Run Multiple Zones At Once

[emil]

Wondering if the one at a time method is a limitation only in software or if its a hardware limitation where the 24v supply cannot deliver enough to keep more than 2 solenoids triggered

Hi @wbhartmanii, good evening. This feature is both a software and hardware limitation. In theory the Iro could run more than one zone at a time (up to a certain electrical capacity) however, we found many users mistakenly scheduled more than one zone to run at the same time on accident on their old dumb timers.

Could you tell us more about how you would combine 2 or more zone together? It would be great to better understand your use case.

yes, i would like to run concurrent zones. im installing a water pump to pull off my lake and plan on supporting 2 zones at once pressure wise.

@plainsane, just to confirm, you’re looking for this feature due to the pressure output of the pump?

Thanks for sharing!

Best, Emil

[plainsane]

Yea, this is not a must have my any means, I’ll just wire 2 valves into 1, but it would be nice for the graphs to delineate the zones, not have a single 2500 ft rolled up into 1 zone.

[emil]

@plainsane, happy Monday!

it would be nice for the graphs to delineate the zones, not have a single 2500 ft rolled up into 1 zone.

So in short a master zone with sub-zones? Or would you unwire the 2 valves from 1 if this feature was available?

Best, Emil

[plainsane]

i would not piggy back the second zone onto the main zone, if the controller did in fact run 2 zones at the same time.

but seriously, big time bottom of my list…i would much rather there be flow meter integration. i could really leverage that functionality immediately.

[wbhartmanii]

Sorry for not getting a chance to come back to this til now…

My basic use case is that like @plainsane, I have ample water pressure and my system could easily run 2 or 3 zones at once. It is not really a necessity other than it would be nice to reduce the total amount of time it takes for the schedule to run. Right now it takes about 3 hours, but if I could run two or 3 zones at once, the schedule would be complete in 1 hour or so and also be complete before the sun really hits the lawn.

I hadn’t thought about piggy backing multiple valves into a single terminal, but I think I would still like the flexibility of being able to run them separate also.

I too also run a master valve, so if the limit is 2 solenoids at one time due to hardware power supply, that answers that! Maybe if it became a possibility in software, I could look into adding a relay to get more solenoid power.

[wbhartmanii]

The zone separation in reporting would be nice also.
I touched on that in a separate thread.

Water Stats (Price, Type, etc)

+1 on this. Even if it was just one field that held cost of water by CCF (100 cubic feet), which I believe is the most common billing unit. Right now I look at the CF reading, divide by 100 and multiply by $2.09 which is my billing rate per CCF. Would be great if the app could display this for me! Its very nice to estimate my bill and get a feel for how much each schedule is actually costing me to irrigate. Its especially nice to do that calculation on the water saved column! If I could dri…

[emil]

@plainsane & @wbhartmanii, thanks for your feedback and use cases. I’ll add these to our backlog for future development efforts.

The zone separation in reporting would be nice also.

Great idea! How would you want to see this data displayed? Subdivided bar graph in relation to the entire system?

Best, Emil

[surfpup]

In addition to being able to water two zones at once – as is indicated here – running two zones at once would allow for the control of Landscape Lighting with an appropriate Low Voltage Relay for the lighting transformer.

I have my landscape lighting working with the Iro. However, if I turn on my landscape lighting with the Iro, I cannot water until I turn it off. This is sad and easily changeable through a software update. If you are concerned about users “accidentally” turning on two water zones at the same time, restrict it to a lighting zone, or make it an advanced feature that requires them to think before clicking

[plainsane]

Or you could just man up and buy a cheap home automation device

[emil]

However, if I turn on my landscape lighting with the Iro, I cannot water until I turn it off. This is sad and easily changeable through a software update. If you are concerned about users “accidentally” turning on two water zones at the same time, restrict it to a lighting zone, or make it an advanced feature that requires them to think before clicking

@surfpup, I think we discussed this in another post. If I’m understanding correctly, you want to run sprinkler zones AND “light zones” at the same time? What would the electrical demands be for this on your system?

Since we designed (and tested) the Iro for sprinkler systems, I’m looking for feedback from other users that have setup their Iro to manage their landscape lighting.

[surfpup]

What would the electrical demands be for this on your system?

The load for the relay is no greater than a standard valve.

Since we designed (and tested) the Iro for sprinkler systems,

I am discussing this in relation to my previous sprinkler system, which was an Irritrol (Torro) system.

[emil]

The load for the relay is no greater than a standard valve.

@surfpup, quote war! How many relays would you need to run at one time?

my previous sprinkler system, which was an Irritrol (Torro) system.

Which model?

[surfpup]

I am only running one relay at a time – I have all of my lights running off of a single transformer (yay for LED lights).

The Irritrol controller was a PC12

[plainsane]

(yay for LED lights)

you aint kidding brotha man!

[emil]

I am only running one relay at a time – I have all of my lights running off of a single transformer

@surfpup, thanks for the continued feedback. I know there’s numerous other users that have successfully connected their landscape lighting up to their Iro. I’m hopeful one or more of them will join this discussion to help point you in a better direction. At this time, Rachio is focused on improving water management features above all else

Irritrol controller was a PC12

Are you still using this controller for your landscape lighting?

[plainsane]

Rachio is focused on improving water management features above all else

that statement gives me a chubby!

[Odeajason]

I am running a fertigation system (ez-flo) which adds fertilizer to the irrigation water for all zones. My 3 drip zones the water doesn’t flow fast enough to pull the fertilizer out, so I would like to be able to have each drip zone run concurrently with my lawn valves so they all get the fertilizer. So one drip zone and 1 lawn zone watering at the same time. I would only need 2 zones open at once to do this, and I do not use a master valve. Our water pressure is amazing, so no worries there…

[emil]

I would like to be able to have each drip zone run concurrently with my lawn valves so they all get the fertilizer. So one drip zone and 1 lawn zone watering at the same time.

@Odeajason, at this time we cannot offer this feature via the app, but you could wire up the zones together on the wallmount to accomplish this goal.

Just curious, how often do you need the zones running together to fertilize?

Best, Emil

[Odeajason]

It fertilizes every time it waters, in very small doses. Wiring them together would mean I need the drip zone and the grass zone running for the same amount of time. I need to still be able to control them seperately, but I can create overlap enough to accomplish my goal. This should be a simple software change to allow it…

[jgmaine]

I have an EZ Flo as well and it would be great if you can program two zones at once so you could have a valve controlling the EZ Flo and then you could create a schedule to water the EZ Flo with a particular zone (i.e, EZ flow could/would be zone 1, and then you choose zone 1 + zone x to get the fertilizer into that zone.