Melnor XT minimax turbo oscillating sprinkler featured image Watering & Irrigation

Melnor XT MiniMax Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler: Product Review

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GPR Recommendation

Ease of Use
Quality
Performance
Final Thoughts

We loved the adjustment options on this sprinkler, including the 360-degree rotating head

Overall Score 4.8

Available on Amazon

Buy It

The Melnor XT Minimax Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler is unique in that you can really control where the water goes, from a wide flow of water to an extremely narrow one. It is available with either a sled base (the kind we tested) or on a step spike.

Unlike most other oscillating sprinklers, the entire head of the sprinkler can be rotated 360 degrees, which means that you don’t have to move the entire sprinkler (hose and all) to water in a different direction.

To see it in action, check out our video review below, or keep scrolling to read more about the details of this unique sprinkler.

Packaging

The Melnor XT MiniMax Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler comes neatly packaged in a sturdy box and has instructions for use on the back.

Melnor Minimax turbo oscillating sprinkler packaging

The back of the package explains the various adjustment options

Specifications

Metal or Plastic: Plastic
Adjustable length: Yes
Adjustable width: Yes
Adjustable flow:  Yes
Adjustable pattern(s): No
On/off switch: No
Advertised radius: 3,900 square feet
Tested radius:  3,000 square feet at 30 psi
Work with low water pressure? Yes, although the water won’t cover as large an area
Extras:  360 rotating sprinkler head, flexible nozzles, can daisy-chain

Parts

The Melnor XT MiniMax Turbo Oscillating sprinkler comes in two pieces, the sled base (or step spike, depending on the model) and the sprinkler head. It’s easy to screw the two pieces together and we found that the connection point didn’t leak.

Melnor xt mini two pieces

The sprinkler comes in two pieces, making it easy to assemble

Made out of plastic, the sled base is nevertheless very sturdy, and the sprinkler did not move during operation.

You’ll notice that the sled base has two hose connectors, one on each side. Because of the multiple hose connectors, you can “daisy chain” several sprinklers together, connecting them with multiple garden hoses. This lets you water a much greater area all at once (although you need several garden hoses – see our article on Best Garden Hoses to find the best ones).

If you’ll be using just one sprinkler, don’t forget to keep the cap on the coupling that’s not connected to the hose. And if you do choose to daisy chain several sprinklers, don’t lose the caps!

Most sprinklers have a washer and (usually) a strainer/sieve of some sort inside the point at which it connects to the hose. This sprinkler is different – the sieve that keeps dirt and debris from entering the water stream is found inside the sprinkler head (where it connects to the sled base).

The sprinkler head is also made of plastic, and the nozzles are somewhat flexible, so while this sprinkler didn’t come with any kind of nozzle cleaner, just brushing over them with your hand should clear them.

The sprinkler head itself is able to rotate 360 degrees, so you don’t have to mess with moving the hose when you want to change the direction of the water.

Melnor XT miniMax turbo sprinkler from above

The word “mini” in the title was appropriate, as this was the smallest oscillating sprinkler we tested – but it still covers a lot of ground

Using the Melnor XT MiniMax Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler

Once the sprinkler head is connected to the base, connect the sprinkler to a garden hose by removing one of the caps and screwing on a hose.

One thing we didn’t like is the plastic hose coupling. It feels a little flimsy, and it’s hard to grasp and turn when attaching the hose. Something a bit larger and easier to hold would be better.

melnor xt mini 360

Connect the sprinkler to a garden hose and swivel it up to 360 degrees until it’s facing the direction you want the water to go

The Melnor XT MiniMax Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler does not have any kind of on/off switch, so it’s best if you have the sprinkler on the settings you want to use before turning on the water at the spigot.

It does, however, have a flow control dial that adjusts the amount of water flowing through the sprinkler head and indirectly affects the width and length of coverage.

Melnor MiniMax sprinkler flow control dial

The flow control dial is conveniently located at the side of the sprinkler and is easy to adjust

The sprinkler is highly adjustable – you can adjust the width on either side (wide to narrow) and the length of the spray pattern. The adjustment tabs are large enough to grasp easily and pretty intuitive to use, plus there are clear markings on the sprinkler head that indicate which way to move the tabs.

melnor xt mini wide and narrow

Width adjustment on the Melnor XT Minimax Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler can give you a wide stream of water or a narrow one, or anything in between.

The thing we liked best about the Melnor XT MiniMax Turbo sprinkler is the rotating sprinkler head. Not only does it spin 360 degrees, it also swivels up and down. The end result is that you can easily control exactly where the water goes without having to move the sprinkler base or hose. If you’ve ever struggled with an unwieldy hose that just won’t lay flat or that keeps kinking, you’ll appreciate what a wonderful feature this is!

Uses and Limitations

This is one of the most adjustable sprinklers that we tested, which won points in our opinion. One of the few things we didn’t love about this sprinkler was the hose attachment. The connection, made of plastic, is a little flimsy, and it’s not easy to grip and attach to a hose.

Like any oscillating sprinkler, the Melnor XT MinimMx Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler covers a rectangular area, and some of the water will be lost to wind and evaporation. However, in our testing, this sprinkler was very consistent in the amount of water that reached 5, 10, 15, and 25 feet away.

Warranty

Melnor products, including this sprinkler, have a limited lifetime warranty against defects in material and workmanship.

Recommendation

We love all of the adjustments you can make on this sprinkler. From flow control to length and width adjustment, you can really customize the Melnor XT MiniMax Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler for your yard or garden. This is especially handy if you have a narrow strip of lawn to water, as the adjustments allow you to choose a narrow stream of water and fit the spray pattern to a very precise area. It doesn’t have the best grip for connecting to a hose, but it does have two different connecting points, which allows you the option of daisy-chaining more than one sprinkler in a row. The entire sprinkler head can be rotated 360 degrees, making it incredibly easy to adjust the spray direction without moving the hose or sprinkler, and it’s available with either a sturdy plastic sled base or a step spike. Overall, this was one of our favorite oscillating sprinklers.

Where to Buy

The Melnor XT MiniMax Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler is most readily available from Amazon. You may be able to find it at a local retailer but call ahead to see if they have it (and that they have it with the base you prefer) – we haven’t seen this particular sprinkler in many stores.

Melnor XT Minimax Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler
We loved how many adjustment options were available on this sprinkler
Melnor XT Minimax Turbo Oscillating Sprinkler with Step Spike
This version has a step spike, making the sprinkler more likely to stay in one place

Last update on 2024-03-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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Disclaimer – GPReview would like to thank Melnor for giving us a free sample to review. There was no expectation that it would be a positive review and we received no compensation for writing it. All opinions expressed here are those of the author based on personal experience using the product.

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