It finally happened. One of the largest irrigation companies in our area sent letters to all customers not using a Hunter irrigation controller. After 10 years of using them, we were told they are standardizing on Hunter only and provided two replacement options if we wanted to remain a customer. We declined and have been dropped.
I feel like this is an area Rachio hasn’t made any significant effort to make better over the years after feedback here. These established companies don’t want to be handing out smart phones to employees and using apps. They want simple stuff and a simple way to plug in a physical radio remote control to a box, then walk around the yard and turn zones on/off.
I have a Hunter controller at the moment and will be switching back to Rachio as soon as I can. I really dislike the Hunter as it feels like an old analog controller that just happens to have alternative interfaces such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or the physical radio RC. It seems that the companies that want to stay on the old-style technology are afraid of the new technology. In this is not the case, they might be getting special deals or incentives to standardize on Hunter only, which to me sounds like only carry & service moving forward Hunter brand of bodies, heads, controllers, etc. In either of these cases, it might not really be anything Rachio can do. I could be wrong on any of this, just my initial thoughts.
I didn’t ask them but had the same thought. They never touch my controller except manually running zones at opening and closing. Everything else on our system is Hunter. I can open/close it myself, but liked having someone do it just in case something happened to be busted in the spring so I didn’t have to deal with it. This was the response when I confirmed we’d not be converting to Hunter and why. The Hydrawise subscription still didn’t give me the same thing my Gen3 does.
Thank you for taking the time to write back. We completely understand where you’re coming from.We truly appreciate the many years you trusted M.A.G. with your irrigation system, as well as all of the positive recommendations you’ve given to your friends and family over the years.
The decision to move exclusively to Hunter controllers was that there are so many different controller manufacturers and platforms available today. As a company, we found that it was becoming increasingly difficult for our technicians to stay proficient with all of the different systems while still providing the level of service we strive to provide. Because of that, we made the decision to standardize on Hunter controllers for all of our customers. This allows our technicians to become highly familiar with one system.
We chose Hunter because they are an irrigation manufacturer that also makes many of the components we work with every day. The Hunter Wi-Fi controller is a contractor-grade controller designed specifically for the irrigation industry, which we feel is important when we are responsible for servicing and maintaining the system. We also wanted to clarify one point regarding Hydrawise. The Hydrawise platform itself does not require a subscription to operate. There are optional paid services available, but the standard functionality of the controller does not require an ongoing subscription.
We completely understand that neither option may feel like an equivalent replacement for the system you currently have, and we respect your decision. We are sorry to see you go. Thank you again for your business, and for recommending M.A.G. to your friends and family over the years.
probably makes the most sense. Instead of many controllers to understand, they only have to know the one (which does not have many features compared to Rachio in my opinion). It sounds like it is purely turn on/off zones.
I wonder what makes something “contractor-grade.” It seems like some cases that it is cheap and some that it is not so cheap. I find it interesting about ongoing subscription, I do not think that is the case for any controller for landscapers, but I would be wrong.
Aside from setting up timings and wiring issues, do they even need to be on the controller at all? Blowouts and spring turn on just manually turn values on and off? Seems easy enough to just limit the scope of work/warranty to that?
I’m glad I do my own work, but certifying the backflow is problematic.
Are there no other companies in the area to use? Do you have to “sign up” or have a contract with them? For the once every couple years that I need something done on my irrigation system, I simply call who I want. My usual guy operates the valves manually when doing testing, and never needs to touch my Rachio. If he needs something different, I can do it with my phone. M.A.G. Irrigation’s requirements sounds like a reason to ditch them, not Rachio.
There are plenty of options with smaller companies or just doing it myself. I’m simply sharing an experience. They’re genuinely a great company overall except for this moment.
I’m surprised you are using an irrigation company if you are advanced enough to have installed a rachio. Maintaining heads and the valves is very easy to do. Even replacing faulty parts generally requires no more than a screwdriver. I’d suggest you learn to take care of those simple tasks and you can stop spending money on an irrigation company.
