Smart hose timer internal flooding

post by Fymaxwell on Jun 26, 2024

I’ve got water flooding into the battery chamber of my Rachio smart hose timer. I’ve been through this in the past with two units that Rachio replaced, and I am starting to wonder if it’s me or Rachio that’s to blame.

I am currently running four timers. Three of the timers are trouble-free. The one that is malfunctioning was bought at the same time as the two others that previously failed, so perhaps there were manufacturing issues with that batch? I’d appreciate any insight that the community might be able to offer, as this is starting to drive me mad.

post by Thomas_Lerman on Jun 26, 2024

I have one timer with no issues.

post by franz on Jun 26, 2024

@Fymaxwell I’m having our support team reach out to you. They will take care of you!

post by WaterMunkee on Oct 9, 2024

Same here. Twice. First time I thought maybe I could’ve incorrectly installed the battery door. Lots of corrosion inside after 45 days, device quit working. After cleaning thoroughly, I installed fresh batteries and battery door and ensured everything was snug. New batteries completely rusted/corroded within 45 days again, and again device quit working. Obviously this unit’s battery compartment is not waterproof. Frustrating!

post by bgorbet on Oct 24, 2024

Same problem. I’ve only had this device a few months and its already all corroded inside. Doesn’t seem like the waterproofing works well enough.

post by PamL on Nov 18, 2024

I have only 1 timer and I have the same problem with it flooding and the batteries corroding.

post by Jkuri on Dec 15, 2024

Hello,

I seem to have a similar problem with the battery compartment. When I went to swap out the batteries the compartment had water inside.

post by WaterMunkee on Oct 9, 2024

First time I thought maybe I could’ve incorrectly installed the battery door. Lots of corrosion inside after 45 days, device quit working. After cleaning thoroughly, I installed fresh batteries and ensured everything was snug. New batteries completely rusted/corroded within 45 days again.

post by ecobuilding on Apr 28, 2025

Hi- I too am having the flooding issue. The two valves I’m running were showing as disconnected and I found the flooding when I thought it was a battery issue.

post by jeffbankston on Jul 4, 2025

I’ve had the same problem, it almost killed a couple of my potted plants when it stopped working. Rachio sent me a new unit (kudos on that) but when I open it, it looks like the same design.

post by Train_wreck on Jul 2, 2025

Well, I just had this happen on a hose timer I bought exactly 40 days ago new from Amazon. The app notified me that one of the timers was disconnected, opened it up and saw the same brown corrosion and dead batteries as everyone else.

post by justinappleby on Aug 20, 2025

Same problem here. The battery compartment flooded and corroded the batteries and the internal terminals. I tried thoroughly cleaning the terminals and the interior of the battery compartment with 99% Isopropyl alcohol, just a blue flashing light with new batteries.

post by franz on Aug 20, 2025

@justinappleby I am having our customer success team reach out to you.

Thank you for reporting this!