5 cups quickete to 1/2 cup water. I use a light coating of Pam, wipe it, fill the mold 1/2 full and tamp the mold 30 or so times to get the bubbles out of the face, fill it, then tamp it again, let it set for 3-4 hours and repeat the process. I also use 30 drops of green food coloring to the water to give it an olive drab color. To remove, push the center in enough to grab and work it out of the mold. I am cranking out 3-4 a day which is more than I want to set in the yard.

I started making these out of Quickrete but found that they were breaking apart when I removed them (even after waiting 24-hours for them to set-up). So I switched to mortar and they survive more often, but still one has broken. Also, I CANNOT get them out of the mold without pushing the center of the mold down to release the mold. So far the mold has held up to this manipulation of it. So, yay to the quality of the material! I am using non-stick spray but still having great difficulty getting them out of the mold. Still worth it though as mortar and concrete is cheap, so if you have the time, this is well worth the investment.

Used a 50lb bag of concrete for 24 sprinkler heads. Much cheaper than anything you could buy.

I needed 32 sprinklers donuts for my system. To buy that many would have cost me close to 500 from the local big box store ones. Bought couple of these molds, some concrete colorant, and a bag of quickcrete. Spent maybe 80. The molds are great as you can see from the pics the donuts come out right to fit over Rainbird 5000 and 1800 sprinklers. I used dielectric grease to lube the molds. The donuts pop right out with no problems. I can make a donut in about four hours with quickcrete. So save your money and buy these you won’t be disappointed.