Antique Rain Bird No. 45 3/4” Brass Part Circle Adjustable Impact Sprinkler c. 1950

This Rain Bird No. 45 Bras Impact Sprinkler was introduced in the mid 1940’s and was a very early example of the technology that still supports part circle rotation in this style of sprinkler. This model did not last on the market long, likely the result of a design approach that created long-term issues with the lever arms, and was out of production by the early 1960’s. It was replaced by the long-lived Rain Bird 35, and no Rain Bird Impact Sprinkler has carried the No. 45 model number since.
Like and subscribe, if you wish, but please check out my playlist of other makers of great sprinkler content.
I hope you enjoy this video, and thanks for watching!
Music: Voyage
Musician: @iksonmusic

[@class40sailor]

So cool to see the pieces of my old collection cleaned up and operating! Thanks for sharing!

[@antiquesprinklers]

Thanks. I definitely enjoy it.

[@antiquesprinklers]

Did you see your old 100 and one of your 95’s in the pop up impact video? Thanks again for selling the collection. That would not have been an easy tithing dir me to do!

[@oldschoolsprinklers9000]

Wonderful wealth of information on the Rainbird 45. They are very unique and probably short lived in production during there time for sure. It’s nice to see them out there demonstrating. Thanks for sharing.

[@antiquesprinklers]

Thank you!

[@TheKillionC]

Personally I love that you give a bit of history and the past leading up to each sprinkler (as well as what led to their potential demise). Keep up the good work Bill. Love your videos. And awesome snag on that collection; that is amazing!

[@antiquesprinklers]

Thanks. I really enjoy sharing the information and the sprinklers. I’ve also learned a ton from people via the comments. All good stuff.

[@kerryvinci5287]

Nice show Bill, Great history and display of such a unique and unusual Rain Bird, that really looked like no other! They definitely work best with the 3/16 or 7/32 nozzles the smaller doesn't give enough drive force and the larger give too much unless you regulate the pressure, and a very temperamental head indeed, i have a dozen or so and only a few work well and can be relied on.. Im sure this head was developed to be in a rotor pop up or as a riser head..... perhaps that is where the "47" designation was derived from; I have seen a nelson/rain Bird catalog that showed a picture of a rotor and although the picture was not clear the inside appeared to look similar to the 45.. your head works very well for an good oldie, they really do provide excellent coverage and I have seen them installed with out head to head coverage and seem to have good results. too bad it was short lived and not improved upon, but the 35 has proven to be a very remarkable performer for the long haul as was in production in production, until very recently. I love the slow motion shots as they really show how the impact arm and reverse trips work, and shows how the water is cut by the blade and flows through the spoon to drive the arm, it gives a great perspective to the principal of operation. As always thanks for sharing!

[@antiquesprinklers]

Thanks, Kerry. I always appreciate your well thought out perspective on these. Some other folks have mentioned seeing something like the 45 inside a can; so, there must be something to it. Hard to complain about the 35 as a replacement. It’s been a great sprinkler for over 60 years.

[@photocontrol]

An interesting Rain Bird model for sure. With it's compact design it seems that it would be only be used in popup systems.

[@antiquesprinklers]

That’s what I thought, but so far I’ve seen no evidence of such a pop up existing.

[@ericnewton5720]

I heard you mention your controller complaining about this 1/4” nozzle. Guessing you’re a controller nerd too… I have an LXME that runs multiple zones at the same time to save time on the overall runtime of the system. Signed, Fellow sprinkler and controller nerd.

[@antiquesprinklers]

Very cool. I have a Hydrawise at my house. Hydraulically, I can only run one zone at a time. I’m trying hard not to collect vintage controllers, but I do have a couple.