Let RainMachine decide when to water?
Currently our community is only permitted to water on two specific days per week, but waivers are available for homeowners with smart controllers. Is there a way (and is it advisable) to let RainMachine decide what days to water, and for how long, for optimal irrigation?
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Isn't that the point of a smart irrigation controller?
A standard irrigation controller runs on a fixed duration and a set schedule. Sure there might be a rain sensor, but all it knows is if the rain sensor is activated, not to water when the scheduled time arrives and it is still in that alarmed stated. It has no idea as to the weather, like how much rain actually fell.
A smart irrigation controller knows the weather and can get how much rain actually fell in your area. It also uses the temp and other information to determine how much water was evaporated from the soil, so when it waters it can replenish what is required. So zones could run for less or more than a static (standard) controller. At the end of the day, if you water twice a week, it will take a lot longer zone run times to replenish what evaporated. So while you can tell the Rain Machine to water twice a week, it will run the zones longer. If you water everyday, the zone runtimes will be shorter since less has to be replenished as less was lost between the runtimes.
While not a real comparison; the previous house was a standard irrigation controller. At the new house I installed a smart irrigation controller from the start. The new house has a larger lot than the old house. I use the same amount of water on average between the two. A larger lot should take more water, but the water usage has stayed the same. So to me, a smart irrigation controller does save water. In the past we have been under water restrictions and I just told the smart irrigation controller what days it can water. Water savings were still there (previous house had water restrictions at times as well). A static controller you need to mess with the run times to get them correct and all you're really doing is if you see grass starting to die, you up the run time. If you up it too much, you just get water runoff and unless you're up when it runs, you don't know that. A smart irrigation controller I've found works about 90% out of the box. I've found some zones need to be reduced a bit and others increased. In both of my cases, you can't use what the builders (new construction) set as it is was new grass and they wanted the grass nice and green. You also have to fiddle with them throughout the season as if you set it for the summer time when you have the most daylight and the highest temps, in the spring and fall, it is too much water. So you need to use the seasonal adjust on the standard controller. Overall, they are just not a very good system. A smart irrigation controller takes care of it. In the wet months, I've had my system not even water at all, but I saw other static controllers watering. My grass was as green as theirs. They used water, I used none.
I do have the rain sensor connected to my system that was connected to the static system. I have seen where the Rain Machine showed that as a watering restriction, but it wasn't going to water anyway. So the algorithm that Rain Machine has appears to be correct since it is looking at the forecast and making decisions; so it made the correct one.
If a static controller waters and then it rains a few hours later, look at all of the water runoff that occurs. A smart irrigation controller can decide not to water, let the rain water penetrate the soil and at the next runtime either make up if the rain wasn't enough or not water at all. You could have multiple inches of rain and the following day a smart irrigation controller may not water at all based upon the weather whereas a standard controller will still run.
My vote, let the Rain Machine decide when to water, otherwise why did you buy it?
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I used a different route. Since I have dogs and they need to go outside in the morning, with their huge paws, then bring the outside in. So I have the backyard watered first; the schedule starts at 00:00; this way it is done watering the backyard and the water has plenty of time to soak in. If I told it to stop at say 6am, they would have very wet paws when coming in.
My preference it to control when it starts, not when it finishes.
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I let the Rain Machine control when to water. The point of a smart controller is just that, let it be smart. If I tell it to water only twice a week, while it waters less often, it will water for a long stretch of time. The you gave water runoff to deal with. It seems to me that if it waters everyday and slits those up into smaller chunks, you're better off. Static controllers typically just water all at once, so the people who have them and tell them to water twice a week have a lot of water runoff. They never see it as it occurs when they're sleeping. My grass/soil in the morning is never sopping wet, the grass is green though.
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