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Rachio use in Europe

Getting Started International Users
#1

After having strong difficulties to find the right power adapter to connect a Rachio Gen 2 Controller in Europe, I realized that my former power adapter (used in a 20 years old Toro Controller) has the appropiate requirement (see picture below)

IMG_5742.JPG480Ɨ640 98.2 KB

Nevertheless, due that the old power adapter is not compatible with the Rachio plug (a 2.5mm x 5.5mm Female barrel plug) I bought the appropiate barrel plug to solve the problem (see picture).

http://miniimg4.rightinthebox.com/images/384x384/201410/qtrrkk1412992714729.jpg

My question is, do I need to take care on polarity when connecting the old power adapter cables to the new barrel plug?

Thanks in advance for your help!

#2

@guixers - it is AC not DC, so shouldnā€™t matter.

2 Likes
#3

Very good news, thank you!

#4

If you would like to get in touch with support@rachio.com, we may be able to find or supply you with a 220 V version of our AC adapter.

#5

Not having seen the schematics for Rachio, nor having taken one appart, I canā€™t say for sure if there are any downsides to doing what I am about to say, use this knowledge at your own risk:

bad Idea, avoid

Theoretically it should be possible to connect the individual AC input cables to the SC and SP terminals of Gen 2 Rachio (polarity does not matter). This should theoretically be analogous to plugging the power into the unit, thus Rachio should power up and work as if nothing is out of the ordinary.

In this case, considering that youā€™ve already purchased appropriate barrel plugs, this will not be needed, nor advised. But Iā€™m putting this idea out there so that @rachiosupport could let us know why it could be a bad idea :wink:

Iā€™ve edited the post to get rid of this bad idea, due to the presence of low amperage components on the SC / SP path.

Cheers,
Gene

1 Like
#6

Thank you very much but I solved my problem using an old AC adapter. Nevertheless I will appreciate if your are able to recommend me an AC adapter to be used in Europe. I havenā€™t been able to find a compatible AC in Amazon, EBay, etcā€¦ and, as far as I have seen in the support forums, there is other European users with the same problem.

Cheers,
Guixers,

2 Likes
#7

If you want to post a picture of the adaptor we would be happy to look it over to see if it fits the specs needed to run the device. Glad you found something that works for you though!

1 Like
#8

Iā€™m using Rachio 2nd Gen in Poland. I bought this AC 24V 1000 mA (1A) power adapter for 14 EUR + shipping cost.

2 Likes
#9

When will rachio official enter the europe market? I would love to buy rachio here in germany and use it with Amazon Eco.

#10

@ChrisM We have no current timeline for officially entering the European market, sorry.

:cheers:

#11

If you can, buy Rachio in US. It works without any problems in Europe (I use one in Poland). Everything what you need to do is to replace power adapter.

#12

Yes it works by putting water on the lawnā€¦ But the lack of Metric standard, 24h clock and now European users put out in the cold concerning HomeKit30 discount i would courage fellow EU geeks to look further for another brand controller.

#13

Hey @Arto,

Due to a radio in the Rachio 3 not being certified for use in any other country aside from the U.S. and Canada, we are technically not allowed to sell a Rachio controller or Wireless Flow Meter internationally through Rachio.com. We are working on that and hope to have a better option in the future, though we donā€™t have an official timeline.

Also, you can change your measurements to Metric by going to More tab > Account Settings > Measurement Units. Though there is a question regarding mm vs cm that was brought up in another thread that weā€™re looking into.

Sorry for the frustration and inconvenience!

Lo :rachio:

#14

I think the issue regarding metric vs imperial measurements is more likely to be plumbing related. Pipe diameters in the US are still measured in imperial dimensions whereas in Europe - even in the UK they are measured in mm i.e. metric.

Therefore the plumbing connection to the Rachio will be a little more difficult if it only accepts imperial diameter pipes. (There are adapters available.)

As some one who was born in the ā€˜Garden of Englandā€™ i.e. Kent and as England practically invented the lawn and did invent the lawn mower it is very disappointing not to be able to buy a smart sprinkler system like the Rachio 3.

It should be noted even in this ā€˜green and pleasant landā€™ of England we are experiencing global warming and this years exceptional summer would have benefitted from having a smart sprinkler system.

#15

Bumping this threadā€¦ any news on European sales? Would love to get one of these, as the only one on sale here is the Gardena one and the RainMakerā€¦

#16

Did you mean RainMachine rather than RainMaker? RainMaker - if I am looking at the right one seems a totally different type of product.

Note: RainMachine is listed on Amazon.co.uk but currently as ā€˜unavailableā€™. They also only sell it with the wrong type of power adapter and expect UK customers to pay for the right one themselves with no discount for this inconvenience. It is also not Apple HomeKit compatible.

Yes, I have also been looking at Gardena due to the continuing absence of Rachio. :frowning: The information on the Gardena website is very poor although I know anyway it is HomeKit compatible.

#17

I bought my Rachio 3 from amazon.com. I bought a UK power supply (24VAC 1A) from a online retailer as I did not want a dodgy chinese one from Ebay. Works fine, no problems at all. Rachio support has been great helping me. Rachio support is very much on the ball, and the product is great. I have a few ideas for improving the app (feature requests) which I will post once I have made sure they have not been implemented and I just havent seen themā€¦
Not sure where you would plumb anything into a Rachio, as there are only electrical connections, so probably not a good idea to try and connect any water pipes, metric or imperialā€¦ :neutral_face:

#18

Using the Rachio 3 in Europe (South of France), it does the job perfectly.
I used a Hager 24V transformer that was installed for my old Rainbird installation and the barrel plug pictured at the beginning of this post (Amazon).
To extend the WiFi, I have installed a 19ā‚¬ WiFi outdoor antenna and an old Synology wifi router to create a dedicated WiFi to the Rachio. Also ensures someones hacking this WiFi will only have access to my watering system and not to the main WiFi.
Itā€™s been working fine for more than three months now.

1 Like
#19

@Mikee123
Yes I have not disputed one can get hold of a Rachio here in Europe. (By hook or by crook - more crook!) But you have ā€˜rewardedā€™ Rachio by bearing all the extra cost and inconvenience yourself.

The plumbing side relates to the Rachio Flow valve, this is also illegal to use in Europe due to the wireless frequency it uses to talk to the Rachio 3 which is not standard WiFi or Zigbee. Even if you donā€™t have the flow valve the Rachio 3 still has its wireless transmitter for this feature which in turn uses illegal frequencies.

Wireless frequencies are in many European countries under the control of the military, so you might not get a polite policeman at your door but an angry soldier. :scream: Even the channels and signal strength used by WiFi are different in Europe to the US and again the Rachio is highly likely to be illegal. It also undoubtedly lacks CE certification although this is arguably a far lesser issue.

The Rachio 2 does not support the Flow Valve so is slightly less illegal, however it cannot do HomeKit.

#20

I installed a Rachio 2 in Spain (Huelva) a couple of years ago and overcame the power adaptor issue by buying a UK adaptor and then making a short extension lead with european plug on one end and a UK 3 pin trailing socket at the other end which with power supply plugged in still fits into the Rachio external enclosure.

Whilst it generally works well, I find the setup and Rachio instructions very frustrating e.g. the Rachio website says Seasonal Shift works by ā€œreferencing 30 years of historical weather Almanac data in your areaā€ but if the truth be known, it only works in USA and Canada, so completely useless in Europe. You have to enter your location into Rachio so why canā€™t the software simply disable the functionality that they know full well will not work? And it would save me getting monthly emails telling me that Seasonal Shift has adjusted the watering - by 0 minutes!

And beware that if you ask Support for assistance you will probably be told ā€œI wanted to let you know that our products are unfortunately not intended for distribution outside of the United States and Canadaā€ which I find frustrating as the Sales Team advise you to buy from Amazon.com and there are plenty of posts from Rachio staff on the Rachio Community encouraging an international community too! Anything for a quick buck, I supposeā€¦