Check your irrigation control system

[Teed_Off]

I live in Hadley and several weeks ago SECO replaced my electric meter with their upgraded meter. Four weeks later when I received my water bill the irrigation consumption was nearly doubled from the previous month. I checked my sprinkler heads to see if I had a leak and all seemed normal, so I checked my Hunter control module and found three issues:
1. In addition to my set time to water at 3:00am an extra cycle was added at 1:00am! Somehow I was watering twice as much.
2. The set time was incorrect by several hours even though I had changed it when daylight savings ended.
3. The 9v battery was dead.

I also have observed that other homes in my neighborhood are now running their sprinklers at times that had not previously.

I reprogrammed my controller and replaced the battery. By chance I spoke with an irrigation repair guy who was servicing a nearby home a few days later and told him my observations. He commented that he’s seen this happen to others.

My advice: if SECO recently changed out your electric meter then check your program and replace your 9v battery.

[retiredguy123]

I live in Hadley and several weeks ago SECO replaced my electric meter with their upgraded meter. Four weeks later when I received my water bill the irrigation consumption was nearly doubled from the previous month. I checked my sprinkler heads to see if I had a leak and all seemed normal, so I checked my Hunter control module and found three issues:
1. In addition to my set time to water at 3:00am an extra cycle was added at 1:00am! Somehow I was watering twice as much.
2. The set time was incorrect by several hours even though I had changed it when daylight savings ended.
3. The 9v battery was dead.

I also have observed that other homes in my neighborhood are now running their sprinklers at times that had not previously.

I reprogrammed my controller and replaced the battery. By chance I spoke with an irrigation repair guy who was servicing a nearby home a few days later and told him my observations. He commented that he’s seen this happen to others.

My advice: if SECO recently changed out your electric meter then check your program and replace your 9v battery.
Note that the 9 volt battery has nothing to do with the watering schedule. The battery is only used to program a new system when the house power has not yet been turned on. And then it is used by the contractor to program a new system on a house that has no power. It is not a backup power system. The 9 volt battery is optional and can be removed. A dead battery should have no effect on the watering schedule.

[rjm1cc]

Note that the 9 volt battery has nothing to do with the watering schedule. The battery is only used to program a new system when the house power has not yet been turned on. And then it is used by the contractor to program a new system on a house that has no power. It is not a backup power system. The 9 volt battery is optional and can be removed. A dead battery should have no effect on the watering schedule.
I was just going to check on my battery. Thanks. It is over 10 years old assuming I have one so if it is dead it had no affect on my system. Spicks in electricity - lighting - can cause a problem with the controller.

[villagetinker]

Not completely sure, but ours changed all settings all zones and I think it was due to the seasonal adjustment, I have disabled this function, and the settings have been stable since then. I almost lost several hundred square feet of lawn due to over watering.

[retiredguy123]

Not completely sure, but ours changed all settings all zones and I think it was due to the seasonal adjustment, I have disabled this function, and the settings have been stable since then. I almost lost several hundred square feet of lawn due to over watering.
I did the same thing. Just open the Hunter controller door and disconnect the green and black wires that come from the outside sensor. This will disable the seasonal adjustment and the rain sensor. Then, you can set the watering schedule anyway you want and it will stay that way. But, you will need to control the rain watering schedule manually, unless you want to buy a separate rain sensor. I don't have a separate rain sensor, but it doesn't seem to be an issue.

[jrref]

With all of the computerized sprinkler controllers available at a reasonable cost I don't see why anyone would still use the old controller that came with the house. The rain sensor will usually last about 5 years until the little sponge material dries out and the sensor stops working. With the new computerized units they use the weather available on the internet to determine when your lawn should be watered.

Personally, I like the Rachio 3.

Call Chuck, he can install one for you if you can't do it yourself.
Chuck Grospitch
chuck.grospitch@gmail.com
440-823-4273

[Switter]

With all of the computerized sprinkler controllers available at a reasonable cost I don't see why anyone would still use the old controller that came with the house. The rain sensor will usually last about 5 years until the little sponge material dries out and the sensor stops working. With the new computerized units they use the weather available on the internet to determine when your lawn should be watered.

Personally, I like the Rachio 3.

Call Chuck, he can install one for you if you can't do it yourself.
Chuck Grospitch
chuck.grospitch@gmail.com
440-823-4273

Yup, this is the way to go, especially if you're a snowbird and want access to it while you're up north.

I like the bhyve from orbit. The app is awesome.

You do need a reasonable Wi-Fi signal in your garage though, but that shouldn't be too hard with the size of the houses in the villages.

[rsmurano]

Get rid of the hunter and get a smart controller, I have used the orbit b-hyve in my last 3 houses. It will take you 5 minutes to physically convert your old hunter to the new b-hyve and up to 30 mins to program it. Put the b-hyve in smart mode, connect a local personal weather station near you and let the system run. I installed my own pws last year so I know exactly how much rain we got, wind speed, and other data for the b-hyve to run efficiently. No more running to the box to start a station or run a zone, it’s all controlled by your iPhone, iPad, or Siri.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

With all of the computerized sprinkler controllers available at a reasonable cost I don't see why anyone would still use the old controller that came with the house. The rain sensor will usually last about 5 years until the little sponge material dries out and the sensor stops working. With the new computerized units they use the weather available on the internet to determine when your lawn should be watered.

Personally, I like the Rachio 3.

Call Chuck, he can install one for you if you can't do it yourself.
Chuck Grospitch
chuck.grospitch@gmail.com
440-823-4273

I have the bhyve and lost part of my lawn due the difference between the forecast and actual rainfall. The forecast never materialized for my lawn, and the watering never happened last august during the high temperatures. . Tech automation is not infallible, so I had to program the bhyve to assume that the forecast was only 20% accurate. .

I would check the bhyve forecast against the television forecast, and there was a huge difference, so the automation is only as good as the forecast happens at your house.

you would know garbage in garbage out. .

[retiredguy123]

A lot of people tend to overwater their lawns. I still use the original Hunter controller, but I have disabled the seasonal adjustment and the rain sensor. If it rains for several days, I just turn off the entire system for a few weeks. If my lawn starts to turn brown, I turn the system back on. I am now using less water than I did when the system ran automatically. I would not trust an Internet weather service to control my irrigation system.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

I would not trust an Internet weather service to control my irrigation system.

:beer3::bowdown:

[jarodrig]

Note that the 9 volt battery has nothing to do with the watering schedule. The battery is only used to program a new system when the house power has not yet been turned on. And then it is used by the contractor to program a new system on a house that has no power. It is not a backup power system. The 9 volt battery is optional and can be removed. A dead battery should have no effect on the watering schedule.

Sorry to disagree, but the SOLE purpose of that 9 V battery is so that the programming is not wiped in the event of a power outage.

The 9 V battery WILL NOT run the irrigation system. Power to the house has to be on for the irrigation system to function.

That is why the lawn and landscaping is one of the LAST things that are done. At that point, the landscaping contractor will set up and run the system to make adjustments.

So, if you don’t want to install a battery in your controller you WILL loose your programming should your power go out during a weather incident….

[retiredguy123]

Sorry to disagree, but the SOLE purpose of that 9 V battery is so that the programming is not wiped in the event of a power outage.

The 9 V battery WILL NOT run the irrigation system. Power to the house has to be on for the irrigation system to function.

That is why the lawn and landscaping is one of the LAST things that are done. At that point, the landscaping contractor will set up and run the system to make adjustments.

So, if you don’t want to install a battery in your controller you WILL loose your programming should your power go out during a weather incident….
Not correct. This is from the Hunter manual. The battery is not needed to save the programming of the controller, per the last sentence.:

"Connect a 9-volt alkaline battery (not included) to the battery terminals and place in the battery compartment in the front
panel. The battery allows the user to program the controller without AC power. Watering will not occur without AC power.
Since this controller has non-volatile memory, the program clock and calendar will be retained during a power outage even if no
battery is installed."

Note that I don't have a battery installed, and I have never lost my programming during many power outages.

[pinballwizard]

My SECO meter was changed in late August and my September and October bills doubled. Upon having my heads checked for leaking I eventually found that a 2nd start time had been added at 3:30 AM. I don't understand how changing an electric meter would impact my irrigation control. Do you have any further details as to how this is happening?

[retiredguy123]

My SECO meter was changed in late August and my September and October bills doubled. Upon having my heads checked for leaking I eventually found that a 2nd start time had been added at 3:30 AM. I don't understand how changing an electric meter would impact my irrigation control. Do you have any further details as to how this is happening?
It sounds like a glitch in your controller programming. I guess you need to check the programmed start times periodically to see if they have changed. I don't know of an automatic way to do it.

[Topspinmo]

I think lighting has fried mine I program it and it just gone back to old setting. I don’t have grass so I just run mine manually.

[lpkruege1]

With all of the computerized sprinkler controllers available at a reasonable cost I don't see why anyone would still use the old controller that came with the house. The rain sensor will usually last about 5 years until the little sponge material dries out and the sensor stops working. With the new computerized units they use the weather available on the internet to determine when your lawn should be watered.

Personally, I like the Rachio 3.

Call Chuck, he can install one for you if you can't do it yourself.
Chuck Grospitch
chuck.grospitch@gmail.com
440-823-4273

I installed my own and setup was easy. Turn on/off via app. Make adjustments, it tells you run times, rain and frost skips. It tells you how much water you saved due to rain skips. You just need to have the original manual for wiring comparison to change it over. The manual is available online for the Hunter sprinklers. Make sure you check how many zones you have. Rachio has several models available based on number of zones. It appears there are now only 8 & 16 zone controllers with a few 4 zone controllers still left on Amazon.

[Topspinmo]

Not correct. This is from the Hunter manual. The battery is not needed to save the programming of the controller, per the last sentence.:

"Connect a 9-volt alkaline battery (not included) to the battery terminals and place in the battery compartment in the front
panel. The battery allows the user to program the controller without AC power. Watering will not occur without AC power.
Since this controller has non-volatile memory, the program clock and calendar will be retained during a power outage even if no
battery is installed."

Note that I don't have a battery installed, and I have never lost my programming during many power outages.

“during a power outage even if no
battery is installed."

I don’t understand where it get it’s to power keep digital panel to store settings? Sure it don’t go back to default settings?

[retiredguy123]

“during a power outage even if no
battery is installed."

I don’t understand where it get it’s to power keep digital panel to store settings? Sure it don’t go back to default settings?
No. The settings are stored with no power. That is what non-volatile memory means. This is just like a smart phone or other device where the battery is either dead or removed. The settings and apps are still there when you repower the phone. A lot of devices operate that way. For example, you can replace the batteries in a TV remote control, and the settings are maintained.

The function of the 9-volt battery is designed to allow the initial installer to program the controller on a new house before the house power is turned on. That way, the installer doesn't need to return to the house after the power is turned on. The 9-volt battery has enough power to program the controller, but that is all it can do. The battery is not needed to maintain the controller settings during a power outage.

[jarodrig]

Not correct. This is from the Hunter manual. The battery is not needed to save the programming of the controller, per the last sentence.:

"Connect a 9-volt alkaline battery (not included) to the battery terminals and place in the battery compartment in the front
panel. The battery allows the user to program the controller without AC power. Watering will not occur without AC power.
Since this controller has non-volatile memory, the program clock and calendar will be retained during a power outage even if no
battery is installed."

Note that I don't have a battery installed, and I have never lost my programming during many power outages.

You are correct. I was misinformed.

I could have sworn that my 2005 vintage controller stated that the 9V battery was used in order to maintain the time and date and the programming.

But that was back then….

[Teed_Off]

Thanks for informing our readers about the 9v battery. I assumed that the battery was for backup purposes during a power outage and didn’t know that it didn’t serve a purpose beyond initial programming.

I still wonder how an extra watering cycle appeared right after my new electrical meter was installed, and recommend others check their Hunter controller if they’ve had their meter recently replaced.