Simplifying rachio’s settings

Post by manta on Oct 28, 2023

The only thing I am interested are : 1. How to increase the frequency of the system? and which variables control this? 2. increase the duration of the system and which variables control this. I do not see why Rachio have made this simple objective so overly complicated. This makes me want to scrap Rachio and try something else.

Post by tmcgahey on Oct 30, 2023

Clearly you are on Flex Daily?

Realistically, if you think you need to adjust frequency, there might be some dialing in of your zone settings that could be done.

But, if you want to easily increase frequency, tell Rachio that your plants/grass are using water at a faster rate by adjusting the crop coefficient up 5-10 points.

Here is a Rachio support page that spells out what different settings will do when adjusted.

Post by Lars on Oct 30, 2023

You can increase frequency or duration and neither will water more. They’ll just skip watering. Only crop coefficient will do that and it’s just a vague percentage number that really just makes all the rest of the settings optional IMO.

If you switch to something else, I’d say Orbit Bhyve. Simple set and forget and they just work. Those outnumber my Rachios by a wide margin now.

Post by championc on Oct 31, 2023

There is no substitute for putting time and effort into the setup. If you want the right results, you need to enter correct data - rubbish in, rubbish data.

Start by testing the soil with a mason jar, to get your soil type correct.

Get the sizes of your zones - measure them rather than guessing.

Use your water meter to calculate the water put down by the sprinklers.

Post by inkahauts on Nov 5, 2023

The reason you can’t have a simple way to do this is you aren’t programming it for today; you are programming it for the year. It needs all the right data to adjust on its own throughout the year for seasonal shifts as well as actual weather shifts.

So it needs to know exactly why you are changing duration or frequency. So it can continue to adjust based off the right info through the year. It’s why it’s better than other controllers.