Irrigation Controller and Rain Sensor Replacements?
 

‘Just bought and moved into an 11 year old house in the Village of Collier. The original Hunter Pro-C (Model PCC-600i with green buttons) irrigation controller for the existing 4 zones is not wifi-capable and cannot be retrofitted to accommodate my need to occasionally monitor and change settings remotely from Atlanta. The rain sensor is also not working. Can any of you please share your best recommendations for a reliable replacement irrigation controller and rain sensor that are wifi-capable and can be controlled remotely? Thanks!

Rachio 3 (4 zone). Currently $129 at Amazon. Very reliable, and easy to use and install.

I replaced mine with the Hunter X2 and a WAND wifi module. I paid a service to replace it but after watching them I could have ordered it off Amazon and installed it myself for much less.

I did not replace the rain sensor. The combination I have uses a weather service somewhere that monitors several stations around me and makes a reasonable guess at what my weather will be. It has been pretty accurate so far.

There are at least two others that many users will recommend. I'm happy with what I have but the others might be just as good or better.

2nd suggestion for Rachio 3.

You may be able to repair the rain sensor by replacing the discs, available from Amazon.

Amazon.com

Buy the cheapest rain sensor you can find. Orbit is $20 at Lowe's or online. Hunter makes a Rain/Freeze, for $35. If your controller has Solar Sync, those sensors are considerably more.

Rachio 3. You don't need a rain sensor. It uses weather data to determine if you received rain. If there is a weather station close by on Weather Underground you can link it to that specific station for temps & rain actually in your area instead of relying on regional weather data.

To see if there is a station in your neighborhood, go to: Local weather stations

Where it says Wildwood Station | Change, click on change. This will open a map with station locations. Locate the area of your neighborhood and zoom in if necessary. Find a station close to your home. Select this station when you set up your Rachio 3 controller. These stations are set up by individuals (I have one but am in the southern part of the villages) who upload data to the internet. It looks like "The Villages KFLTHEVI449" station is in the village of Collier. There are a couple others that may be closer to your house.

Very easy to install. Open your current controller where you can see the wires attached. Take a photo so you'll know which color wire goes to which zone. Remove all the wires, remove the current controller, mount the Rachio. When you connect the wires to the Rachio, just insert and push. You don't need to press the little clip. That is for removing wires.

///

B-Hyve is easy to install and works well also.

Smart Watering, Irrigation & Sprinkler Systems
– OrbitOnline

Rain sensors here dry out too fast in the Florida sun to be effective.

Flume will let you monitor your water usage and can notify you if things go outside of normal. E.g. if a sprinkler head breaks.


Monitor Your Water Use | Stop Leaks Fast | Flume 2 Smart Water Monitor

Orbit b-hyve. My last couple houses had them and I converted a dozen of my friends to b-hyve. I tried putting in the wand in the new hunter controller, what a piece of junk. The wand cost 2x the cost of the b-hyve. I can be anywhere in the world and operate my controller.

1 more tip, it’s a fallacy to think you can connect to any weather station and get a reliable reading of the weather. You can’t. Unless the weather station is within a couple of blocks from your home, then you aren’t going to get an accurate reading of wind and rain that your smart controller will need. I put in my own personal weather station and all of my data from this weather station is up on weather underground and other country wide weather databases so your smart controller and all your close neighbors have a PWS they can link too

Racchio
 

Wifi controller, manage it from your smart phone. Syncs with local weather station to determine if you need to water or not.

You’re exactly right regarding the PWS connection.

I installed an Orbit b-Hive 4 Zone controller, about $62 after the Veteran’s Discount at Lowe’s. Took about 1/2 hour to install and I set it to use the rain delay based on a Weather Underground personal weather station about 1 mile from our house. Works great and I can control it from anywhere from my cell phone.

I got the b-hyve on Amazon. Easy to install and works great.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

Get a Rachio 3.

I’ve had my Rachio for going on 7 years now. Happy with it and still reliable.

Paired a Rachio 3 with a Tempest weather station (PWS) at my house. Both are accessible online for control. You can set the Rachio to pause irrigation at whatever rainfall amount you choose using the Tempest data.

Tempest is pricey but is a no moving parts station. You can set access as public or private.

My station @ Fenney SE: Tempest

You can pair with any local station near you but be aware local conditions can vary over 'short' distances or use the nearcast feature, averages local stations.

Tempest weather stations:
Tempest Products & Services

Access Personnal Weather Stations at Weather Underground:
Local Weather Forecast, News and Conditions | Weather Underground

Hunter X2 and Wifi problem
 

I also purchased the Hunter X2 and Wifi Wand. Worked great until it lost its internet connection, I assume from a brief power outage. Unfortunately, there is no way to reconnect to wifi without physically being there. Have not been able to change or monitor watering since outage. Read the manual or talk to mfr before purchasing if automatic reconnect after outage is important. Or, have a patient/willing neighbor that has access to the garage and house. I've had no problems losing internet with my thermostat or video connections as they automatically reconnect after power failures.

I guess I don't know if mine has gone through a power outage. I know it can reconnect when the wifi goes down - that has happened several times.

WiFi irrigation controller
 

I purchased a Rachio 3 controller and I’m very pleased with it. Easy to install, it took about twenty minutes and easy to program. It uses local weather stations to monitor your area. It has seasonal adjustments for when you should reduce your watering (ie winter when your grass goes dormant) and moisture content or rain. It has cut our water usage almost in half. Love it!

I highly recommend the Rachio Black 6 zone controller. I normally sells for $169.00 and is now available for either $119.00 or $99.00. It is the professional version of the Rachio 3 4 zone controller. It comes with 6 zone capability instead of 4 zone, a four year warranty instead of a two year, free valve monitoring (about a $30.00 value), and one or two other enhancements. It is black in color instead of white. The deal is a no-brainer if you are buying a Rachio product. You will pay more for less anywhere else. I have helped install several of them, including my own. Very simple installation, less than 30 minutes. To get the deal, go to their website (rachio.com), sit on the home page for a few minutes, and a $50.00 pop-up coupon should appear in exchange for you signing up for text messages from them. Alternatively, you can add the item to your cart and at checkout, enter coupon code "rachioblack" or "blackrachio". Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. If it works for you, it will drop the price $70.00 to $99.00. No, I don't work for the company. I have used Rachio for over a year now and it has literally saved me hundreds of dollars compared to the same period a year earlier. They offer a first responder, military, and educational discount through id.me, though I am not sure if coupons are stackable.

Stay away from the rain sensor(s). They are un reliable and require maintenance. Sprinklers should be run in early AM. Rain usually comes in the afternoon. Chances of your sprinkler running when rain hits are not good.

Weather Station
 

Spot on regarding weather station reliability. The Villages is huge. The fact it’s raining in The Villages likely means little or nothing as to your specific house location.

You nailed it. Personally, I don't even trust my PWS to dictate what my irrigation system does.

The rain sensors are not to prevent irrigation when it is raining, they are to prevent irrigation when a sufficient amount of rain has fallen that irrigation is not necessary.

A weather station (mechanical sensor) will let the system know how much rain has fallen recently. If enough then the system will skip a day of irrigation.

An weather service based system (internet connected) will attempt to predict rain in the future. Mine will skip a day of irrigation if sufficient rain is anticipated within one day of the irrigation day. So far it has worked very well.

THANK YOU, everyone, for your quick postings of helpful thoughts and recommendations! And I appreciate those of you who also made offers via PM. After researching further, I decided to purchase the Rachio Black 6-zone controller, and ordered it online (direct from Rachio, using the discount code) for only $117 total cost “out the door.” I remain hopeful for an easy installation and reliable long-term use. Thanks, again!

Same here, also connects to a server which manages the watering schedule with the rain forecast schedule.

HOWEVER, for a year or two prior to last summer, the 50% chance of rain was set where the system watered when the forecast was less than 50% chance of rain. Last summer the forecast was at 50% for awhile, BUT the rain didn't come, so the lawn went unwatered and some patches of grass burned up.

So be sure that you understand your settings, especially when not local.

Can save a lot of water and dollars with some good experimentation when living locally to monitor the grass . .

YMMV