Hello,
Just installed Rachio 3 and have been running on Flex Daily for a couple of weeks.
Last summer I measured the actual inches my rotors would put out ~ 1/2" took 50 minutes. I then used this to aim for approx 1.25" - 1.5" / week for fescue in hot sun.
We’ve already reached high 80’s temps (Raleigh NC) and surprised that my Rachio is only putting down 33 mins per watering, and watering approx 2 x week.
Not sure how to interpret this. Should I use the advanced settings to force it to water more?
cheers
David
How’s the grass doing? Depending on your rotors and accurate zone setups, nothing you describe points to a problem. If you’ve been using another type of controller before installing the Rachio gen 3, it wouldn’t be unusual, in any location, to water less - and get better growing results - than to what you were accustomed.
I’m with @JBTexas, not knowing all the details, nothing sounds overly alarming, assuming the grass is doing well. The 1.5"/week you were arming to put down I would assume would be in the heat of the summer, and while 80’s might be a bit high for you this time of year, it is a ways from peak season, no?
You could also post your current settings (standard and advanced), along with a detailed description of your soil, sprinklers, yard markup, etc. and the community can break it down a bit more.
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The duration of watering will not change with Flex Daily. Only the frequency will change. Rachio will water more or less often, in order to keep the moisture at the proper level, more often in hot weather, less in cooler.
The time of watering is determined mostly by your soil. Make sure that is set correctly. Also, since you’ve taken the time to measure actual inches at the rotors, you may want to go into Advanced Zone settings and check/set the Nozzle Inches per Hour. Based on your 1/2" in 50 minutes, that would indicate a flow rate of 0.6" per hour. That also directly determines the length of time watering is done, as well as the total water used.
