Stardew Valley Sprinkler Types: Layout, Ranges & Setup (with Images)

Planting and harvesting crops in Stardew Valley has a lot of potential if you’re looking to optimize their available fertile land for maximum profit.

For example, using sprinklers instead of your Watering Can shows a more significant advantage for covering vast tile areas without sacrificing precious energy.

What’s the best sprinkler in Stardew Valley?

The Iridium Sprinkler is the best sprinkler available in Stardew Valley.

You can unlock the recipe at Farming level 9, which requires 1 Iridium Bar, 1 Gold Bar, and a Battery Pack.

Alternatively, you can purchase one from Krobus every Friday for 10.000g.

Sprinkler Type	Watered Tiles	Recipe	Unlocked at	Selling price
Sprinkler	4 adjacent tiles	1 Copper Bar 1 Iron Bar	Farming level 2	100g
Quality Sprinkler	8 adjacent tiles	1 Gold Bar 1 Iron Bar 1 Refined Quartz	Farming level 6	450g
Iridium Sprinkler	24 adjacent tiles	1 Battery Pack 1 Gold Bar 1 Iridium Bar	Farming level 9	1,000g

As of the 1.5 update, hoes can no longer pick up Sprinklers, meaning that you can place them and retile the soil without worrying about breaking their position.

Each sprinkler has an optimal layout to cover most tiles with minimal loss.

Each sprinkler can offer various opportunities to water crops and make the most of your available resources, which we’ll analyze below.

Stardew Valley Sprinkler Types

While each Sprinkler has different ranges, they all work the same way.

They will only water tilled soil each morning and cannot water Garden Pots or refill your pet’s water.

You cannot place sprinklers placed in the sand either.

You can break a Sprinkler by hitting it with a Pickaxe or Axe.

Basic Sprinkler

Range: 4 adjacent tiles
Ingredients: 1 Copper Bar + 1 Iron Bar
Unlocked: Farming level 2
Selling price: 100g

The basic Sprinkler, labeled as Sprinkler in Stardew Valley, will water the tile above, below, and to its sides every morning.

Craft it by using 1 Copper Bar and 1 Iron Bar.

You must gain 380 Farming XP to reach level 2 and unlock the Sprinkler recipe.

How to Set Up and Lay Out a Sprinkler System in Stardew Valley?

Compared to the other Sprinkler types available in Stardew Valley, setting up a farm layout with Sprinklers demands resources and land, making it more inefficient.

However, if you already have the basic Sprinklers in your inventory, you can set one Sprinkler 4 tiles away from each other in horizontal and offset the following line by 1.

This way, the watered tiles won’t collide with each other and will cover the entire area without leaving blank spots.

You must consider in this layout at least one space for a Scarecrow. Otherwise, crows may eat your crops.

Quality Sprinkler

Range: 8 adjacent tiles
Ingredients: 1 Gold Bar + 1 Iron Bar + 1 Refined Quartz
Unlocked: Farming level 6
Selling price: 450g

Quality Sprinklers will water the 8 immediately adjacent tiles or a 3×3 area every morning.

You must obtain 3300 XP points in Farming to reach level 6 and unlock the Quality Sprinkler.

When you either complete the Summer Crops Bundle or the remixed Garden Bundle, both located in the Community Center’s Pantry, you’ll get a Quality Sprinkler as a reward.

On occasions, you may find 4 Quality Sprinklers as a reward in a treasure room in the Skull Cavern.

The Traveling Cart will also randomly sell it between 1,350 and 2,250g.

Is the Quality Sprinkler Worth It in Stardew Valley?

Unlike the basic Sprinkler, the Quality Sprinker allows for an easier layout and strikes a good balance between efficiency and resources needed for crafting.

It’s always better to craft a Quality Sprinkler than to purchase it from the Traveling Cart since the necessary ingredients cost 440g.

Once you no longer need it, you may only get a 10g gain, but it’s still far more beneficial than starting at a significant loss.

How to Set Up and Lay Out a Quality Sprinkler System in Stardew Valley?

For an optimal layout on your farm, keep each Quality Sprinkler 2 tiles apart at all sides.

This will cover the most tiles and allow for a strategic Scarecrow placement to protect all crops.

Iridium Sprinkler

Range: 24 adjacent tiles
Ingredients: 1 Iridium Bar + 1 Gold Bar + 1 Battery Pack
Unlocked: Farming level 9
Selling price: 1,000g

The Iridium Sprinkler will cover 24 adjacent tiles or a 5×5 area every morning and water soil areas previously tilled.

You may unlock the Iridium Sprinker’s recipe by reaching level 9 in Farming by obtaining 10,000 XP.

The crafting recipe requires 1 Iridium Bar, 1 Gold Bar, and 1 Battery Pack.

When unlocked, Krobus will sell 1 Iridium Sprinkler every Friday for 10,000g.

Sometimes you may find 1 to 2 Iridium Sprinklers when opening a chest in treasure rooms when exploring the Skull Cavern.

Is Iridium Sprinkler worth it in Stardew Valley?

Since the Iridium Sprinkler offers the most extensive range for watering tilled tiles, it’s the best option for automatically watering crops in Stardew Valley.

Buying an Iridium Sprinkler from Krobus each Friday may offer an excellent way to obtain several for your farm or Greenhouse.

Even if you’re barely making the necessary 10,000g, this allows you to own at least one without waiting until reaching level 9 and grind through the Skull Cavern for Iridium Ores for smelting.

If you’ve unlocked the recipe but haven’t collected enough Battery Packs, you can obtain Battery Packs outside of the summer season via the Traveling Cart, which sells them at random between 1,500 and 2,500g.

Robin may also sell Battery Packs at the Carpenter’s Shop.

How to Set Up and Lay Out an Iridium Sprinkler System in Stardew Valley?

If you want to use Iridium Sprinklers for your farm, you must place them 4 tiles apart from each other on all sides.

However, to place a Scarecrow and cover all crops efficiently, you can place using 4 Iridium Sprinklers inside its radius and combine them with 6 Quality Sprinklers.

Can I Upgrade My Sprinklers in Stardew Valley?

You can attach Upgrades to placed sprinklers to improve one feature. If you break the sprinkler, you will remove the upgrade without destroying it.

You can only use a single upgrade on a sprinkler at a time.

Upgrades are available for purchase from Qi’s Walnut Room, each available for 20 Qi Points in bundles of 4.

If you’ve activated the Shrine of Challenge, Slimes may rarely drop them in The Mines when slain.

They also rarely drop from monsters at the Skull Cavern whenever a cave-related Qi quest is active.

Name	Effect	Value	Selling Value
Pressure Nozzle	+1 tile range in all directions	20 Qi Points	200g
Enricher	Automatically fertilizes tilled soil if seeds are planted	20 Qi Points	200g

What’s the Ideal Layout for Stardew Valley’s Greenhouse?

To set an Iridium Sprinker layout inside the Greenhouse, you need six placed as referenced in this image.

The layout also includes where to place fruit gardens to maximize the Greenhouse’s efficiency all year round.

Learn more about the best Greenhouse layouts for profit and production!

Stardew Valley Sprinker FAQs

Sprinklers Not Working In Stardew Valley?

If your Sprinklers aren’t working, check that you haven’t placed them in the sand, aren’t close to Garden Pots, and have tilled the land nearby.

Sprinklers won’t work on sand and won’t water Garden Pots.

You should also check whether you’ve tilled the correct area for the specific sprinkler you’ve placed since each has a different range.

Can You Leave Sprinklers Out in Winter Stardew Valley?

Sprinklers will still work during winter in Stardew Valley. You may plant the Winter Seeds, which will also help keep the soil tilled until spring arrives.

Can I Move My Sprinklers?

You may break your sprinklers by hitting them with an Axe or Pickaxe. As of the 1.5 update, you can no longer use the Hoe for this purpose.

Can I Recycle or Sell My Sprinklers?

The Sprinkler sells for 100g, the Quality Sprinkler sells for 450g, and the Iridium Sprinkler sells for 1,000g.

You should sell the basic Sprinkler out of all three if crafted, even if you sell it at a loss since the upgraded versions are far more efficient for watering.

If you want to salvage some of the ingredients you used for crafting a sprinkler, you may purchase a Deconstructor at Qi’s Walnut Room for 20 Qi Gems in Ginger Island.

However, note that the Deconstructor will only salvage the most valuable material used for the sprinkler.

The Sprinkler yields an Iron Ingot, the Quality Sprinkler will get you a Gold bar, and an Iridium Sprinkler yields an Iridium Bar.