Rain, Rain-Jet, Microjet & Orbit: Understanding South Africa's Leading Micro Irrigation & Sprinkler Brands

Micro irrigation is one of the most efficient ways to water gardens, greenhouses, farms and landscaped areas — delivering water directly where it's needed, at low pressure and low volume, with minimal waste. In South Africa, four brand names come up again and again in this space, and Zisabo stocks all of them. Here's what each one offers, where their products fit, and what to check before you buy.

Rain-Jet: Micro Sprinklers and Irrigation Kits

Rain-Jet is a South African micro irrigation brand focused on garden and landscape watering. The range is built around simple, practical components that are easy to plan a system around, whether you're setting up a new bed or expanding an existing irrigation line.

Rain-Jet's positioning is centred on water efficiency (less evaporation and runoff than traditional sprinklers), customisable spray patterns and flow rates, and lower water bills through better-targeted watering.

It's a good starting point for home gardens, raised beds, pot arrangements and smaller landscaped areas where a simple, adjustable system is what's needed.

Rain: Sprinklers, Valves, Timers and Kits

Rain is a separate range to Rain-Jet — despite the similar name, the two are unrelated brands, and Zisabo stocks products from both. Where Rain-Jet is a focused garden micro-sprinkler and kit range, Rain covers broader ground: pop-up, rotor and impact sprinklers, solenoid valves and valve boxes, mechanical and electronic controllers and timers, and pre-packaged kits — much of the automation layer that Orbit also supplies, giving a second option for valves, timers and sensors.

Rain sprinklers

Valves, solenoids and valve boxes

Controllers, timers and sensors

Kits and accessories

Rain also supplies ready-to-install kits — a drip irrigation vegetable kit, a garden pot kit with an Amico timer, and a porous hose kit with a Zero Pressure timer — plus supporting accessories like pressure reducers and a 220V-to-24V DC transformer for powering solenoid valves.

Because Rain's range overlaps with both the sprinkler side (Rain-Jet, Microjet) and the automation side (Orbit), it's often a straightforward option wherever you need a specific valve, valve box, timer or sprinkler that isn't in stock in another brand's range. Check the connection size, voltage and station count against what's already installed before mixing brands.

Microjet: Manufactured Micro Irrigation Components

Microjet is a Cape Town-based manufacturer that designs, develops and manufactures its own irrigation components in-house, rather than importing a generic range. Microjet's original jet-and-base sprinkler design has been in production for decades and is used across agricultural, commercial, turf and domestic irrigation systems.

The range is considerably larger and more specification-driven than a typical garden kit, which is why it's often the choice for contractors, installers and larger or more demanding systems.

Microjet sprinklers, jets and spinners

Stakes, risers and accessories

Microjet's jets are supported by a full accessory range: ABS and polystake options, rigid risers, flexible PVC and drip tube, tube adaptors and fittings, spanners, punches, and choke fittings for fine flow control. Complete stake assemblies are available with the jet already fitted, or as bare stakes for building your own combination.

Full Flow® compression fittings

Full Flow is Microjet's own compression fitting range, used to build and repair low-density poly (LDPE) pipe runs without solvent or threading. The range covers connectors, reducers, tees, elbows, tap connectors, end plugs, drain valves and flow control fittings in a full spread of sizes and BSP thread options.

Emjay: Microjet's Fittings and Manifold Sub-Brand

Emjay is a registered trademark owned by Microjet Irrigation Systems — not a separate company. It covers two main product lines:

If a product is labelled Emjay, it's a Microjet product — just from that specific fittings and manifold range.

Orbit: Sprinklers, Nozzles, Misting Kits and System Control

Orbit is a third brand stocked by Zisabo, and it plays a different role to Rain-Jet and Microjet.

Alongside its own sprinkler and nozzle range, Orbit is the brand that supplies the controllers, timers, valves and sensors that automate a system — a layer neither Rain-Jet nor Microjet manufacture.

Orbit sprinklers and nozzles

Orbit misting kits

Orbit's misting range (Slip-Lok brass fittings, 3/8" misting line and misting nozzles) is built for patio and outdoor-area cooling rather than plant irrigation. It's a different application to Microjet's Mistspray jet, which is a greenhouse and nursery irrigation component — the two aren't interchangeable, though customers sometimes confuse them because both produce a fine mist.

Controllers, timers, valves and sensors

This is where Orbit adds something Rain-Jet and Microjet don't offer: irrigation controllers and timers, solenoid valves, and rain or freeze sensors to automate a watering schedule and protect a system from running in bad weather. In a typical installation, an Orbit controller and valves drive the schedule, feeding an Emjay manifold and Full Flow mainline, which in turn supply Microjet jets or Rain-Jet sprinklers at each zone.

Orbit's sprinkler and nozzle bodies use their own proprietary fittings, so they don't thread directly onto Microjet or Rain-Jet stakes. Where a system does mix brands, it's almost always at generic connection points — BSP threads and standard poly pipe or tube sizes — rather than by combining branded jets and caps.

Application Guide: Matching Components to Where You're Watering

With this many jets, caps, spinners and fittings on offer, the fastest way to narrow it down is to work from the area you're watering, not the product name. Every Microjet or Rain-Jet sprinkler comes down to three choices: the spray pattern (degree), the flow rate (Microjet's base colour), and the stake or riser height. Get those three right for the space, and the exact model becomes an easy pick.

Sizing a component in four steps

1. Check your pressure and flow first. Every jet, spinner and manifold on this list needs a minimum available pressure and flow to perform — adding more heads to an undersized line drops pressure at every point.
2. Pick the spray degree to match the area's shape — 360° for open beds, 180° for borders, 90° for corners and strips — not the other way around.
3. Match the base colour to the flow rate you need per head. On Microjet's coloured base system, black is the finest orifice and white the highest; a coarser flow needs less run time but more available pressure.
4. Choose a stake or riser tall enough to clear mature plant height at that point in the growing season, and confirm the connection size and thread type match your existing pipe and fittings before ordering.

Rain vs Rain-Jet vs Microjet vs Orbit: Which One Do You Need?

In practice, many systems combine several of these brands: an Orbit or Rain controller and valves running the schedule, an Emjay manifold and Full Flow mainline splitting it into zones, and Microjet jets, Rain-Jet or Rain sprinklers doing the actual watering at each zone. What matters most is getting the flow rate, pressure and coverage pattern right for the specific area you're watering — and, if you're automating the system, sizing the controller and valves to the number of zones and their combined flow — not sticking to one brand throughout.

Installation & Compatibility Notes

• Check your available water pressure and flow rate before selecting a base/orifice size or jet — undersized or oversized flow will affect spray radius and coverage.
• Confirm pipe size and connection/thread type before ordering fittings, especially when mixing brands or connecting into an existing system.
• For manifold systems, confirm the number of stations you need now and whether you're likely to expand later, as this affects which fittings (tee, cross, elbow, end cap) you'll need.
• Microjet's coloured base system (black, orange, blue, green, red, white) sets the orifice size, so match the base colour to the flow rate you need before choosing a cap.
• Orbit sprinklers, nozzles and misting fittings use their own proprietary connections — where you're combining Orbit with Rain-Jet or Microjet, the join is usually at a generic BSP thread or standard poly pipe size, not a shared branded fitting.
• When adding a controller, size the valves and wiring to the number of zones and the combined flow rate of each zone, and check the controller supports that many stations.
• Rain and Rain-Jet are separate brands — check the vendor/model on the listing rather than assuming by name when matching a replacement part.
• Rain solenoid valves and controllers are 24VAC — confirm the transformer and wiring on-site match this before ordering a replacement valve or controller.

Shop Rain, Rain-Jet, Microjet and Orbit at Zisabo