Trying to help 2 neighbors with their system - Everydrop Flowmeter and Rachio 3. Both systems installed a little over a year ago. One started getting low flow notices showing 0 gpm instead of the 12 - 16 normally seen on the zones a couple weeks ago. The other neighbor’s system started showing 0 gpm today on all zones and sending low flow messages. The zones do run and water does flow. Checked the flowmeter and the display is blank on both systems.
Flowmeters are connected to S1 .
Here is what I’ve checked:
- Neighbor 1 - Checked voltage at S1 and found 42v dc. Checked S2 also just to see and it shows 42v dc.
Neighbor 2 - S1 voltage is 38v dc - S2 is the same.
- Checked voltage at the flowmeter after disconnecting the wires – 42v dc at one neighbor and 38v at the other (same as at Rachio).
- Tried the troubleshooting step recommended by a google search on the flowmeter and it said to try a 9v battery directly connected to the flowmeter to see if it shows a display. The test works on both flowmeters - the flowmeters appear to be functioning as the display is active. Both immediately showed 2200 on line 1 and 00 on line 2 and after a few seconds both lines went to 00. Not sure if that means anything.
- Checked the specs for the flowmeter and it says 0.5vdc to 36vdc MAX
Did the flowmeter simply shut down due to over voltage?
Checking my Rachio 3, I have 31 volts at S1 and my system is working - at least for now. All 3 systems were installed within 3 or 4 weeks of each other.
As a side note, one neighbor has an android phone and within his app just above the gallons per day on a zone, it has a key showing blue means actual and black means estimated. His gpm today is black. The other neighbor has an iPhone and is the one who has been getting 0 flow for a couple weeks. His daily gpm are all blue and there isn’t a “key” above the list. I believe this is something overlooked by the developers. How do I report this?
I had a similar problem with several Everydrop flowmeters. I started with two unwired meters and, after about a year of use, I began getting reports of 0 flow and blank displays on the meters despite the fact that the irrigation system itself was working properly. I replaced the unwired flowmeters with wired Everydrop flowmeters and things were fine for a while. Eventually, however, one of the wired flowmeters began behaving the same way as the earlier unwired flowmeters. I took it apart and found that the flowmeter had developed a leak between the flow stream sensor and the electronics compartment - probably due to the fact that the irrigation system was tapped into the street pressure side of the house pressure reducer. The irrigation system is now on the house side of the pressure reducer and the remaining wired Everydrop meter seems to be OK.
Still, I replaced the failed wired Everydrop flowmeter with a Flomec flowmeter. More expensive, but worth the peace of mind.
So which Flomec did you use?
Flomec QS100-10. Available from the usual places such as Aqua-flo (the local store even had one in stock), Amazon, etc.
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Irrigation systems should not be installed from the internal plumbing of a house, for many reasons including pressure drop and scrubbing. The Everydrop meter is rated for 350PSI. I find it hard to believe the unit was leaking a higher static pressure (what 100PSI?) but not at 60PSI? More likely it got wet from an external event.
To answer this question, I’d agree either the unit has gotten wet, or its been wired backwards. If it was working and then stopped without being touched, unlikely to be a backwards wiring issue. As for voltage, its an AC voltage not DC, so if you’re reading 38V Peak as DC, that happens to be 25V RMS which is close enough to expected 24VAC nominal.
I’d be inclined to think the wirenuts connecting the flow meter aren’t making a good connection if the screen isn’t coming on and you have voltage at the wires feeding the meter. Also make sure the wires aren’t badly corroded…you can scratch the copper with a knife or screwdriver. Or ideally sandpaper/steelwool.
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Evderydrop flowmeter specs say “900uA @ 0.5Vdc to 36Vdc (MAX)” so it is DC.
flowmeter did not get wet (no water inside), never wired backwards, connecting wires were re-stripped just to check for possible corrosion (flowmeter & wires from Rachio) without success. As in Star Trek - “It’s dead Jim”
I would be very suspicious of 2 nearly identical failed units, but I cant think of another test for high voltage. Unless the neighbors houses are like 135VAC at outlets, assuming the Rachio power supply is simply a transformer and a rectifier.
Its a 2 year warranty.
I second all this, and add: use the right signal wire (Paige P7162D communication cable, SiteOne’s part no. 180096TH, 16AWG 2-conductor plus drain, shielded, [armored “-A” available]) and make sure connectors are submersible (gel caps). Including house water in irrigation calibrations is iffy - you’ll probably need to manually calibrate and supply Zone / Edit / Advanced / Nozzle Inches Per Hour flow values through the meter.
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Correct cable and connectors on my system are correct. My system uses separately metered reclaimed water from holding ponds and is 60 micron filtered before the flowmeter.
