Sorry for the long post. I’m new to Rachio.
I received my Rachio 3 for Christmas from my wife. She purchased it from Costco so I have the yard map.
I have taken the time to set it up. I thoroughly went through my 6 zones and took the time to count each sprinkler, whether it’s a pop up, rotor, drip, etc. Then verified soil type, sun exposure etc.
I’m coming from a Hunter Xcore that had a solar sync hooked up to it. The solar sync had a temperature sensor on it that would adjust my sprinkler % everynight at midnight depending on the temperature that day. The solar sync also has a freeze and rain sensor on it. Since I had water restrictions my timer would run @ 3:30am and 5:30am on my watering days. My hunter timer worked great without any issues and my yard was in really good shape. I switched to Rachio for the convenience and ask the things it’s supposed to do.
I have water restrictions and am allowed to water on Sunday, Wednesday & Friday. I cannot water between 10am - 6pm. My watering calendar is from April 15th - October 15th
I have my Rachio 3 set to Flex Daily, with times to end before sunrise. I have smart cycle enabled.
I’m trying to get all the details setup and online for my Rachio 3 before the watering season starts.
Here’s the issue’s I have. All zones are set to run for 27 minutes each, with the exception of my 2 drip zones whether they have lots of shade, or lots of sun, etc.
Zone details;
Zone 1. Faces NW with 2 large trees. Run time 27 minutes (with old timer it ran for 11 minutes @ 3:30am and 13 minutes @ 5:30am)
Rachio zone details; Cool season grass,Spray head: Fixed, Soil type: Clay loam, Exposure: Some shade (I said some shade because the 2 large trees don’t cover the area completely) Slope: Slight
Zone 2. Faces NE. Run time 27 minutes (with old timer it ran for 11 minutes @ 3:30am and 13 minutes @ 5:30am.
Rachio zone details; Faces NE. Cool season grass,Spray head: Fixed, Soil type: Clay loam, Exposure: Some shade Slope: Slight
Zone 3. Faces N. Run time 2hr 7 minutes (with old timer it ran for 4 minutes @ 3:30am and 5 minutes @ 5:30am) Rachio wants it to run for over 2 hours! Crazy. This zone has a drip line that have bubblers attached. It has 6 Rose bushes that are completely covered by shade and are mulched.
Rachio zone details; Perennials, Spray head: Bubbler, Soil type: Clay loam, Exposure: Full shade (I said full shade because the 2 large trees cover the area completely) Slope: Flat.
Zone 4. Faces W. Run time 27 minutes. (with old timer it ran for 13 minutes @ 3:30am and 16 minutes @ 5:30am. In addition to those times it also ran 2 nights a week. 5 minutes @ 8:00pm and 8 minutes @ 8:15pm This is my trouble zone as part of the zone had rocky soil under the sod and doesn’t get much shade. I had to water it more due to that. It has street on one side and sidewalk on other side.
Rachio zone details. Cool season grass,Spray head: Fixed, Soil type: Clay loam, Exposure: Lots of sun Slope: Flat
Zone 5. Faces S. Run time 1hr 21 minutes (with old timer it ran for 6 minutes @ 3:30am and 8 minutes @ 5:30am) Rachio wants it to run for almost 1.5 hours! This zone has a drip line that have misters attached. It has 9 maiden grass bushes, a raised garden bed and a large tree that has a pop up fixed spray head. Garden bed is covered by shade by the large tree.
Rachio zone details. Shrubs,Spray head: Mister, Soil type: loam, Exposure: Lots of sun Slope: Slight
Zone 6. Faces S. Run time 27 minutes. (with old timer it ran for 11 minutes @ 3:30am and 12 minutes @ 5:30am) This zone is sod in full sun with no shade.
Rachio zone details. Cool season grass,Spray head: Fixed, Soil type: Clay loam, Exposure: Lots of sun Slope: Moderate.
I don’t understand why Rachio wants to water zones 1, 2, 4, & 6 all the same amount? These zones all have different details, some shade, lots of sun, flat slope to moderate slope.
Will Rachio water al my zones just 1 time in a day or multiple times per day?
I have weather intelligence PLUS set to run off my Davis Vantage Pro2 that is on wunderground.
Do I have my Rachio zones set up correctly? Should I be using flex daily or not?
I since learned that I cannot let Rachio control zone 3 & 5 my drip zones as I’ll water way too much and waste to much water which will cost me a bunch of money. I have since adjusted those zones to 7 minutes and 8 minutes. That’s frustrating, since Rachio can’t account for that.
I’m brand new to Rachio 3 and don’t understand it completely. I’m of the older generation (late 40’s) and am not 100% technology smart.
Again sorry for the long post.
Thank you all for the help. I appreciate it.