Rachio waits until 0% to start watering




Attached are my settings. I have the allowed depleted setting on 60%, however, my rachio is still waiting to drop almost 0% soil moisture to start watering. Any idea what I’m doing wrong?

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The zero percent actually represents it hitting 60. Zero is whatever percent you set. It’s kind of confusing but what’s it’s trying to say is that it’s hit zero percent of the allowed depletion

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Oli is exactly right. Just keep in mind that field depletion is essentially negative parameter. Meaning that the higher it is, the dryer you allow your soil to get before the next irrigation cycle is triggered.
No matter what you have set it to, the percentages you see on the moisture graph indicate the range between field capacity (100%) and the level at which your soil would be considered depleted (0%).

In your case, 60% of allowed depletion means that you’d see 0% (remaining) when your soil moisture is at 40% (100 - 60 that you’ve allowed). I guess it was more confusing to people, than what it already is, as to why their controller insists on running the cycle with moisture level at 40%, when it’s not clearly one of the parameters they could see within the settings.

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Isn’t it obvious? You have depleted to 0% water of the 60% water you want to use of the 100% water the ground can hold which is probably just 30% of the water that falls and the rest goes in the gutter. I’m 100% sure this is Gardener math.

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Had to laugh!!! This is pretty much how I felt the first few times I saw this!!! Then I finally figured out what was going on (and discovered that Rachio wasn’t the only one that looked at it this way) and then it made sense every time I looked at it. But it’s a bear to explain!!!

Yea I think they divide up the Colorado river this way too.