The topic title says it all - what’s the difference between the Rachio 3 and the Rachio 3 Pro models? I was able to find that the non-Pro model has a 2 year warranty while the Pro has a 4 year warranty. And apparently the Pro model is available only through “Pro” sellers.
So: My landscaping company has proposed selling me an 8-station Pro model, at a breathtaking price (breathtaking isn’t a good thing) and an equally breathtaking installation charge. The controller they’re replacing is a competitor’s product that I installed myself several years ago - and from reading the Rachio instructions it’s pretty trivial to replace my old one.
I can buy the non-pro model myself and install it myself. Or I can spend more than three times as much to have the landscaping company set me up with the pro model. Other than a longer warranty, and the fact that the landscaping company will theoretically support it if there are problems, are there any other compelling reasons to go with the Pro model?
…my apologies if this is covered elsewhere…I did search for it but came up empty…
Looking at the site they look exactly the same at the same price, so you may want to ask Rachio if there is any actual difference.
But assuming there are no difference except from being installed and supported by a company, choosing between the two is a very personal thing which depends on your personal financial needs and your feelings and ability for support.
If money is no issue, and you have no desire to take care of things, then going through a pro that will take a huge markup in hopes they will actually support you may be for you, so indulge yourself
Or else, save your money and take care of things yourself
I was noticing the same thing, the MSRP on both seems to be the same and am not seeing any difference except for “pro” warrantee and installation. I personally would do it myself as it is rather easy in most circumstances.
I don’t want to take away from professional install, it’s great where it counts (there are plenty of posts in the forum of people running into unforeseen issues, most are easily solved, but can include technical work, patience and time), that being said, I don’t feel that extra warranty is worthwhile a 3x price premium.
Personally I’ve not seen many instances of controller failure on the forums, or in my experience. If it’s working great within the first 30 days, it will likely last you a good while.
If you don’t have to install / upgrade your irrigation valves, than save yourself some money and try a DIY route, there are plenty of members within these forums willing to help (take lots of pictures, they may come in handy).
Thanks everyone. Decided to save the big markup from my landscaping company. Bought the non-pro version and installed it myself. Trivial! Much faster and easier than the old one, since I didn’t need to screw-down all those wires.
An app improvement suggestion: No obvious way to jump back into “initial setup” if you exit before finishing definition of all zones. If there is a way to do that, I didn’t find it - so it never set up a watering schedule. So I deleted the controller and started over, and worked my way through everything until it was complete. All good now!
If anyone finds this thread: The pro model has a commercial grade outdoor lockable enclosure standard and is designed for a contractor to hard wire for a property. This is really essential for a commercial property, but not so much so for a residence. The irrigation management is the same.
I am a professional iirrigation contractor/nstaller that has over 450 of thr Rachios installed. The two big differences between the standard rachio 3 and the new rachio 3 Pro is the Pro controller includes an indoor/outdoor enclosure to better hide wires and protect controller and has hardware/software wire fault notifications built into the controller to better troubleshoot issues remotely. Big benefit for irrigation service companies servicing clients. An 8 station rachio 3 pro should cost about $575 to install including all material and labor including programing. ($675 for 16 station controller) There are 9 parameters that need to be set for each zone to make the controller the most water efficient, which saves clients the most money in water conservation. It would be best to ask potential installers what they will do for you for their installation quotes. Good luck
The pro model is available through SprinklerWarehouse.com. If they are the same price I would get the pro version. I have lost 2 units in the past 4 years that were both under warranty. Rachio replaced both of them. I love my Rachio but the loss of a second unit gives me a little pause.
