I bought an 8 and a 16 iro because I was told that Rachio was expandable to more than 16 zones and I needed 20.
This is, unfortunately not true and very misleading.
It can be fixed, though, and needs to be a priority.
As it appears that most if not all the intelligence is in the cloud, it should not be too hard to have an integrated view, schedule, messaging, History, Reports, Zones, Watering times, …
6 Likes
@AlanGuggenheim I’m sorry if you misunderstood our literature.
I want to be clear and state that this is not a feature we plan on building in the foreseeable future.
If you contact support@rachio.com they can help you with some workarounds or we would be more than happy to refund you for the controllers.
Thanks.
Franz,
Why?
This would be a big strategic mistake. Limiting yourself to 16 stations max on one system when you have so much potential is too bad.
I urge you to reconsider this strange position.
1 Like
It is months of development across firmware, cloud API, mobile and webapp clients.
For the number of users that would benefit from this, currently it does not make sense.
1 Like
Franz,
First I am not sure it is that hard and involved. You could already deliver some functionalities without firmware development and even mobile and webapp, maybe only in cloud API. For example creating a “virtual” IRO to consolidate reports (schedules, water usage,…) would be pretty quick and simple and would show a good faith effort to satisfy your customers, and be true to the promises of the past (or even present…)
Just tried to call Emil back to see if I can live with the limitations, and your support person told me that multiple iro support is coming pretty soon, in version 2.0.
2 Likes
@AlanGuggenheim, I’ll give you a call this evening (after 7p MST) to discuss in more detail. I am out of the office traveling this afternoon. I will review the call between you and Jason as well as this is not a feature that will be released in 2.0.
Let me know how you’d like to proceed as I know we’ve both spent a lot of time getting your Iro up and running. This feature limitation was discussed at that time and I advised we shouldn’t proceed with wiring if that was going to be a deal breaker for you. If you’re not happy with your Iros, I don’t want you to feel stuck with them and would be willing to buy them back from you if you do not think they are a good fit for your landscape’s needs at this time.
Best, Emil
I think you are underestimating your potential customer base. As stricter irrigation rules go into effect more zones will be added to accommodate drip zones etc. Irrigation Caddy added expansion zones last year. Is there no way to offer the same here?
2 Likes
@control4reak, No, we do not support expansion zones. At this time we offer an 8 and 16 zone controller. They can be operated from the same account, but will appear as separate devices with separate schedules. For future expansion, I’d recommend purchasing the 16 zone controller (it’s only $50 more). If you have more than 16 zones, you can setup your turf zones on one Iro and drip zones on another Iro. Most restrictions allow drip zones to be run more liberally than turf zones, therefore they could run different schedules. Our support team [support@rachio.com] can help you setup schedules that will not conflict one another.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Best, Emil
Interestingly, I was also told by Rachio Support (phone) in March that combining multiple Iros in software to appear (and to be controlled) as one site was coming in 2.0.
Also, one use case beyond needing more than 16 zones is the use case of pump hardware in split locations on a property, ie: on each side of a house, with some zones originating on one side and the rest originating on the other.
Sorry, want this to be extremely clear, this is not on the long or short term roadmap.
Your message is clear, though perhaps you want to clarify to your support personnel as well. 
In March, I was told unequivocally, in detail, and without hesitation that this was indeed on the roadmap for 2.0.
In any event, great product.
Sorry for the confusion, will make sure everyone understands our priorities.
Then I need a full refund.
[support@rachio.com] can issue a full RMA for you.
I’m a new user, as of this week, and also have 2 Iros. I’ve found the system to be workable as-is but it’s definitely on my wish list to have the functionality the OP requested. I find it annoying to flip back and forth between the two controllers and making use of flex schedules with two separate, non-integrated, systems requires more time and thought than I’d prefer. It’s not enough for me to be upset but it does lower my satisfaction a bit. Please add 1 customer vote to that feature request.
2 Likes
Been using an 16 zone Iro controller since they came out and I love this thing so much but I have to add my +1 for this request as well. We just finished re-doing our backyard and it pushed me to 20 zones so now I have two controllers. I was not expecting the adding of multiple controller to show up as a completely separate page. It really does make it a pain to make sure not to overlap run times. I could really see this being a nightmare with even bigger systems. I can manage for now but I would love if the system could merge the two together just in terms of ease scheduling purposes view.
Jaime
2 Likes
Add me to the list. I am installing sprinklers in my back yard this fall and will need to add another controller and I don’t want to have to worry about overlapping schedules. I am surprised with such a great system in all other ways that linking two controllers functions and programing together is not an option.
1 Like
@emil, @franz Yes, from the website, this is a bit misleading:
http://support.rachio.com/article/170-general-faqs
What if I have more than 16 zones?
No problem. You can connect multiple Iros within one Rachio Account on the Rachio app. Say for instance you have 24 zones, you can combine an 8 & 16 zone controller on one account and you’re set! If you have 45 zones, you could use three 16 zone Iro’s and have three remaining slots for a potential expansion. In essence you can combine as many Iro’s as needed to handle your system’s needs. Have 100 zones? No problem, the Rachio software can run them all.
So then what would be easier, building a 24 station unit or being able to link units?
Derek
1 Like
Add another to the list. 28 zones here, and I’m dreading the complexity of managing both and not being able to take advantage of the clever features such as flex schedules so as to make sure schedules don’t overlap.
1 Like
In fact it is completely misleading. “Combine and 8 zone and a 16 zone” does not really combine anything! It is pretty much the same as having to manage two different systems. It plain needs to be fixed. Now that 2.0 is out, make that priority number 1, please.
1 Like