New Setup - Converting from RainDial

post by jeremysm1 on Oct 17, 2016

Hi Everyone,

I’m ready to jump into the new tech age of technology irrigation. I currently have a RainDial 6-zone unit (RD600-EXT-R) and want to get up and running. I’m in Scottsdale, AZ if that matters. I think I’ll need the following:

1. Rachio 8-zone
2. Waterproof enclosure
3. Flow Sensor

Sound about right? Any suggestions as to which flow sensor works the best or is most cost effective?

Top replies

post by mckynzee on Oct 17, 2016

Hi @jeremysm1 !
Super excited to have you join the team! Sounds about right if you are installing outside! The only thing I will say is getting a flow sensor is definitely optional. Depending on your needs, I would say there are probably some more cost and time effective ways to get accurate usage from your app. This community is excellent in helping with getting that done!

post by Modawg2k on Oct 17, 2016

Welcome @jeremysm1. I’m in north Phoenix. I have 5 zones on my system so I went with the 8 zone Rachio. Sounds like you should get the 8 zone system unless you have plans for any type of renovation of your irrigation system. Also, you’ll want an enclosure if it’s outside.

post by jeremysm1 on Oct 20, 2016

Thanks for the welcome messages! I ordered the Rachio and enclosure today but will hold off on adding the flow sensor after feeling out the system for a little while. I’m going to shoot for installation over the weekend – so keep an eye out for my frantic posts then.

post by jeremysm1 on Oct 26, 2016

My first test is complete, and the Rachio worked! I’m a little baffled that I actually got my system converted from the RainDial to the Rachio on the first try. Okay, so walking around the yard, turning on/off the zones one by one I found this to be the setup:

• Zone 1, Zone 7, Zone 8: blank / not used / not wired (followed the RainDial setup for zones)
• Zone 2: all of the bigger trees seem to be on this zone. Most have red emitters.
• Zone 3: seems like everything in the backyard (except the bigger trees) are on this. Vines, bushes, shrubs, plants.
• Zone 4: all I could find turning on is 1 emitter for a plant near the garbage cans.
• Zone 5: the entire front of the house (except bigger trees)
• Zone 6: all could find is 1 small 4ft tree in front…nothing else on this

I went online to this amazing site, http://www.amwua.org/plants/ , to identify the types of landscaping we have. Seems like we have an assortment of these: desert spoon, agave, slipper flower, golden barrel, cereus, mesquite, ironwood, palo brea, firecracker bush, green feathery senna, golden eye, lantana, grape ivy, goodings verbena, cherry red sage – at least that is my best guess until the landscaper comes to help identify.

Questions:

1. What time of the day should I set the system to water each zone (for simplicity, let’s say front yard, back yard and trees as the 3 zones)?
2. How many times per week should these zones each get water?
3. What type of emitters should be used for each? Assume most can be classified into 1-2 types of emitters (ie Shrubs or Trees)
4. How do I set this up in the Rachio so it knows how many emitters I have and/or how much water I’m using?

post by azdavidr on Oct 26, 2016

@jeremysm1 I encourage you to look at the ‘Water Use It Wisely’ site as a great orientation to how your drip zones should be configured, and how much and how often you should water your plants.

post by Modawg2k on Oct 27, 2016

@jeremysm1 You get a replacement line big enough for that section and a couple of connectors, and then splice out the bad part and replace with the new ones. It’s an easy fix.

post by jeremysm1 on Oct 28, 2016

The absolute best part of the Rachio system is that I can use the app on my phone to turn on a zone and start inspecting. Upon finding a broken emitter or one that needs to be plugged I can use the app to shut off the water, fix it, and turn it back on without running around to the other side of the house.

post by mckynzee on Nov 1, 2016

Hey @jeremysm1! Jumping in here to drop some Flex knowledge. Flex runs off of this idea of Managed Allowed Depletion (MAD). It uses your zone settings to determine how much “gas” (moisture) your zones are using up each day, and it looks at past and future weather to see if there is precipitation that will help refill the tank.

Questions:

1. How do I turn Flex on?
2. I have 2 zones that apparently only have 1 plant on them a piece. Should I still set this to Flex?