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Hose water timers that work with Rachio?

#1

I am interested in adding a water timer to an unused outdoor faucet for a small zone (rather than installing a new solenoid valve, digging to add new pipes etc) and was wondering if there are any water timers that can be controlled with Gen 2 Rachio ?

Just to give you all a better idea. I am looking for something like below that can be controlled by Rachio rather than being independent of it. I know these timers work by themselves but was hoping to find one that can integrate with Rachio as one of the zones (wireless or not)…Hope this makes sense.

thanks all in advance

S

#2

That will not work with rachio, that is an independent timer.

#3

He wasn’t asking, “Will this work with mt Rachio?” He was asking, “Is there something like this that would work with my Rachio?”

When he typed, " I am looking for something like below that can be controlled by Rachio rather than being independent of it. I know these timers work by themselves but was hoping to find one that can integrate with Rachio as one of the zones (wireless or not)" that was a clue to his intent.

So getting back to his question, is there something that works with Rachio, and is there any practical way to create such a thing? It might be cheaper than digging up the yard to run a special set of pipes to serve a small area, set it up with a valve and wire that to the Rachio.

The down side would be that there would be no way for ones Rachio controller to know if the sprinkler was still in the correct place, if the hose was still hooked up, and what the hose water flow would be, so this might be a rather major pain in the neck for Rachio,

#4

Yes there is, it’s called a valve. Go to the plumbing isle and adapt the valve to the spill cock

#5

Or find any solinoid operated device that operates within 30-24 volts.

#7

@plainsane I’m not quite understanding how above works with a rachio?

@Rightbundle Something simple like this would work - http://www.homedepot.com/p/3-4-in-FPT-Auto-Inline-NFC-Valve-57100/100025518 And spend a few minutes looking for all the adapters to connect to hose fittings.

#8

Just trying to provide a jump off point, that does not work, but start there

#9

Bringing this back to life. Would love to use the rachio with a raised garden bed we have. Right now there’s no zone there and it’d be expensive to add one, but there’s a hose right there, so was hoping to find a hose timer that’s compatible with the Rachio. Did a quick search but couldn’t find anything. Does anyone know of an option here?

#10

Hey @nsharma2-

What hose timers were you looking into? While Rachio does not integrate directly with any hose timers, if the hose timer is compatible with IFTTT or Stringify we can probably get something working!

McKynzee :rachio:

#11

I’m willing to buy whatever hose timer can work with Rachio, whether directly or through IFTTT. Can you point me to any product that might work?

#12

@nsharma2 Let me do some research and get back to you!

#13

Does your Rachio have any unused zones left? If so, and if you’re willing to run some wire, why not just pick up a regular irrigation valve, hook it up to your Rachio, and schedule it as usual, sort of like a “portable zone”?

#14

The hose timer cannot be powered by any AC powered controller.

#15

Hmm, interesting. Are you saying I should essentially use my spigot near the veggie garden to power another valve and run the wires across to the timer?

I’ll admit this seems a much easier approach than running the water across the yard.

#16

Yep. What I did: picked up a garden-variety (heh) 24 volt irrigation valve at HD. Used a couple of short pieces of scrap garden hose, one male and one female garden hose fitting, and a couple of stainless steel hose clamps to give me male and female hose connections to the valve, making sure I had the water direction correct. Hooked the valve to the outdoor spigot, then ran the valve output to my sprinkler (in my case I was using an everyday oscillating lawn sprinkler, “tuned” to hit my garden). Lastly ran 2 conductor wire from the valve to the controller, using one of the vacant zone connections. Since in my case the electrical connections at the valve were exposed, I used weather-proof wire nuts at the valve. Then I made an independent schedule for just that “zone”.

Not exactly pretty looking, but it worked fine.

#17

@nsharma2 I’m thinking @klandingham 's solution may be a better option- I am not finding hose timers that connect with IFTTT, which was my idea for a solution.

#18

Do you have a vacuum breaker on your hose connection? Without one, backflow of pathenogenic microorganisms and chemicals can be backsiphoned into your drinking water in your house.

#19

I have two outdoor spigots in my house. Neither of them have their own dedicated vacuum breaker. I think I understand how vacuum breakers work and their purpose. But I’ve never heard of anyone installing a separate vacuum breaker on every outdoor spigot in their home.

Then again, I’m not a plumber…

#20

This is a simple hose vacuum breaker. Available at any hardware store: https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwjNhcPLoLnUAhUMD2kKHT5HAXwYABABGgJpcQ&sig=AOD64_3kW6pXcK4yOvUEQ_PveGukmxx5Sg&ctype=46&q=&ved=0ahUKEwjQjcDLoLnUAhWI5oMKHbedDGEQzzkIMA&adurl=

#21

Thanks for the link. Cheers.