Manually correct precipitation levels?

is there a way to manually correct rain levels?

in the past 24 and 48 hours we’ve had 1.25 and almost 2 inches of rain. we’ve been pounded with rain and the lawn is completely saturated and we have standing water throughout our yard and property.

yet the app is showing no precipitation in the past 48 hours likely due to inaccurate source feeds. despite all the rain and a squishy and saturated yard, the app is showing soil saturation levels are well below 100% for all stations with some showing soil levels in the teens.

it was going to run some zones in the next couple of days which are going to be cool and cloudy days.

i went and bumped all zones up to 100% soil moisture but it’s still looking to do some serious watering in the next few days.

is there a way i can go in and manually correct the rain levels for the last 3 days so the algorithm can pick that up for scheduling calculations so i don’t have to manually bump up my soil levels every day here in the rainy pacific northwest?

i’m looking to save water and not drown my yard, but if i can’t correct bad source info i’m afraid i’ll achieve the opposite result of the very reason i bought a rachio.

thanks,
from soggy in seattle

I believe the best you can do is change weather stations under Rachio controller settings. It’ll affect the last three days cumulative soil moisture. Other than selecting a reliable nearby weather station that accurately measures rain, double check advanced zone settings for things like root depth, soil type, and nozzle inches per hour. Also the flex daily schedule does dynamically update at certain times before the next watering so you may find as the forecast and measured precipitation updates, watering may delay or opposite.

1 Like

See https://support.rachio.com/hc/en-us/articles/115010379367-What-are-moisture-levels-Flexible-Daily-Schedules- for details on soil moisture. When you change any advanced zone setting and/or weather Station the soil moisture accounting table and chart will update.

1 Like

First off, I agree with @Kubisoro to go in and find a PWS near you that looks like it’s precipitation might be pretty close to what you think you are getting. That will get things updated a bit.

That said, I have problems at least once a year with “super-saturation” that just doesn’t seem to get handled well (and I’m not sure how Rachio can handle it well) – We’ve had almost 7 inches of rain in the last 2 weeks (in NC), my soil is soggy everywhere, and Rachio wants to water tomorrow. (Luckily, my rain sensor is still activated). But when this happens, I will just keep monitoring what Rachio wants to do, and keep setting my zones to FILL each day. It’s pretty much the only time when I have to keep an eye on what Rachio is doing – otherwise it’s just automatic.

2 Likes

I also sometimes set a rain delay for N of days on super saturation days and early in the season.

:cheers:

1 Like

I really appreciate the responses everybody. Switching to a specific weather station real close to my residence did the trick of getting actual rain amounts updated correctly. I’ll do some research on how to set a rain delay as suggested as well. Much appreciated!

2 Likes

I guess I might be a little too anal about this – while the rain delay is easier, it will have the moisture level down to 0%. If I keep doing a fill, then I keep the moisture level at 100% until I can tell that it is finally starting to dry a little bit. Obviously, both work!

:beers:

1 Like

I have a PWS on my roof and so my system knows exactly how much rain has fallen right here; not 10 miles away, not 1000 feet away, right here. And I still have a problem with too much watering. I think the app would really be improved by allowing additional soil moisture sensors. Just too much opportunity for error with everything that has to be integrated - soil type, efficiency, allowed depletion, etc. Just read the moisture sensor sitting in my turf and if lower than 15 - 18 percent, turn it on. Instead of directing resources to getting into the nutrition business I think the irrigation product could benefit from some added technology. I no longer rely on the system to figure out when and how much to water. Do it all manually and rely on the measured soil moisture to let me know when to do it. Adding other PWSs that collect and report soil moisture, like EcoWitt, would be a great help.

1 Like