Fixed schedule issue

post by justkeepexploring on Jun 13, 2024

Hi,

We can only water on two days a week and only before and after certain times so I’m using a fixed schedule, which I assume is the right choice.

Currently I have 3 watering times at 3am, 5am, and 630am and I manually set the times to 18 mins total. I use all other recommended settings.

I want to add another schedule to water after sunset and when I allow Rachio to pick my times to my surprise it wants to set it to over 4 hours of total watering time just for this one schedule after sunset which seems very very long.

Any idea why this is? Am I really watering so inadequately that this is trying to make up for it?

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post by zachio on Jun 14, 2024

For the schedule that is being recommended at over 4 hours, how many zones are in the schedule and what’s the plant types and nozzle types for those zones?

I ask because a few different variables can have a large effect on recommended time. 4 hours would be long if for example there’s only 1 zone and it’s a rotor head, but 4 hours also could be just right if there’s a drip zone trying to water tree roots. There’s a wide range.

If you can get that info it would help get an understanding of what may be causing that. Thanks!

For a quick reference with my own system when I was under drought restrictions last year, I have 4 zones and I was allowed to water 2 days a week ending either before sunrise or starting after sunset. I had all my zones in 1 schedule and my schedule would run for about 5 hours. The reason that was recommended was because my zones would be “dry” by the time my second day to water was. So the system recommended enough to “fill” my zones.