Wireless Rachio Flow meter with leak detection in action! - Announcements - Rachio Community
Wireless Rachio Flow Meter with Leak Detection in Action!
Post by Franz on May 15, 2018
Wanted to share some testing the team has been doing.
This shows our auto-shutoff capability.
Here is the fancy email we send out.
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Post by Obolobo on May 15, 2018
Looks very good. Being able to set a threshold flow rate per zone is excellent. How does it handle the initial ramp where the lines will fill at a high rate? Does it ignore the flow rate for a short period and is that period configurable? I have two fairly large drip zones that take a couple minutes to settle to the normal flow rate.
Post by Timber on May 15, 2018
@Obolobo our default is 45 seconds, but we are adding the ability to set your own fill time in the near future.
Post by Anthony on May 15, 2018
The flow meter looks really. I’m so pumped up to have the new Rachio 3 and the flow meter installed in my system
Post by Azdavidr on May 15, 2018
Nice! Is there an option to disable the auto-shutoff? I’m thinking of scenarios like 115F temps and I’m on vacation. Maybe I just have one emitter pop off of my drip line, but I can live with the leak until I get back rather than risk plants frying.
Post by Boldblue737 on May 15, 2018
Azdavidr: well you would get an alert on your mobile phone and have the option to disable the auto shutoff and start the watering manually in that scenario if you feel the plants are at risk and you are willing to risk damage/waste with a leak.
Post by Timber on May 15, 2018
Yes, you can enable auto shut off per zone. @Boldblue737 also presents a valid scenario.
Post by Donaldklein7 on May 15, 2018
Love the video of the auto shut off! That is so important because I water very early in the morning when I am not up to watch the system, and it could be days before I notice a big leak.
That said, I have three questions:
Does the auto shut off capability work with other flow meters, or just your own-branded wireless? I have metal pipes so need to use my own wired sensor (I know you support a couple diff types of wired ones).
Can you also capture & track gallons used per zone? I would LOVE to see this recorded in the app/web interface.
If yes to #2, do I have to get a Gen 3 box to make this happen? (I have a Gen 2).
Post by Franz on May 15, 2018
Yes.
We have a big software release soon that will have all that data and more.
No, but the Gen 3 is so cool
Post by Donaldklein7 on May 15, 2018
Hey Franz. I love the enthusiasm. You guys are obviously putting a lot of love into your app dev. That is very cool.
Question: Will the Gen 3 use a diff user-facing app than the Gen 2? Or will it be the same interface?
I am just thinking through the rationale for upgrading to a new 3 box. I already have my own flow meter going on a Gen 2.
What is the main benefit for a Gen 3 besides the wireless flow meter?
Post by Franz on May 15, 2018
Same software for both controllers.
Like you mentioned: Wireless accessories (900ghz radio), 2.4g/5g WiFi, external buttons, much nicer connector terminals, colored LEDs, magical light patterns, and above all the magnetic cover
Post by Donaldklein7 on May 15, 2018
Hi Franz. Love the Gen 3. Can’t wait to get one.
Another quick question. Since flow meters are now becoming a big part of your software solution for things auto shut off etc, do you expect to support Data Industrial/Rain Bird sensors soon? (I would guess they are as common as the Toro ones that you already support.)
I don’t know the details, but I would suspect it’s just a new config file with some parameters specific to their line. Aren’t most of these 2 wire sensors basically just one pulse = one gallon?
Post by Franz on May 15, 2018
As long as they are standard wired sensors I don’t see why not.
If we have the sensor K-factor and offset they should work similar. It’s not difficult to modify our list of make/models.
Post by Donaldklein7 on May 16, 2018
Hi Franz,
Here is the type of data I think you need to support the Rain Bird sensors in accessories table.
These come from this manual from Rain Bird:
https://www.rainbird.com/sites/default/files/media/documents/2018-02/man_RainBirdFlowSensors.pdf
Post by Dwiniger on May 16, 2018
I see the problem. Sprinkler system is above ground. Lol
Post by Tmcgahey on May 18, 2018
I don’t think an emitter popping off is going to flag as high flow.
Post by Azdavidr on May 18, 2018
I would think that after 4.5 hours of running drip with or without even one head there would be a measurable difference.
Post by Tmcgahey on May 18, 2018
Sure, over the course of 4.5 hours, but I’d imagine it is going to look at a nearly full flow situation, where a 1/4" drip line is certainly higher flow than normal, but still nothing when compared to the flow of a 1/2" line. 1/4" poly tubing can flow a max of 30gph, so .5gpm, hardly enough to trigger a flow alarm on a big drip system.
Post by Azdavidr on May 18, 2018
My understanding is that the user could set the threshold per zone, above which they would receive the alarm. I was thinking I’d run my drip schedule a couple of times, look at the usage, then set the threshold at some reasonable amount above that. Is that not the way it works?
Post by Mckynzee on May 18, 2018
This is how it works! You can set high and low flow notification thresholds per zone in the software.
Post by Azdavidr on May 18, 2018
Awesome. I can’t wait to play around with this, assuming I can get a flow meter installed the way my lines are set up. As an engineer, I geek out on data.
Post by Tmcgahey on May 18, 2018
I’m not the one to ask…remember my yard a couple months ago!?
Post by Azdavidr on May 18, 2018
Wow, I missed that. Kinda cool though. Throw in some Koi fish and it’d be all Zen.
Post by Rbakerpc on May 20, 2018
Will we have the ability to calibrate the system once our flow meter is installed by setting the number of heads in a zone and then seeing what the flow rate is for our heads? That should lead to better scheduling, etc.