I’m replacing a 13-14 year old RainBird controller with a Gen2 unit, I thought I had everything set up but have a problem. None of the circuits are spraying, I think it is because I left one wire disconnected. On the RainBird unit the wire (white in the picture) was connected to a terminal marked “VT = Valve Test”, each of the 10 valves had a single solid-core wire and I transferred them exactly.
So it would seem that the white wire for valve test is needed, my question is where; common or master valve? I’m thinking common but which of the four “C” connectors should I use?
@Edbert, Any of the Rachio “C” connectors as I believe they will all be connected together internally. And yes, based on the picture above the white wire on the RainBird system is the Com(mon) wire, so put it in any one of the “C” connectors on your Rachio Gen 2.
@Edbert, I just checked your controller logs and it appears your valves are reporting proper electrical current. Are you still having trouble? If so, double check to make sure that the water to the system is on…sometimes it gets turned off at the backflow by service providers.
People often underestimate the gallons per minute for a nozzle or whole zone. Most residential spray zones in our area are at least 9-12 GPM, sometimes more. So, it doesn’t seem unreasonable for yours to have ten, 9 GPM zones push 90 gallons of water in ten minutes. Unless you know your GPM per zone is a lot lower.
I think most of us who are tuned in to our water usage and controller scheduling become very aware of the amount of water being used to water plants. Those who set it and forget it, become aware of their usage when they get the water bill!
I would say Rachio users have become some of most savvy water users and smart controller users in the market.
