Do I need a rain sensor?

post by bean4me on Jun 24, 2021

I just installed my rachio 3 to replace a 20yr old hunter src controller. I left the rain sensor off because I read a few threads saying I should let the rachio do its thing and others saying it was problematic. My neighbor 5 houses down apparently has a weather station and I picked that for the weather intelligence. Will I be okay or should i get the rain sensor hooked up for better control?

post by Linn on Jun 24, 2021

I only use my rain sensor as a fallback. I use Flex Daily Schedules and sometimes when we get lots of rain for days (and Rachio will only get to a moisture level of 110%), my system will keep from watering a day or so longer while my rain sensor dries out. But it’s really not necessary, IMHO.

post by DLane on Jun 24, 2021

@bean4me - make sure the neighbor’s weather station reports precipitation.

post by bean4me on Jun 24, 2021

how can I check that?

post by bean4me on Jun 24, 2021

thanks! i’m still on a fixed schedule. I need to do a tuna can test on my zones and get that info in but my goal is to move to a flex daily schedule eventually. I will let rachio do its thing and skip the rain sensor for now.

post by beranes on Jun 24, 2021

you don’t have to move all of your zones to a Flex schedule at the same time. In fact, I would recommend against it. Pick one zone, move it over, get used to running a Flex Daily. Then once you are comfortable, start moving over other zones one by one.

As far as a rain sensor, I think a PWS is better. And if you have one close to you and it’s reliable, that’s all you need. If it’s not reliable, install your own. At a few hundred dollars, it may pay for itself fairly quickly, especially if you are in a region where water is expensive.

But a rain sensor isn’t really useful, IMO, until Rachio can support one per zone. But better yet, I would love if it had worked with per zone moisture sensors.

post by DLane on Jun 24, 2021

@bean4me - for Rachio to use the weather station it has to be visible in the wunderground ecosystem. Pull up that weather station and see if precipitation is reported on a day that you know it rained.

post by bean4me on Jun 25, 2021

Thanks. I did that last night and found one after checking 5 different stations. None of the ones close by have precip but one about 2.5 miles away has precip so I’ll start with that one and see how it goes.