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Amazon: Select Rachio Smart Zone Sprinkler Controller On Sale

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Amazon: Select Rachio Zone Sprinkler Controller on sale. Some items listed below. Products are eligible for free shipping with Amazon Prime membership.

26% Off Rachio 8ZULW-C 3rd Generation: Smart, 8 Zone Sprinkler Controller, Works with Alexa, Now $189.99, Was $229.99

16% Off Rachio 16ZULW-C 3rd Generation: Smart, 16 Zone Sprinkler Controller, Now $239.99, Was $279.99

17% Off Rachio 8ZULWC-L R3e Generation: Smart, 8 Zone Sprinkler Controller, Works with Alexa, Gen, Gray, Now $129.99, Was $149.99
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Joined Jun 2010
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> bubble2 5,235 Posts
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wpc
06-15-2020 at 04:15 PM.
06-15-2020 at 04:15 PM.
I have a ranchio and I'm underwhelmed by how "smart" it is. I would think a smart controller should adjust daily by temp/wind, etc but this just does some time adjustments when the season changes and that's about it.
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Joined Nov 2012
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> bubble2 774 Posts
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RedX11
06-15-2020 at 04:21 PM.
06-15-2020 at 04:21 PM.
Quote from wpc :
I have a ranchio and I'm underwhelmed by how "smart" it is. I would think a smart controller should adjust daily by temp/wind, etc but this just does some time adjustments when the season changes and that's about it.

What model do you have because at least Gen 2 does that. You can even change the what wind speed to not water at if it gets that high. Have you tied it into a local weather station near you?
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Joined Nov 2010
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> bubble2 124 Posts
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KingNagChampa
06-15-2020 at 04:26 PM.
06-15-2020 at 04:26 PM.
Quote from RedX11 :
What model do you have because at least Gen 2 does that. You can even change the what wind speed to not water at if it gets that high. Have you tied it into a local weather station near you?
I would also check the schedule "type". Sounds like the setting is "flex monthly" and you would want "flex daily" if you are after more intelligent watering.
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Joined Mar 2004
MoreSD = More Debt
> bubble2 4,129 Posts
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Thaineseguy
06-15-2020 at 04:28 PM.
06-15-2020 at 04:28 PM.
Quote from wpc :
I have a ranchio and I'm underwhelmed by how "smart" it is. I would think a smart controller should adjust daily by temp/wind, etc but this just does some time adjustments when the season changes and that's about it.
I agree. I have a rainmachine and it does smartly know when to not turn on the sprinkers based on my schedule if it's raining that day. Other than that, I have to manually input the time/duration for each zone manually. Maybe I set it up incorrectly but it doesn't seem very smart to me. The best thing about it is probably being able to remotely turn it on without having to walk into the garage and the notifications of when it's going to turn on next.
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Joined Jun 2010
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> bubble2 5,235 Posts
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wpc
06-15-2020 at 04:44 PM.
06-15-2020 at 04:44 PM.
Quote from RedX11 :
What model do you have because at least Gen 2 does that. You can even change the what wind speed to not water at if it gets that high. Have you tied it into a local weather station near you?

Quote from KingNagChampa :
I would also check the schedule "type". Sounds like the setting is "flex monthly" and you would want "flex daily" if you are after more intelligent watering.

I had gen2 and on gen3 now. You sure it adds water if the temp will be higher tomorrow?
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Joined Aug 2014
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> bubble2 2,295 Posts
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sorbitol
06-15-2020 at 05:23 PM.
06-15-2020 at 05:23 PM.
I gots the Orbit 12 station.
I don't ever plan on using the smart features, because I feel like they're inconvenient, when I can just go out and look and see how try the dirt is on hill or grass.
If it's hot one week then I just water an extra day.
If not, there's only comes on once a week for the hill and planters. Grass water l, 4-7 min, every morning and an extra 2 minutes on each station around 5pm, for the summer.
Sure wind can dry things up a little bit.
but I'm not worried about small patches of dead grass. All I'm worried about is keeping the HOA off my back.
Anyways the orbit works great being able to control app on my phone. But I can't seem to water more than one station at once via the phone, under test.
Is it that limited, what am I missing? Does the Rachito have the same issue?
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Joined Apr 2012
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> bubble2 355 Posts
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laundromatt
06-15-2020 at 05:33 PM.
06-15-2020 at 05:33 PM.
The 8 zone is actually $169.99 now - there's a $20 off coupon.
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Joined Nov 2010
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> bubble2 124 Posts
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KingNagChampa
06-15-2020 at 05:47 PM.
06-15-2020 at 05:47 PM.
Quote from wpc :
I had gen2 and on gen3 now. You sure it adds water if the temp will be higher tomorrow?
It appears to water more frequently when the temps creep up but the water time looks to be the same. I'm not positive but I'm guessing it calculates how deep to go to the roots and using time in between to let the soil optimally dry again.
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Joined Mar 2011
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> bubble2 1,384 Posts
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gjsneptune
06-15-2020 at 05:59 PM.
06-15-2020 at 05:59 PM.
Is it possible to replace a sprinkler controller without knowing the old wire layout? When I bought my house seven years ago, I decided to deactivate the irrigation system because of the expense. Several years later, I uninstalled the controller from the garage wall without taking a picture of the wiring layout. Now I just have a bundled cable of wires coming into the garage, and I have no idea which wire goes to what.
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Joined Sep 2005
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> bubble2 1,224 Posts
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Rippa_MD
06-15-2020 at 06:01 PM.
06-15-2020 at 06:01 PM.
What's a recommended sprinkler system that matches with 8 zone set?
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Joined Feb 2007
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> bubble2 14,001 Posts
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sarcasmogratis
06-15-2020 at 06:46 PM.
06-15-2020 at 06:46 PM.
Quote from gjsneptune :
Is it possible to replace a sprinkler controller without knowing the old wire layout? When I bought my house seven years ago, I decided to deactivate the irrigation system because of the expense. Several years later, I uninstalled the controller from the garage wall without taking a picture of the wiring layout. Now I just have a bundled cable of wires coming into the garage, and I have no idea which wire goes to what.

Probably fairly easy trial and error to determine which wire goes to which zone. Just wire in any order (I think white is usually common) and turn on zone by zone to see which wire does what.

Could also look at the valve side to see what color wire goes to each valve
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Last edited by sarcasmogratis June 15, 2020 at 08:32 PM.
Joined Mar 2011
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> bubble2 1,384 Posts
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gjsneptune
06-15-2020 at 07:48 PM.
06-15-2020 at 07:48 PM.
I was going to get the 8-zone R3, but the $20 coupon seems to have disappeared. Oh well. Maybe next time.
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Joined Aug 2008
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> bubble2 1,868 Posts
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cuoreesitante
06-15-2020 at 09:12 PM.
06-15-2020 at 09:12 PM.
I've had a Gen 2 for over 3 years, and my parents have a Gen 1 for over 5 years now. Both work great, never connectivity issues, and web interface in the browser is handy as well.
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Joined Nov 2011
L3: Novice
> bubble2 201 Posts
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coffee4me
06-15-2020 at 11:06 PM.
06-15-2020 at 11:06 PM.
Quote from sorbitol :
I gots the Orbit 12 station.
I don't ever plan on using the smart features, because I feel like they're inconvenient, when I can just go out and look and see how try the dirt is on hill or grass.
If it's hot one week then I just water an extra day.
If not, there's only comes on once a week for the hill and planters. Grass water l, 4-7 min, every morning and an extra 2 minutes on each station around 5pm, for the summer.
Sure wind can dry things up a little bit.
but I'm not worried about small patches of dead grass. All I'm worried about is keeping the HOA off my back.
Anyways the orbit works great being able to control app on my phone. But I can't seem to water more than one station at once via the phone, under test.
Is it that limited, what am I missing? Does the Rachito have the same issue?

You can't run multiple stations at the same time on any devices.
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