Rachio 2nd Generation Smart Sprinkler Controllers

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Rachio 2nd Generation Smart Sprinkler Controllers
Price: $124.99 - 154.99
Shipping Options:: $5 Standard (Free with Prime)
Shipping Estimates: Ships in 1-2 business days (Tuesday, Feb 27 to Wednesday, Feb 28) + transit
Condition: New - Non-Retail Packaging

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Previous Similar Sales (May not be exact model)
11/6/2017 - $139.99 - 169.9
8/3/2017 - $144.99 - 174.9
6/12/2017 - $149.99 - 179.9 - Click To See Discussion (37 comments)

1/6/2018 - $119.99 (Woot Plus)
1/6/2018 - $119.99 (Woot Plus)
12/30/2017 - $149.99 (Woot Plus)

Local utilities may offer a 50% rebate - Check here: Rachio Rebates Program

I have one. It’s great.

I’m moving to a new home next month that has a sprinkler system installed. I literally have no idea how the sprinkler system works, how many zones it has etc. I want to get this, but I should find out more about my sprinkler system first.

I bought one of these last month on Amazon. I’d suggest you buy one. Most sprinkler systems are compatible, but you have to swap out the old controller with this one. If you’re half handy, you can do it yourself in an hour. If you’re not, pay someone.

The reason to do it, in your case, is the old controller is going to be old tech, multi buttons and a knob programming. It’s like programming a VCR or the first generation of digital watches. Rather than try to learn the old crap, you can leapfrog right up to the modern way to control irrigation.

Rachio, once installed, is EASY to program, easy to see what’s happening, easy to modify or manually control a zone. All from phone or PC, and not crouched in the mud over the old controller in the dark/rain/whatever.

Lots of other side benefits, too. Like warnings to your phone if something goes wrong, rather than puddles or dead plants. Water consumption estimates. Automatic seasonal modifications. Weather awareness from the web.

I picked up one of these last time Woot offered them. I like it overall but there are plenty of pro’s and con’s and I want to point out that it’s not perfect, especially if you live in the desert southwest and/or use drip irrigation. I’ll agree with the user above who said it’s nicer to be able to setup the system using your phone vs. the older style systems.

The problem using Rachio with drip irrigation systems is that the Rachio software uses “inches/hour” to determine water output but drip irrigation puts emitters (measured in gal/hour) at the base of each plant. Users have requested that Rachio add the capability to use gal/hour emitter settings, but so far Rachio has said, “nah, we’re good.” There are some workarounds and spreadsheets that users have come up with to address the issue (check http://community.rachio.com/). So far I haven’t been able to get my system really dialed in to take advantage of the automatic scheduling (where Rachio uses soil conditions, weather, etc to determine when the plants need to be watered and by how much).

Another factor is that you need to make sure there’s a wifi signal where the controller is installed. I have a small house so it wasn’t an issue for me, but it’s something that needs to be considered. Also, another consideration is that all the scheduling and information is stored on Rachio’s servers so if they decide to shut their doors, the controller would be useless (which is why I kept my old-style controller on hand, just in case).

I bought one last year. Fully recommended, it’s fantastic! Installation is a breeze if you are replacing an older unit (have to buy a water proof case if mounting it outside), took maybe 15 minutes at the most.

My only issue was connecting to my phone - I had to stand at least 15 feet away to get it to work. However, I think that’s a phone issue and not a Rachio issue, same thing happened when I installed my Ring Doorbell (Samsung Galaxy S5).

Auto updates every month for the watering budget, easy to run anytime, auto skip if it has rained recently (or manually if you know it’s going to rain).

Buy it, it should work. Ask the current owner to take a picture of the current controller, but this thing works with just about any irrigation system and the wiring is very simple.

After bidets this is the best woot ever. I hated my hunter sprinkler controller, it was the most confusing assortment of dials letters/numbers for zones. took hours every spring to get it programmed, The rachio takes about 15 minutes to program, then in the spring you just slide a toggle in the app.
A+

Installing the Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller is easy! It replaces the old sprinkler timer, usually found in the garage or basement. If the controller is mounted outdoors, you’ll need to purchase an outdoor enclosure (available separately).

Similar to a thermostat, you’ll just need to note the wires and swap them from the old timer to the Rachio controller. Here’s a Quick Start Guide with a few videos that detail the process.

Should you need any help installing, Rachio support is available 12 hours a day!

Happy moving!

We’re glad to hear you’re enjoying your Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller, but disappointed to hear you’re having trouble fine tuning your zone settings. We do use inches/hour to calculate the precipitation rate (PR) for each zone. Gallons per hour/minute is an input to this equation that we hope to better support in the future.

I’m not sure if you’ve reached out to Rachio Support yet, but we’d be happy to help you crunch the numbers. Drip zones at a bit tricky since each emitter/bubbler or mister can be independently adjusted, resulting in a different PR for each plant. Nevertheless, we’d love to help you get your system ready for the spring!

Thanks for your support and feedback.

Happy Watering!

My old controller has a rain sensor attached. Is this something I can hook up or am I giving this away to do manually on the phone?

Bought one of these in a previous sale and overall I like it.

I especially like that when I’m troubleshooting a sprinkler head I can turn it on and off while standing nearby instead of running to my garage or elsewhere. I can also set the sprinklers to run manually right after I leave and other useful tricks.

The 2 biggest issues I have with it are:

It uses a barrel plug to connect with the provided Wall Wart, which means that I couldn’t easily use the existing power at the location which was coming over 2 screw down terminals. There was not an outlet by the controller so that meant running electrical, which I wasn’t planning for.

The automatic water budgeting and planning based on watering area and plant type isn’t terribly accurate and I have everything manually set, but the water budgeting still tries to ‘fix’ it. For my lawn, it majorly over waters when left to it’s own devices. The grass loves it, but my bill skyrocketed. (and so did the amount I had to mow) I cut it nearly in half and the lawn still looks great.

Read the specs tab: " Rain Sensor: Wired & Wireless Normally Closed (NC) sensors"

I use my hunter rain sensor with my rachio, works well. Rachio’s weather profiling for skipping waterings is actually pretty good.

Approximately how many zones will a 0.22 acre lot contains ? I am moving to a new home and don’t know anything about zones and all . Will a 8 zone system sufficient ? Please suggest.

I’ve had the Rachio for about 10 months and I LOVE this thing!

It was easy for me to connect and set up.

It magically makes adjustments for the seasons - add time for summer, reduce time for winter.

It also skips watering if there’s rain forecasted for the area or a freeze potential.

I highly recommend it.

I have a flock of 30-40 turkeys that frequent my yard as they transit from my wooded side lot to whereever they wander up the street.

small pleasure is chasing them out of the yard using rachio. I also run zones when I see the occasional neighborhood dog wandering in for relief.

Will this work on a 5g WiFi?

Are there any issues with Nest compatibility or iPhone compatibility if I use 2 of these controllers at my house? Can I see/control both controllers with either method?