Quote:
Originally Posted by JMintzer
I don't see "Any Day" as an option. Only the seven days of the week. Right now, I have it set for Monday/Thursday/Saturday...
Is that what you mean?
Also what time lenght are you using for your various areas?
I set mine for:
Front Yard: 35 minutes (lots of sun)
Side Yards: 35 minutes (lots of sun)
Back yard: 15 minutes (no problem with the grass, soil is always damp. Plenty of cross-spray from lanai watering)
Lanai Shrubs/Front Shrubs: 25 minutes (also waters part of front yard)
I'm also using "Smart Cycle", which breaks each of the 4 zones in a "cycle and soak".
Does this sound reasonable?
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Sounds like you've set up fixed runs. A Flex Daily schedule would be better. Set it to end before sunrise. Here is an article on Flex Daily.
Flex Daily FAQ My system watered this past Saturday (11th) and based on predicted weather, the system won't water again until the 19th. Now if the weather changes, it could water earlier or if we get rain, it will water later than the 19th. All of the watering times are determined by calculated moisture % with the soil having 50% moisture at root depth that you set. Here is an article:
Moisture Levels
If you make all of the advance settings as I described, the run times for each zone will be calculated by Rachio. When you set up a Flex Daily schedule, there is an option for Any Day. This should be selected as it allows Rachio to determine what day to water since it decides when it is necessary.
My run times will be different than yours because of zone areas and precipitation rates but for my grass areas, it ranges from 39 to 68 minutes. Flower beds run for 50 minutes. I listed vegetation type for my flower beds as Shrubs which defaults to 15 inch root depth. I left it at 15 as my plants have been in place for 2 years. It should be noted that based on moisture depletion calculated by Rachio, the flower beds do not always get watered when the grass does.
Smart Cycle seems like a good option but I have found that you have to have the slope setting to Steep for it to work as described. Of course, this would change the total actual watering time too since it would think more water is needed for the sloped area even though it would also cycle and soak. I wish when it was selected that it actually performed the function regardless of slope as with a clay top layer, it might be needed for those that get runoff. I'd keep it selected in case Rachio changes the software.
Main difference between Flex Monthly and Flex Daily is that Flex Monthly uses historical weather data to determine watering needs and Flex Daily looks at actual current weather.
Did you find a weather station close by to connect with the Rachio or are you just using Rachio's calculated weather? If not, you could set up your own station. This is a good inexpensive one.
Ambient Weather WS-2902. Mount it at least 6 ft off the ground in an area where the wind isn't affected by a solid fence (unless mounted above the fence), the house, trees, etc. Also want to be sure sprinklers don't spray into the rain cup. I'd also recommend the optional bird spikes. Some say that they don't always deter birds but any help in preventing them landing on the cup and using it as a toilet is a +.
Obviously, that and any leaves, etc that collect will affect rain fall readings. This unit requires batteries so be sure it's at a location where you can change them and clean the rain cup when necessary. It should come with instructions on how to connect it to whether underground but if you need assistance, this forum is good for asking questions.
WxForum.net/Ambient Weather.
I have a Davis Vantage Pro2 weather station but it is considerably higher priced than the WS-2902.
Any other questions feel free to ask.