Flow meter, Square footage & Nozzle output settings - Getting Started / Wireless Flow Meter - Rachio Community
Flow meter, Square footage & Nozzle output settings
post by naamang on May 15, 2019
I purchased and setup the Rachio wireless flow meter so now the controller knows the gallons per minute output of each zone and also knows the square footage of each zone. However, when I go to advanced settings for each zone, the “Nozzle Inches Per Hour” setting is still at the default “1 inch per hour”. Do I need to configure this setting or is this no longer used by the software now that I’ve added the flow meter? It seems to me that it has all the information it needs (square footage and GPM output) to figure the watering times. Am I right?
post by franz on May 15, 2019
The flow meter software is not currently being used to adjust nozzle inches per hour. The product team is reviewing this and other features but it is not currently on our roadmap for the year.
post by naamang on May 15, 2019
So does the flow meter data effect how much water is applied to each zone or is the software only using the nozzle output setting to calculate watering times?
post by franz on May 16, 2019
Just the nozzle output. The main features currently of the flow meter are accurate water usage and high/low leak detection.
post by naamang on May 16, 2019
Well, seeing I’m using a well pump, the flow varies with water pressure. So I’m having to adjust the low & high flow trigger to keep it from false triggering, rendering it pretty much worthless for leak detection. Guess I wasted my money if it doesn’t do what your website advertises that it does, “fine-tunes watering accuracy”!
post by naamang on May 16, 2019
Here is the selling points from your website:
Know with the Flow.
Avoid catastrophic leaks and monitor outdoor water use. The Rachio Wireless Flow Meter seamlessly integrates with Rachio 3 to increase watering accuracy and protect your home and landscaping investment.
- Monitor flow rates and detect leaks with sensitive Vortex Technology.
- Instant zone shut-off triggered by leak detection.
- Protect plants and property with instant leak notifications.
- Pair with Rachio 3 to fine-tune watering accuracy
post by naamang on May 16, 2019
So, why was I mislead when I made my purchase from your website? Why is it not doing what you’re advertising?
post by naamang on May 16, 2019
Left a 1 star review with a link to this thread this morning. Checked back just now and my review had been removed. Crooks! I will be doing a charge back on my credit card. We’ll see who screws who here!
post by franz on May 16, 2019
Where was the review removed from? If you are unhappy with the product I’m sure we can refund your money.
post by naamang on May 17, 2019
How am I supposed to get them off when you guys had me use one-way fittings? Why don’t you guys just fix your software so it works like advertised? It’s really just simple math. GPM ÷ square footage of zone. Square footage is already part of the advanced settings as is. Not sure why though, if you’re not using it for anything.
post by naamang on May 17, 2019
I have the feeling it does work as advertised and you don’t know your own product well enough to be answering technical questions on here. I’d like some input from one of your engineers, please!
post by franz on May 17, 2019
I’m sorry you are disappointed with the software on the flow meter. I will provide your feedback to the product team for potential enhancements. At this time we do not use the flow measurement to adjust the nozzle precip rate on individual zones. I can get you a refund for the product if you would like to PM me.
post by naamang on May 17, 2019
Disappointed in the software? I’m disappointed in your unethical business practices. I made my purchase based on your website’s claim that “when paired with Rachio 3, it fine-tunes watering accuracy”. I invested money in parts and labor to get this project completed just to find out it does no such thing! Now you want me to pay someone to come back out and rip it all back out again and patch up the gap it left in my plumbing? Are you going to compensate me for my loses due to your false advertising?
post by franz on May 17, 2019
Apologize for any confusion. If you PM me details of the install I will make sure our team makes this right.
post by Uhclem42 on May 19, 2019
I’m willing to bet that naamang uses the same methods of complaint with other businesses. For the record, I, like 99.999% of your consumers, am very happy with my Rachio’s performance. I am also impressed with the way you respond to user’s comments, complaints, recommendations, etc. Unfortunately, bad apples occur and have to be put up with.
post by naamang on May 19, 2019
I like the performance of the controller. It’s the useless flow meter I’m not happy with, and the fact that I was lied to. However, now that you mention it, who knows how many of the features on the controller don’t work as advertised either. Guess we’ll never know unless Franz clues us in like he did the flow meter.
post by MeterManSays on May 19, 2019
It still works as a leak detection device. You just have to set the limits larger than someone who uses city water supply since your well pump causes fluctuation in flow rates. This is not a failure of the meter, but of how your system functions.
post by naamang on May 19, 2019
“If the zones vary 3-8 gpm” I could be losing up to 5 gpm without detection. That's a pretty big leak! So, you may as well say it’s not very effective for people not on city water. Now, if you read my title and 99% of my conversation, you’ll see this wasn’t my primary complaint. I bought this because I wanted it to measure the water that was being applied to the grass, eliminating the need to guess at how much water my sprinkler heads were putting out at any given time. If the controller is measuring the flow and continuously matching this data up with a given parameter, it could just as easily match it up with the square footage (already entered into the advanced settings for each zone) and adjust the watering times accordingly. And that is what the selling points on this website claims it does, “fine-tunes watering accuracy”.
post by Chairman001 on May 20, 2019
Why can’t you just divide the flow by the qty of nozzles in the zone and set nozzle GPM based off total flow/qty of nozzles?
post by naamang on May 20, 2019
Because the app doesn’t show gpm while running, only when you calibrate the zone, and that is only accurate to the flow at the time of calibration. I could recalibrate that same zone 5 minutes later and get a completely different gpm due to water pressure change. I’m right now looking at my Baseline Flow setting for zone 1 and its calibration results is recorded at 10.5 gpm, zone 2 (same number of heads) is 11.6 gpm. Zone 2 obviously had a higher pressure at time of calibration.
post by DougR on May 20, 2019
@naamang, the listed features of the WFM don’t imply controlling flow rates. “Monitor flow rates” and “fine-tune watering accuracy” don’t imply automated adjustments for varying pressure, though that would be nifty and seemingly possible in software. But consider that if pressure induced varying flow rates were accounted for, then leak detection wouldn’t be possible, absent pressure data fed to the unit. One or the other it seems to me.
post by naamang on May 20, 2019
Good tip on the pressure regulator but I didn’t say “fine tunes watering accuracy” implied controlling flow rates, I said it implies accurate amounts of water being applied to each zone via on-the-fly watering time adjustments. And if it doesn’t imply this, please tell me what it does imply, because Franz is smart enough not to answer this question.
post by naamang on May 20, 2019
I’m not a software engineer but it seems like a simple fix to make this happen. It already knows, based on weather data, how much water is needed in inches, so all it needs to do is figure watering time. To do this, it would simply need to calculate square footage x inches of water per square foot. There is 7.481 gallons in a cubic foot, so divided by 12 (inches) = .6234 gallons to apply 1 inch of water to 1 sq.ft. of yard. So if zone 1 is 1000 sq.ft., then it needs to apply 623.4 gallons of water to zone 1 then stop.
post by Linn on Jun 2, 2019
You assume that everyone knows the square footage of each of their zones. That will be a challenge for many customers! (I am one of those!)
post by naamang on Jun 2, 2019
Yes, I’m assuming most people know how to read a measuring tape and multiply. But, for those that don’t, they could always use the default nozzle output value and be right where EVERYONE is now, simply guessing at it.
post by zeebanker on Jun 4, 2019
@naamang. When I first bought the flow meter, I assumed (like you did) that one of the benefits would be that the flow meter would help the controller regulate the duration of watering by zone (instead of using the fixed value input into the program) to hit a target watering volume (1" or 1.5" per week). However, while that would be awesome, I think it would be quite challenging to implement accurately for all or a majority of customers.
post by oliver on Jun 5, 2019
I do agree with naamang that Rachio’s advertising is misleading. I was under the same assumption that the flow meter would be used to measure actual watering rather than based on a fixed flow rate.
post by tmcgahey on Jun 5, 2019
How do you figure everyone is guessing at it? I figure you would know how to look up the manufacturer of your sprinkler nozzles and figure out what the PR is…or do a catch cup test to also help you figure out the uniformity.
post by naamang on Jun 5, 2019
- Changing input water pressure only affects rate of flow. Rate of flow is measured by the flow valve.
- The “Variations in soil types" factor is already part of the controller’s configurable settings as "Soil Type” and its water retention properties as "Available Water" in advanced settings. This data is already used to regulate watering time.
- Spray overlap (throw) is configurable on most impact sprinkler heads via a diffuser screw. A knowledgeable installer will have head placement and throw properly set to achieve uniform coverage. This shouldn’t be an issue if it was installed professionally.
- If you read the selling points on the Rachio 3 Smart Controller before you purchased it, you would know it’s equipped with hyperlocal Weather Intelligence Plus, a technology that uses satellite, radar, and weather station data to make automatic weather adjustments based on your location.
post by tmcgahey on Jun 5, 2019
Or one could simply look up their sprinkler/nozzle manufacturer online and find what the nozzles put out in in/hr…but what do I know.
post by naamang on Jun 14, 2019
At the end of the day, unless you have 1 zone per sprinkler head, you’re going to have to go with the average, even if you sample with a catch cup. The catch cup’s main value would seem to be in improving the overall uniformity.
post by naamang on Jun 14, 2019
That was my complaint. The flow meter data is useless to the app for anything other than leak detection, and it only works if you have consistent flow. No, it doesn’t update the nozzle output.