[jrref]

Originally Posted by metoo21

For grass areas
Vegetation Type - Warm Season Grass
Spray head - Generic rotary nozzle I have the Hunter MP Rotators
Soil Type - Sandy Loam
Exposure - Lots of Sun - your may vary on zone
Slope - Slight

My advanced settings for grass areas are:
Available Water 0.12in/in (default based on soil type)
Root depth 6 in (default was 9 but St Augustine should be in the 4 - 6 range)
Allowed Depletion 50%
Efficiency 70%
Crop Coefficient - click on the lock, then check All Zones. This changes from Static to Dynamic. Crop Coefficients actually change month to month due to the weather.

For Flower beds
Vegetation Type - Shrubs
Spray Head - Mister - I have the little red fan sprays
Soil Type - Loam - landscapers amended the soil
Exposure - Lots of sun
Slope - Flat

Advanced Settings
Available Water 0.17in/in (default based on soil type)
Root depth 15 in (default for shrubs)
Allowed Depletion 50%
Efficiency 95%
Crop Coefficient - should be Dynamic if you set all zones to Dynamic above

I've added a 2" Vu-Flow filter to the irrigation water since we are using pond water in the south for irrigation and it plugs the filters in the sprinkler heads. This filter requires cleaning once or twice a month but sure beats cleaning the filters in each head.

Secondly, I added the Everydrop flowmeter to the system. This allows you to get actual gpm usage on each zone. With that, you can physically measure the area of each zone and then calculate the precipitation rate (value you'd enter for Nozzle Inches Per Hour) instead of using the default sprinkler head values. Let's assume you have the MP rotators. They spec at 0.4 inches/hour. However, your system should have head to head coverage (i.e. water from one head reaches the other head). So technically for a given area you are putting down more than 0.4 inches per hour. I'm sure I have greater than the 70% efficiency I put in my advanced settings but I wanted the system to run a little longer.

Added benefits of the flowmeter is that you'll get notifications of low flow, high flow and any flow after zones shut off. Low flow just sends a notification. High flow (break in line or a sprinkler head is damaged) sends a notification AND turns off the zone. You'll need to fix the issue and re-enable the zone before that zone runs in any future schedules.

You can do your own soil test using a jar. Remove some grass (leave any dirt) in a 3 or 4 inch circle. Dig out soil about 6 inches deep. Collect this soil to put it in the jar. How to measure is here: Jar Test

Then download the first Excel sheet here: Soil Texture Triangle

My values were:

Sand 68%
Clay 21%
Silt 11%
Based on the triangle, I'm barely in the sandy clay loam section. That isn't an option in Rachio so I dropped down to the Sandy loam. Rachio will think the soil is capable of holding less water which is fine.

I actually measured each zone area and put those values in the advanced settings. Then I followed this article to calculate precipitation rate - Calculating Precipitation Rate. And then changed my nozzle inches per hour to this value.

I did make the in app purchase for Valve Monitoring. This will notify you if a valve uses more or less current than when initially calibrated. It can help in seeing when a valve needs to be replaced. Of course, once purchased you'll have to go into the valve monitoring advanced settings and turn that feature on. Mine are set +/- 25%.

I also have my own weather station connected to Weather Underground so Rachio gets the actual temps and rain values from my station. Do you have a station close by that you are using or are you letting Rachio calculate rainfall?

While it may seem I have a good handle on the system, I'm still learning and tweaking.

Finally, someone in the Villages who has taken all the steps for responsible irrigation. I have the same exact Rachio setup. I also installed a Flume water monitor that I got at a reduced price on Amazon Prime Day. I have to admit, although this is the optimal setup, most people are not going to do all this.

Installing the Rachio smart irrigation controller is #1 on the scale of importance. Setting it up as you mentioned by adjusting the advanced settings is #2. ( I found Allowed Depletion set to 30-35% to work best for me ).

After this installing the irrigation filter is really important because at certain times of the year especially when we don't get rain, the Villages sends us the worst irrigation water from the ponds. We get more sediment and other junk that clogs of the individual sprinkler filters. When this happens, they may still look like they are working but the flow rate is probably diminished. I've seen many stubborn people that don't want to get the irrigation filter and clean the individual filters, sometimes up to 50 heads only to find by the next day or two they are all clogged again. Chuck Grospitch, chuck.grospitch@gmail.com, 440-823-4273, can install one for you for those who are interested. Money well spent because you clean one filter once a month instead of 30-50.

My Rachio flow meter did save me recently by telling me that after it shut off all the zones, water was still running for a couple of minutes. After investigating, I found one of my valves was getting stuck and I needed to change the diaphram. As you mentioned, it also pays for itself when a head breaks and you are not aware. The flow meter will sense the increased water flow and disable that zone and send you an alert. I felt the installation and the cost of the flow meter was a little high but again if you can find someone to install it, it can pay for itself with just one failure.