Rain Bird 27AP 1” Pop Up Impact Rotor with Plastic Case and Brass Impact Sprinkler

This video features the Rain Bird 27AP 1” adjustable part circle pop up impact rotor. It has a plastic case that houses a brass impact sprinkler. This is the direct descendant of the 21/31/41 Rain Bird introduced in 1940, creating a pop up sprinkler style that dominated turf irrigation for almost 50 years.
So, sit back and enjoy some history, some sprinkler operation, and a quick presentation on changing out the internal. I hope you enjoy this video, and thanks for watching!
Music: Voyage
Musician: @iksonmusic

[@FourtyFiftyEighty]

theres a park near me with hundreds of these still in service. Theyre super cool!

[@antiquesprinklers]

I’d love to see that! Where is it?

[@FourtyFiftyEighty]

@@antiquesprinklers now that I look at it they may have been larger impacts with the similar metal circle in the top. I’ll get a picture next time I’m thete

[@antiquesprinklers]

Awesome! Looking forward to seeing what they are!

[@photocontrol]

Haha the 95 and 100B were a little cranky and gave you a little blast. Nice Rain Bird popup, very well made!

[@antiquesprinklers]

Thanks!

[@franknorcia2741]

Love it!!!

[@antiquesprinklers]

Thanks!!

[@MikeMac89]

Im having trouble keeping up with all your uploads! Great Video , I just recently got a line on a 47AP and 27 AP. Weather isnt cooperating with me now so they will have to wait till next year! Keep it up !

[@MikeMac89]

BTW , you deserve way more subs with the content you're putting out ! Awesome job

[@antiquesprinklers]

Thanks! Those are nice impact rotors. I guess I’m the Great White North it’s passed the time one would want to be out spraying water around. Look forward to seeing them next year!

[@MikeMac89]

@antiquesprinklers next week is supposed to be around 10 C , as of right now it's -3 so no spraying of the water 😒 ... might , and it is a big might get them out next week. Let's hope !

[@antiquesprinklers]

@@MikeMac89 Good luck! I guess I shouldn't complain about our highs of 12 - 17 all week.

[@antiquesprinklers]

@MikeMac89 thank you. I can never predict what will get watched or when I’ll get subscribers. I just try to remember why I started making them, and how amazed I was that anyone outside of my family watched them.

[@markward38]

Nice presentation. Rain birds are a quality product and lovely sound when working ,unfortunately they are very expensive here in Australia and I’ve had to go for cheaper version in my garden.

[@antiquesprinklers]

Thank you. I’d never considered the cost of these US brands in other countries. What you say makes sense.

[@NelsonBigGunP200Fan]

I have like a brother to this also, the IB101 Buckner. Like this but spoon arm instead of the stubby PJ arm. All great rotors!

[@antiquesprinklers]

Agree!

[@randyvanheusden732]

I loved the video, and I was sure you were going to run that 100 or 95. It is interesting that the design was different and unique by comparison to what we see today.

[@antiquesprinklers]

Very much so, and that design dominated the industry.

[@kerryvinci5287]

Nice Show! You can't ever trust those Big ol aluminum monsters when they escape the basement! I have a good video of my 100 working at 100+ psi; l will have to post it, it is a cool sight to see. Nice display of the last of the great impact Rotors, I was sad to see them discontinued. I have 27/37/47AP with Aluminum lid, plastic lid as well as two types of Rubber covers. Case is very similar to the Cast Iron case with added ribbing for strength... In some ways the plastic case was a bonus over the Cast Iron in the fact that our corrosive soils would damage them and then work inside through the drain holes and make servicing the internals difficult at best in the ground.. The down side of the AP was they used a coarse thread "wood" screw and if you weren't cautious could strip out with repeated removals, such as a head at end of the line getting plugged. The older version Plastic case on the SAM and VIH units had brass inserts and used standard Machine screws and were way more robust; although the early VIH/SAM valves were not known for they're reliability and seemed to need service frequently....presumably to me this is why Toro had such a lead in the Golf business, was the 630/650/690 had very reliable Valve In Head. Of interesting note, the 27/37/47 was as noted as Cast Iron case and became the 27/37/47A around 1977/78, They were also available with a Bronze case and lid on special order too; this option doesn't appear available any longer when the "A' series came out.. also I believe sometime in the early 90's they had a Model 5055 and 4055 if I remember correctly [I can't locate catalog] but I have the heads; they were an economy version of the 27/37 and had a single stepped simple plastic case with molded rubber cover and the internals used a plastic riser and screw in threaded base in stead of flange and screws and the lower trip assembly was molded plastic with slip pin making it a full/part circle head.... I would imagine this was the last ditch effort to economize the impact rotor to compete with plastic gear drives. RainBird also had a really neat Brass Full Circle Rotor in the 60's/70's to compete with the Buckner 1360; it was the 84HP with "HEX DRIVE" which was similar to the Cam except it used a hexagonal shaft with a bigger square ring around it that was swirled with water to create a friction drive like Buckner Cam..... I must admit this is my biggest collection defeat as I had acquired one of these directly from RainBird repair department in the early 80's and it was new... somewhere in the confusion of moving shop a couple of times it turned up missing along with a case of 1330's and 1360's..... needles to say i wasn't too happy! I have never seen one before or since in the ground. I would really like to find a head or even a catalog showing the early rotors like the 21 you have but one with the "45" as an internal.... that is an elusive unit for sure!

[@antiquesprinklers]

I had no idea Rain Bird was still offering a brass case and lid impact rotor that late. It’s be a good addition to a collection. I’ve also noticed what you mentioned about the 47AP bs the more slender SAM version and its brass inserts. I also remember the 4055 and 5055, as I was in the business then. Your Hex story is heartbreaking. That sprinkler is my white whale. I’ve seen it in a 1964 and 1974 catalog. So, you have something that was made by a leading company for at least a decade and there isn’t a single one to be had! Losing a case of 1330’s and 1360’s would be a rough day. I finally have one each after selling hundreds of them. I hope to have a 1370 and 1390 one day, but I’ve never seen one available anywhere. I have a 1330 video coming out August 3, if memory serves. If you do ever feel like sharing pictures or video of your collection, I’d love to see it.

[@kerryvinci5287]

@@antiquesprinklers I do have a 51 in a Bronze case, and I remember seeing some as a kid..... I remember always seeing the Buckner with Brass lids and being able to identify them easily, and was quite surprised one day to look closer at one of the Lids assuming it was a Buckner 8280 to be surprised that it was a RainBird 37, I think they were about a 8-10$ uncharge over cast iron. The City of San Diego was all Buckner in the early years and I presume sometime in the late 60's early 70's must have gotten a bid from Rain Bird because they started to show up. They had some difficult specs on things one of which was likely Brass cased rotors; which I believe is why they were that way. It would seem as JM sold off Buckner and the 8265 went away I never saw a transition to the new style Royal Coach rotors but totoaly went to RB 27/37/47 but with Cast Iron cases. But the good news was that they still specd and used the 1360 seemingly up until they jumped into the pool with the HUNTERS..... the rest is history and slowly but surely the Bucks and Birds got replaced with Hunters or Toro 640's, instead of repaired.. The City had quite an extensive irrigation Repair shop at one time and they used to fix and repair all Brass heads that could be... Apparently I had heard that the head of the department had some relationship at some time to Buckner and was quite fond of them and knew very well how to keep them running and make them last; I assume he retired and the new kids took over to usher in the throw away and replace mentality;.. was a bummer for sure. I remember at a Park by the Bay that had all 8280H or replaced by 8265, and an occasional 1294H for perimeter and 4 or 5 rows of glorious Buckner 1390's, they were definitely a sight to behold; I do remember a lone RB 81, this was the early/mid 70's and by the early 80's I remember seeing a couple or S-T-L Rise-N-Rain 881 to replace the irreplaceable/ irreparable 1390, maybe from mower damage or just worn out since they are probably 30/40 years old by then..... I would say a really good sprinkler head!! and I will say I do remember somewhat seeing them work a time or two and they sure through out the water.... I sure wish I had realized what I had seen at the time, but it was just a big sprinkler; I had know idea how rare and that I was so lucky to at least see them work... I'm thankful to have that in my memory!! The 84HP is definitely one that irks me to this day, as I remember having some of the guys that worked for me cleaning out a shed to move to a new shop and one of my main guys throwing tones of pipe, fittings, valves, heads and such into a dumpster; I lost my temper on them and made them empty the dumpster out so I could look through all of it. I remember most of what had been moved when it left but was stored in the shop and move a couple of times to consolidate over the years and i wasn't able to keep track of it all; at the time had over 125 people working under me, that kept me busy to say the least. My head of the shop loved to throw out anything he didn't see useful and i'm sure one of the time crates were moved some had disappeared and it was the crate with the 84 and a few new cases of 1330/60 I had bought from HydroScape when they were no longer selling Buckner as a main line and wanted to make some free shelf space for Hunters or Geared Birds.... Truly a heartbreak for sure! At least I was say I had one and did run it a couple of times.... I ll share pics any time, I have tried 4 or 5 times to send address but it gets removed from the post.

[@antiquesprinklers]

[e-mail]

[@antiquesprinklers]

The brass case was an impossible spec to break by the time I came along, but it was a tough spec to get adopted. I hate to think about what I threw out when I changed careers. I also had what I thought was a cam rotor like a 1294 with the AC Oughton brand on it that I loaned to the guy who ran Buckner marketing at the time and never saw again. I’m terms of percentage loss of market share, I wonder what the fall of Buckner looks like. There just isn’t great data for the irrigation industry. I think in the mid-90’s Buckner was claiming just under 10%, and they had a Big Hairy Audacious Goal of getting to 20%. It went the other direction, obviously. 125 person company doing irrigation is massive. You’ve built very good businesses! Should you bump into another 84HP, I have a home with a pool in a desirable community in Maryland for trade. I’ll just need one of your storage sheds to live in with my sprinkler. I sent my email address in a separate reply.

[@antiquesprinklers]

A 1390, let alone row after row of them, would be majestic to see. Somewhere, there is old home movie footage of some in operation. Maybe a superintendent filming his installation in the late 50’s or early 60’s, or a family visiting the park you mentioned. Has to be out there.

[@franknorcia2741]

The reason for the stepped case was to add some additional surface area to keep it from sinking due to golf carts and such running over them.

[@antiquesprinklers]

That makes sense! Thanks, Frank!

[@kerryvinci5287]

That is a very good point, it probably added additional strength for vertical loads as well. I know when installed correctly with a good amount of gravel and backfilled with decent compaction they were very stable and done so more easily than the larger diameter conical shaped Buckner 8280/8265 heads. The gravel provides great stabile support as well as important drainage to help keep head more clean as any sediment would tend to flow through into the gravel. Safe-T-Lawn offered an optional Ground Support Flange for the Impact Rotors and Ball drives too; I had always wondered why that would be so important.... Thanks Frank.

[@franknorcia2741]

@@kerryvinci5287 Great point on the gravel Kerry, the 2 weep holes were important inside the case as the sprinkler was turned on and gained pressure it was of course spraying inside the case and leaking some water past the guide seal until the bearing contacted the lower buna seal and began to run. The gravel as you stated not only gave stability but aided in the weeping.

[@antiquesprinklers]

I remember seeing the ground flanges in catalogs. They always looked so curious to me, but someone must have used them. We should have used more gravel under sprinklers and valve boxes. I must admit, I did not enforce it.

[@antiquesprinklers]

That’s a good point. In heavy clays around here once you got away from the shore, those sprinklers would always be full of water, and even with check valves keeping the laterals full you’d make some swamps around heads.

[@NelsonBigGunP200Fan]

Those big impacts showed you! hah. I got a 27. It runs well off the garden hose. I should get it out and run it off my pump. yours is in great shape. its too bad RB decided to stop making them. They really were great rotors!

[@antiquesprinklers]

They were. I’d love to see your 27.

[@NelsonBigGunP200Fan]

@@antiquesprinklers kzbin.info/www/bejne/al7YeYqhoq6dhpY here it is running off a hose. I got this from another admin that used to be in a sprinkler group, but he left and he sometimes comments on my videos, i am not sure where he went tho, But we used to talk sometimes on video chat and he'd show me his collection. He's the one that sent me the 27/37/ and 47 rotors and a couple Buckners like the IB100 and IB101. And my Rise N Rain and 15111A as well!