I have recently replaced my existing RainBird timer with the eight-zone Rachio. I love the possibilities of this new system!
I am struggling with your advanced zone settings regarding zones and the “inches.” Let me see if I can describe where I am working from when setting my zones. BTW, I live in Mesa, Arizona - in the desert- so watering is essential.
For example, Zone 3 is my backyard palms; I have 12 palm trees and two red push pastiche trees. These are on drip emitters(2GPH), where each emitter has its line coming off the main zone trunk line. Each emitter activates when the palm zone is running, sending water to the plant. I hope that makes sense.
Here is where I am struggling… The water in “inches” doesn’t work easily when determining the GPH unless you have some massive math degree. So, if I have 14 emitters off the main trunk line, what should the advanced “nozzle inches per hour” be set at, considering that each emitter is placed to produce 2 gallons for every hour the trunk line is active? Also, I should point out that each tree is separated by 5-9 feet apart, so determining the area, SQFT’g, is too variable, in my opinion.
As a product advancement, I’d love it if future software revisions could switch between “inches” or " GPH" when setting the advanced settings per zone. I assume a software coder can put the math into the firmware and make it easy for the homeowner to set it up without the complicated math.
I hope I have provided enough information for you to answer my questions. Based on your recommendation, I will have to adjust multiple zones.