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?

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. I’ve had mine for 1 full summer facing the southern sun and it’s working great, so far no worries w/ heat as long as it’s within a box. And with flow sensors, I don’t personally have one so I can’t comment on that… I am just mindful of my yard and where I see water that shouldn’t be, I go hunting for a leak.

post by jeremysm1 on Oct 17, 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 Linn on Oct 18, 2016

I hope you love your Rachio as much as I do, @jeremysm1! I also do not have a flow sensor. I may install one some time in the future as I travel a lot and can’t always monitor my yard. I was gutsy and went with flex daily from the very start. It took a little bit of effort to understand it and set it up correctly to suit my specifics, but the time spent was well worth it.

post by jeremysm1 on Oct 20, 2016

Got the Rachio in the mail. Here is a pic of my current RainDial. Is this a simple unplug from here and plug into the Rachio setup?

Also, my electricity is piped into the RainDial on the right side, but needs to be on the left for the Rachio. Since it’s a flex cable, that should be easy enough. But I’m no electrical expert, is it the same cables/power for RainDial as the Rachio? I’m assuming that I just need to shut off the breaker box before playing with the electricity, right?

post by Modawg2k on Oct 21, 2016

@jeremysm1 Your Irritrol controller and setup on the wall is the same as mine was. I converted to a Gen 1 Rachio… not sure what you got. But your zone wires on the bottom will just go into the appropriate zone plugins on the Rachio. The white wire is your “valve common” and I was told by Rachio support before that it can be inserted into either white port labeled “C”.

post by jeremysm1 on Oct 25, 2016

Got the Rachio gen 2 installed yesterday. Had to run to Home Depot to get some connectors so the outside case is connected to the feeder pipes properly. Today, I need to setup the programs. The great thing is that I don’t have lawn, just desert landscape. I’ll dig through the other Arizona threads…but if anyone wants to chime in with best practices for programmed times of dessert trees, shrubs, vines and sequencing (i.e., time of day, duration, and how many days per week to run the program) that will be just about all I need. Thanks!

post by azdavidr on Oct 26, 2016

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 26, 2016

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. That alone is worth its weight in gold! I’m pretty sure that all the leaks are now fixed and the emitters are working correctly. I now need to figure out an irrigation plan.

post by jeremysm1 on Nov 1, 2016

Thanks! Flex sounds like the ideal solution. I have a couple more 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? Should I setup the emitters as .5gph, 10 inch roots, and 50 sq/ft so it doesn’t overwater–or do you think I should somehow retire these zones and/or shut them off?

post by mckynzee on Nov 1, 2016

You turn flex on by creating a Flex schedule! Check out this article for better instructions. As for the two zones with one plant, that is really strange. In my opinion, you can absolutely still put them on flex.

post by jeremysm1 on Nov 4, 2016

Question: believe it or not it rained pretty hard and long here in Scottsdale last night. I have the flex daily schedule setup and it seems like it knew to push the watering schedule back several days. How can I check that it actually did that? Thanks!