Running Flex daily on all zones and have been ok. Recently had new landscaping done and had them switch to drip line. I made the changes in Rachio and even set the moisture to 0 to make sure a full soak started. However, the current watering schedule is approx ever 12 days. Not sure what i need to do to get things working correctly.
Thank you
@jnyphoto Which zone(s) are you seeing 12 day watering?
First, be sure your shrubs actually are that water-wise — 50% crop coefficient seems pretty low. Perhaps that is a Rachio default? Are your shrubs established? If you know what kind of shrubs you have, you can try googling the crop coefficient. FOr example, if they are Japanese Maple, then 50% crop evapotranspiration would be far too low — one might want at least 80% (I didn’t look this up; just using it for sake of example). But if they are Desert Sage, then maybe 50% would be reasonable. Does it seem reasonable that they’d have roots down to 15” or perhaps a few inches less (maybe 10 or 12”?). Increasing the crop coefficient and/or decreasing the root depth will increase the water frequency.
Also check your nozzle rate — see this post for a way to calculate emitter nozzle rates:
@Kubisuro’s advice is spot on in regards what to modify.
Generally plants in planters tend to be shallow rooted and water hungry. Consider setting root depth closer to the Annuals side of things and increasing ET to 80% or thereabouts. Definitely do a little bit of research and monitor plant response and soil moisture the first few weeks. Make adjustments as necessary. Not sure what AWC should be at if planters are filled with potting soil…
Ditto @Kubisuro. Also, for annuals and perennials I set my Allowed Depletion at 25%.
Also check your Nozzle Inches Per Hour. Having just done this myself I can tell you that drip line output could vary dramatically. I pulled-up a chunk of drip line, put it in a bucket, ran it for 10 minutes, and measured it. There’s a calculation you can find to convert gallons per hour to inches per hour.
I have a question on the measurement of of the flow rate. So if I run the line for 10 minutes and let it run into a bucket and or cup etc what do I pour it into to make the conversion. i.e. I pour into a measure cup and then multiply by 6 and that gets me the hourly?
Thanks
This has more information on the calculator you can use.
I ordered the Catch Cups and they show on Sat.
Another question:
I see that these 2 zones are set exactly the same, i even reset to default on the advanced setting and yet the watering times are completely different. The moisture level is the same also.
What am I missing
The advanced settings look the same. My guess is you created the schedule and then adjusted those values (watering duration) by hand. If you took those zones out and created a new flex daily schedule the watering durations should be identical.
That was it thank you
Looking forward to seeing what the cups show from my drip
I ran my drip zone for 2 minutes and the Orbit cup filled to 65 ml. which I assume translates to 1950 ml per hr. I went to the orbit website to run the calculator but I couldn’t where I can convert the 1950 ml to get to nozzle inches per hour. I am using surface drip space 12in. apart.
Sorry to the experts that know it like the back of their hand. 
Thanks
Don’t always get hung up on the dates. Rachio waters long and infrequent. Look at my run dates…we’ve actually had some measurable rain here in Phoenix, so my dates are certainly way more spread out than normal, but that’s exactly why I bought Rachio!
That being said, is this new planting or established plants? I know the drip is new, but the age of the shrubs tells us where to go and how to adjust.
What system are you using? Is this a surface/sub-surface drip tubing, or a point source drip system utilizing drip emitters?
2 zones have new and 2 zones have existing. Surface drip.
I am not hung up on the times I just want to make sure I get enough water since I am seeing sections drying out that I put in the drip.
