[oneclickplus]

Originally Posted by Berferful

We’re new homeowners here and looking at our water bill. I’m only watering 50 minutes total between the three zones 3 times a week. Does the 5000 gallons seem too high? It does to me since I’m only using a little more than half of that for my potable water. How can I check this? Thanks.

Typical irrigation system (or any garden hose) flows at about 9 gallons per minute. So, that's 450 gallons per watering; at 3x / week, that's 1350 gallons / week; at 4 weeks per month, that's 5400 gallons / month.

I think your water bill is spot on.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by azcindy

Any particular brand/model you recommend?

Cindy

I have the Hunter X2 controller with the WAND module for wifi connectivity. Others have highly recommended the Rachio controller. In either case, consider installing it yourself - I did not and was surprised how much I was charged for connecting six wires.

[biker1]

I have had a Rachio3 for a couple of years now and I would recommend it. They offer 6, 8, and 16 zone controllers.

Originally Posted by azcindy

Any particular brand/model you recommend?

Cindy

[Spartan86]

I like/use Racchio as well. Pretty smart and intuitive. Mine uses a private weather station a couple of streets over for data. Notifies me when it is skipping watering due to my set conditions of rainfall, wind, temp etc. Best part of a wifi controller for a DIY sprinkler guy - I don’t have to walk back and forth from the garage to run a zone I’m working on👍

[FredMitchell]

Check to see if there is a recommended day and frequency on the door of your controller. Ours has one. It also has a recommendation by month for what to use.

I have seen the wifi - weather recommendation often here. Unless you set up a personal weather station and use that for input, it seems silly. Rain is very often very local. Even if you use the your own station, you still may be watering just in advance of heavy rain, but you won't likely know in advance. KISS.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by FredMitchell

Check to see if there is a recommended day and frequency on the door of your controller. Ours has one. It also has a recommendation by month for what to use.

I have seen the wifi - weather recommendation often here. Unless you set up a personal weather station and use that for input, it seems silly. Rain is very often very local. Even if you use the your own station, you still may be watering just in advance of heavy rain, but you won't likely know in advance. KISS.

Good advice on the watering schedules. They can also be found on districtgov.org. (Services->Utilities->Irrigation Schedules)

I do not have a personal weather station. It seems silly to try to compete with all the other stations around and the professional information from the NWS.

As I understand it my Hunter uses a "virtual" station which aggregates information from multiple physical stations in my area as well as professional forecasts to predict what has, or will, happen over my house. It appears to be accurate and has worked well for me.

[polirudb]

Another vote for the Rachio controller. I installed mine a couple of years ago, pays for itself in no time. Easy to install. Be sure to take pictures of the Hunter unit and the wiring before you remove it. They go on sale from time to time, and Costco and Sam's have sold them in store and online. Home Depot currently has it on sale.

[PennyAnn]

Originally Posted by Berferful

We’re new homeowners here and looking at our water bill. I’m only watering 50 minutes total between the three zones 3 times a week. Does the 5000 gallons seem too high? It does to me since I’m only using a little more than half of that for my potable water. How can I check this? Thanks.

Good morning, We had a leak once....and it was 24,000 gallons per month! It looks fine to us, at 5,000... as that really is not a lot.

[jrref]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Good advice on the watering schedules. They can also be found on districtgov.org. (Services->Utilities->Irrigation Schedules)

I do not have a personal weather station. It seems silly to try to compete with all the other stations around and the professional information from the NWS.

As I understand it my Hunter uses a "virtual" station which aggregates information from multiple physical stations in my area as well as professional forecasts to predict what has, or will, happen over my house. It appears to be accurate and has worked well for me.

With the Rachio you have a choice of using a virtual or aggregation of weather stations or any that are close to your house so you can get actual local weather. You can't believe how many private weather stations there are in the Villages. You probably have one or two a block a way or maybe even closer in most areas.

[biker1]

Not exactly. While there is considerable spacial variation in warm season precipitation, on average it evens out. I have my Rachio pointed to the "aggregated data" from various sources and it works out pretty well. A neighbor has a PWS, which uploads data to a website that the Rachio can access, but I choose not to use it since I don't know how reliable it is. My Rachio only irrigated 2 times in June, 4 times in July, and only 1 time, so far, in August. The Rachio runs a soil model so the amount of precipitation, the amount of irrigation, and the forecasted precipitation goes into the decision making for future irrigation.

Originally Posted by FredMitchell

Check to see if there is a recommended day and frequency on the door of your controller. Ours has one. It also has a recommendation by month for what to use.

I have seen the wifi - weather recommendation often here. Unless you set up a personal weather station and use that for input, it seems silly. Rain is very often very local. Even if you use the your own station, you still may be watering just in advance of heavy rain, but you won't likely know in advance. KISS.

[elevatorman]

There should be a schedule in or on your circuit breaker panel to tell you how often to run your system. The villages site tells you how long to run sprays and rotors but the irrigation people are also installing Hunter MP heads. MP heads need to be run 2X the spray time.Check this site to see if your heads are MP heads. Access Denied
You can also do the "Tuna Can Test" to see if you are watering too much. Tuna Can Test - Bermuda Lawn Care - Summer Irrigation Tip - YouTube
You need about 1" per week if your lawn is established.
Another thing you may want to do is break up the time. I have a B-hyve controller and I run zone 1 for 5 minutes then zone 2 for 5 minuets then zone 3 for 5 minutes then zone 4 for 5 minuets then back to zone 1 and continue until each zone has run for 20 minutes total. This way the water soaks in and does not run off. The B-hyve makes all this very easy.Amazon.com

[Birdrm]

Originally Posted by Berferful

We’re new homeowners here and looking at our water bill. I’m only watering 50 minutes total between the three zones 3 times a week. Does the 5000 gallons seem too high? It does to me since I’m only using a little more than half of that for my potable water. How can I check this? Thanks.

I don't think you have a leak, during the summer I do water 3 times a week and my water bill is always 4000 to 5000 a month. I knew I had a leak last year when suddenly my consumption doubled to 10,000 gallons!

[Ladybugsgirl]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

The amount of water use looks reasonable, but most people only water two times per week. Also, if you have grass, that zone should be watered about two times as long as the shrub areas. You can try it and see if your lawn still looks okay. I don't think you have a leak.

The grass guy said bump it to 3. We have not been getting our normal amounts of rain this summer. The retention pond behind my house is empty and by now there’s usually water. FYI

[elevatorman]

Originally Posted by FredMitchell

Check to see if there is a recommended day and frequency on the door of your controller. Ours has one. It also has a recommendation by month for what to use.

I have seen the wifi - weather recommendation often here. Unless you set up a personal weather station and use that for input, it seems silly. Rain is very often very local. Even if you use the your own station, you still may be watering just in advance of heavy rain, but you won't likely know in advance. KISS.

I have an Orbit B-hyve controller and use a personal weather station that is 2 blocks away. The Rachio has the same capabilities. There are PWSs all over The Villages. If rain is expected the B-hyve puts the irrigation on a 24 hour delay. My system seldom runs in the summer months. And my grass stays green.

[MrFlorida]

Looks normal, cut down on your watering time, also check the programing, may be watering multiple times a cycle.