If you go to the main page you'll find the Outdoor Enclosure on sale for 50% off too: https://gma-rachio.com/
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expired2kcougar posted Mar 25, 2021 12:32 PM
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expired2kcougar posted Mar 25, 2021 12:32 PM
Rachio 3 16-Zone Smart Sprinkler Controller
+ Free Shipping$140
$280
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I've got a 20 year old controller. To save water I put a SONOFF smart relay in the box to disconnect the power to the ground wire. An IFTTT routine checks the weather and toggles the relay as needed. Not smart like Rachio by any stretch, but it made it "brighter" for a whopping $15 and I reduced water waste by a ton.
If you want only the basic smart control of the sprinklers, then I'd recommend Wyze ($58). If you also want weather-based control, paying Wyze's recurring fee for Sprinkler Plus ($10/year) will still be cheaper than Rachio for the first 9 years.
If you have more than 8 zones, get the Rachio. If you want weather-based control, and you think your sprinkler controller would last longer than 9 years, the Rachio would be cheaper AFTER 9 years. (Of course, Rachio's Return-on-Investment is even worse with their regular price, instead of this deal price.)
Disclaimer: I don't have either one - so I cannot speak to other features, user-friendliness or reliability.
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No need to worry about fiddling with the controller.
Now this things monitors it wirelessly and does it for me, plus I can easily turn it off/on from my phone manually.
Another big bonus to this is that is greatly cut down on the time/labor I used to do winterizing my system. I used to manually go into my boxes guessing which zone I was even opening/closing (my controller is in my house in the basement). Now, I just whip my phone out and I have each zone labeled so I know exactly what I am commanding open/closed. Cut down my labor time/headache in half which god darn it would be worth it just that in and of itself.
However, if you want a good video to educate you on these systems, your choices and any pros/cons I can easily recommend this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALyT6hZ
Even though I am a Tech YouTuber also and he never answers my emails like other tech guys that I collab with lol.
But, it seems like they've fixed the issue (I'm not even 100% sure who "they" is: Apple or Rachio... or both?). Honestly though, I've only used the HK feature maybe 3x? Two of those was a time when I wanted to turn on a specific zone and the Rachio "cloud" was down, so I couldn't access it via their app. HK worked fine for it.
Also, let's say you put in some new grass seed in one zone. Programming it the way *I* would like it is actually not simple in the Rachio app. (eg water this specific zone for 2 min every hour but only during daylight hours.) In HK it's actually quite easy to do exactly that. In the app you have to make "compromises" (eg run it every hour 24/7 or use up every available scheduling slot but one and hope that additional one suffices for your other needs.)
But if it seems like I'm down on the product, I'm not. I actually really (REALLY) like it. Even for someone without HK or when they still had the issue of it disappearing, I still enthusiastically recommended it.
I have the 12 zone from Costco and I installed it myself without difficulty (11 physical zones.) I also received a $75 rebate from... well, I'm not sure. County or State. Some government entity.
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If you want only the basic smart control of the sprinklers, then I'd recommend Wyze ($58). If you also want weather-based control, paying Wyze's recurring fee for Sprinkler Plus ($10/year) will still be cheaper than Rachio for the first 9 years.
If you have more than 8 zones, get the Rachio. If you want weather-based control, and you think your sprinkler controller would last longer than 9 years, the Rachio would be cheaper AFTER 9 years. (Of course, Rachio's Return-on-Investment is even worse with their regular price, instead of this deal price.)
Disclaimer: I don't have either one - so I cannot speak to other features, user-friendliness or reliability.
I must admit that I haven't yet checked the Rachio website FAQS. 🤔
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If you want only the basic smart control of the sprinklers, then I'd recommend Wyze ($58). If you also want weather-based control, paying Wyze's recurring fee for Sprinkler Plus ($10/year) will still be cheaper than Rachio for the first 9 years.
If you have more than 8 zones, get the Rachio. If you want weather-based control, and you think your sprinkler controller would last longer than 9 years, the Rachio would be cheaper AFTER 9 years. (Of course, Rachio's Return-on-Investment is even worse with their regular price, instead of this deal price.)
Disclaimer: I don't have either one - so I cannot speak to other features, user-friendliness or reliability.
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