I just installed and calibrated the EveryDrop wired flow meter. Every time my sprinklers run, at the end of the run, I get the following message:
”We detect a flow rate of 19.4 gpm even though there is no scheduled or manual watering active on your controller, Rachio Sprinkler C… You may have a leak!”
This is almost at the flow rate of my sprinklers - confirmed no leaks in my system. Seems like a bug to me. I’ve calibrated the flow sensor 2x now with the same outcome/results. Also, my sprinklers are on a separate pipe directly to my street feed, as a result the flow sensor would NOT be influenced by water flow in the house.
Any help or insights on this would be greatly appreciated. I spent a fair amount of $$ adding this functionality to Rachio and at the moment feel like it was a completely wasted effort.
Increase the settling time parameter. It takes a while for the flow to stop, and for the meter to respond. If the controller takes its reading too early it will issue a false notification.
Thanks, appreciate the feedback/recommendation. I’ll give that a try and report back.
I changed the settling time first to 6 minutes (double the default), still got the leak notification. I then adjusted the settling time to 10 minutes (which looks like the max you can go) and still got the leak notification. Any ideas? Would love to hear from Rachio staff on this. Thanks!
You’re describing exactly how it looks in the final days of a failing sprinkler valve that takes forever to close. Generally, they have a rubber diaphragm that reacts to pressurization or depressurization quickly, but that can change with age, use, damage, or just luck. Figure out which station generates the leak message, and locate that sprinkler solenoid. You can probably get a repair kit at your local hardware store for cheap. If you think that valve is 10 years old or more, change it anyway.
