Hello i have redone some wifi setting nat my house and lost connections to the gen 3 controller, i was able to get it back on and i have remote access. But i noticed the flow meter was disconnected. i have changed out the batteries and the green light starts flashing for the paring , but then I get message on phone that this is taking too long. i’ve removed batteries multiple times and i removed the flow meter. Once it said it was added but when i went to calibrate there was not flow and when i looked at app it was disconnected again.
I have a Rachio 3 with the wireless flowmeter. The flow meter worked perfectly for over a year and only required changing the batteries perhaps once a quarter. Then the flow meter started eating batteries. I would change the batteries and a week later the meter would report battery low again. If I didn’t change the batteries, it would disconnect of course. Even after replacing the batteries, it would often disconnect (un-pair) and I would have to remove the meter, open the case, pop a battery, close the case, re-install the meter and re-pair. What a pain!
I decided to modify the meter to supply it with 3VDC from a power supply so I would not have to replace batteries ever again. Rachio would not tell me the normal current required, but the supply is capable of 1000ma and an VOM indicates it draws less than 100ma. Technical Support told me my warranty would be void if I modified the unit, but since they no longer sell the wireless flow meter that tells me a lot about what is going on with it.
Powering the flow meter with the 3VDC supply has not solved the issue of it un-pairing. Now, I have to unplug the power supply and plug it back in to get it to re-pair, but that is a piece of cake as I don’t have to remove the meter, open it, pop a battery, close it, and re-install it.
I am looking at swapping it out with the CST FSI-T10-001 wired flow meter because a couple of my zones have low flow rates. That is the only wired flow meter recommended by Rachio that can support flow rates from 0.6 to 36.8 gallons/minute. Does anyone have experience with that wired flow meter?
I gave up on the Rachio Wireless Flow Meter. I replaced mine with an Everydrop 1004-EX w/display. You can also replace it with the Everydrop 1104-EX w/o a display for slightly less money. The Everydrop meters are identical in size and shape to the Rachio meter that leads me to believe Rachio might have contracted with Everydrop to make their meter. Anyway, you do have to supply two wires connected to the S1 or S2 and the -24VDC terminals in the Rachio. Do not use the C terminal. The manual says to connect the other side of a wired flow meter to the SC terminal, but there is no such label. Use the -24VDC terminal. I purchased new slip on fittings and mating union fittings making it a drop-in replacement. If you send me an email to dfarkas@farkas.net, I’ll send you pictures of the installation. WARNING! Contact Everydrop directly to purchase the flow meter if you only want the flow meter and not the long extensions normally included and glued to the meter. I had to send mine back and get JUST the flow meter.
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