Possible for use with both Master Valve and pump?

I was told by my irrigation guy last year that this system couldn’t do both. If not, is there any plans to introduce this into a new controller? If so, when do we expect a new hardware version to be released?

I purchased the controller, but returned it. I really want to replace my current system by next year. I have a 16 zone system with both a master valve and a pump.

It surely will. It can power a pump start relay and a master valve from the same MV connection point without a problem. A pump start relay doesn’t use much current (hence, it’s a relay). Two valves for the Rachio simultaneously is not a problem, under normal wire run length situations. What was his reasoning?

@febiii @sublog He probably said this because we do normally recommend to not do both a master valve and a pump. The reasoning is there is a chance that you can overload your controller, as it will be powering a valve, the pump relay, and the master valve all at one time. This is from our support site:

Make sure that the total draw of the Pump Start Relay plus the draw of the valve does not exceed 1.3 amps at 24 VAC, 60 Hz. The controller does not provide main power for a pump.

So your valve, master valve, and pump relay cannot exceed that. If you want more info on that, here is the article: http://support.rachio.com/article/473-advanced-wiring. Let me know if I can answer any other questions!
McKynzee :rachio:

2 Likes