Concurrent zones

[Tomcraft]

@tmcgahey

[…] But, if you are dialed in with 1 zone running, and Rachio decided to run 2 or 3 at the same time, you can have a drastic drop in pressure and volume, thus reducing the PR of your sprinklers and making the Rachio algorithms inaccurate. […]

Well, it certainly depends on how many nozzles per zone you have. In my case it is a maximum of 2 nozzles.
I set up 10 zones on 180sqm yard and wanted to take control of single nozzles for child entertainment on hot summer days.
The problem now is that a single schedule lasts for about 14 hours…

I think I have to go with this solution to combine at least 4 nozzles per zone:

@DLane

DTWinters, Here’s my shot at the schematic. Zone 6 is the Garden. Zone 7 is both the Garden and the Backyard. Don’t forget to enable the master valve option under Advanced Settings (I believe) in the application as I split the power load between zone 7 (the relay coil) and the master valve would be firing both sprinkler solenoids. One might be able to source the power for all three from the zone 7 connection, but I’d hate to overload that circuitry.

Along with a relay like this (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA5D52NX0690&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC- -pla- -Home+Electronics+Accessories-_-9SIA5D52NX0690&gclid=CPXrgOTijtMCFUQaaQodTlAPHQ&gclsrc=aw.ds). I haven’t verified that the Rachio can drive this relay coil, but something like this.

And the standard disclaimer - “your mileage may vary”.

Source: Run Multiple Zones At Once - #81 by DLane