K-Rain Rotary Nozzles & Adv Zone Settings

Settings
1

Hey everyone - have a quick question I hope someone might advise me on -
I have a well-set up fairly simple 4-zone Rachio 3 set up. In a continuing effort to save water, I decided to try the K-Rain nozzles on one zone (and then expanded to a second). All the sprinkler bodies are 4" RainBird PRS-SAM (I have pretty high water pressure) and was using RainBird nozzles.
I had calibrated the Advance Settings in each zone by measuring square footage, turning on the water for 5 minutes and noting the gal/m, and then plugging into the 96.25 formula to get in/hr (which I entered for each zone in Advanced Settings).
In the 2 zones I mentioned, I replaced ALL the nozzles with the K-Rain (green) 13’-15’ rotary nozzles, and I think it’s going to work out great for me. Just a smile of overlap, far less windblown mist, adjusted so the walkways don’t even get wet!
Here’s the question: when I updated the nozzle designation in Advanced Settings for the 2 zones, Rachio automatically recalculated (downward) the nozzle in/hr. HOWEVER the K-Rain packaging clearly states that these nozzles have a precipitation rate of 0.44-0.48 in/hr.

Do I use the rate that Rachio calculated based on my earlier reading of the water meter and use of the algorithm? Or (since I’m using the same head everywhere in a zone) I just plug in 0.44 in/hr and leave it at that?

Or does it really not make all that much difference?

Thanks in advance and appreciate any guidance on this!

2

I would use the 96.25 formula after getting gal/min with the new K-Rain nozzles. The precipitation rate listed for the nozzles is for 1 nozzle. The heads should spray such that the spray overlaps spray from an adjacent head. So technically multiple heads should spray the same area between the heads thus increasing the actual precipitation rate above the head specs.

The software doesn’t calculate precipitation rate in the app and simply changed your rate based on the specs it knows for the K-Rain nozzles.

3

Hey thanks! I followed the calculation for the zones, and came up with 0.52 for the bigger of the two - which is pretty darn close to 0.44-0.48 ! Glad it all hangs together.

The other zone came in with 1.2 in/hr which seemed high - and then I remembered I had an old fixed nozzle buried under a hedge which needs like NO watering at all, ever. So I capped that sprinkler head and again, the calculated result came in at around 0.56.

Many thanks for weighing in - my yard is configured such that reading the water meter and doing the calcs is pretty straightforward - so I’m happy to be able to go through the “proper” procedure for Advanced Settings.