Rachio 3rd Gen: Smart 4-Zone Sprinkler Controller, App Enabled Automated Water Scheduling, Alexa Compatible, DIY Simple & Fast Install

This irrigation controller is perfect for homeowners who have 8 or less zones to their irrigation system. If you have basic level knowledge of tools and how to do simple home improvement tasks, installation is very easy. A perfect replacement for old school controllers (like my old Rainbird model with a dial and simple numerical screen) that were annoyingly complex to try to control schedules, do seasonal or rain adjustments, or just manage in general. These are often on sale during big Amazon sales events, so I picked it up for quite a discount during Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales. - Installation consisted of unplugging the old Rainbird controller, carefully labeling each zone (1, 2, 3, etc.) and the common wire as it was installed before, disconnecting all labeled wires, and then removing the old controller from the wall. New install was pretty much the reverse. Took approximately 30 min at a leisurely pace. - Initial Setup: Super easy via the app and only need to setup a Raachio account, and of course needed my WiFi password to connect the controller to the network. - The app: Very intuitive and easy to use. I love that I can take a picture for each zone so I know what is what. I can use the app to quick run each zone while I'm walking around to inspect sprinkler heads and make adjustments. No more running back and forth to the controller on the wall. Schedule setup was very easy and it is easy to have multiple schedules with any combination of zones assigned to each schedule. For example, I have one schedule to run my yard zones, and a separate one for my raised garden beds using drip lines. The system uses local weather reporting to perform "rain skips" based on predicted or actual precipitation. The rain skip is really the only drawback I have found so far. When summer temps are really high (95+ deg) it is not uncommon where I live to have inaccurate rain predictions due to small thunderstorm cells that may rain close by but not at my location. Sometimes the system will rain skip a schedule based on the weather prediction, but in reality no rain was received. I end up having to manually un-skip the rain skip occasionally. However this is only a minor issue and still miles ahead overall compared to the old outdated controllers. This also could be a function of the type of schedule I set up; there is a much higher level of customization available than I have fully utilized.

I debated for a long time before purchasing this product due to the mix of very strong reviews — both positive and negative. After using this unit for about 2 weeks, and experiencing a lot of weather in the North TX area, I’m writing to speak to both sides and offer my observations in hopes that it will help others who find themselves in the same dilemma that I did. First, let me say that this is an awesome product. Having worked in technology, and specifically software engineering and product development for 15-20 years, I truly appreciate the simplicity of the product. The entire setup process — from opening the box to having water running in our yard — lasted maybe 10-15 minutes max, and it was only that high because I spent about 5 minutes creating a label on our label maker to “mark” the zones on the outside of the unit. Some might call this overkill… my wife calls it particular… but nevertheless. Everything from the design, to engineering, to the magnetic cover, the software in the app (we use iOS)… it was simple and the experience was like opening an Apple product and having it “just work”. Second, let me speak to the setup options, since I think this is where most folks that write negative reviews get hung up. There are basically two paths to choose from, and there doesn’t really seem to be a middle ground. One path is to basically set it up as a “dumb controller” — meaning, think of what your parents probably had 20-30 years ago in their garage. You set a schedule, it is fixed, and it basically runs on certain days and times that you set. If this is your preference, then save your money and buy a different controller. There are way cheaper options on the market, and this product is going to be overkill for a schedule that simple. The other option, which is why I suspect most of you are probably interested or reading this in the first place, is what this system is really designed to do. You can set it up as a “smart controller” — meaning, you set a base schedule, along with some data points specific to your location, and these are fed into an algorithm, along with real-time weather information from your area, and it basically adjusts “on demand”. For example, if it rained more than a certain amount (you can set the threshold), or if rain is even expected in your area in the next 24 hours, it will skip a cycle. Or if it detects winds (again, you can set a threshold), it might adjust the time. Same thing for temperature below freezing, soil moisture, etc. There are a lot of options and you can customize which ones per zone… for example, one of our zones is a dedicated drip hose, so the wind alert doesn’t really matter but the soil moisture does. The neat thing is you can set multiple “schedules” and target different settings for each. The only thing to be aware of, is one of the settings is “time of day”… so if you have multiple schedules for the same day, and they are both set to “finish before sunrise”, for example, you might run into weird situations. We get around this by alternating days (or you can set a “fixed” time of day for one). Just a heads up for anyone running more complex schedules across zones. The “smart controller” setup (as I call it) is a little more work up front, and if you do it wrong, I can totally see how it will mess up your yard. However, it’s not all that difficult, and once it’s setup as intended, it’s totally worth the money. Based on our water usage, and the unpredictability of weather in the North TX area, I think this unit will pay for itself in a matter of a couple months. In the past 14 days alone, it has already saved us from running 4 different cycles for who knows how many hundreds of gallons each time. Again, this means that you actually have to do some work up front to make sure it is setup correctly. It does require a little bit of knowledge of your soil type and the ability not to over-estimate slopes. For example, just because your yard is graded (to get water away from your house) does not mean that the slope is “extreme”. All of the factors go into the algorithm… so if you get it wrong, that is not Rachio’s fault, even though it sounds like that is where most of the negative reviews stem from. It’s just like anything else with data… garbage in = garbage out. If you put good data in, then the results can be remarkable. The only downside, if there was one, is I could not get this to work with our existing rain sensor or HomeKit. The rain sensor threw false positives, and once I figured that out (thanks to Rachio alerting us "why" the system did not run), I just unplugged it and it's one less thing to have to worry about. For HomeKit, with a background in software engineering, I’ve looked into this technically and this appears to be an issue with Apple’s integration rather than Rachio. Practically, all this means is I cannot say “Hey Siri, turn on our sprinklers for 10 minutes". Would that be impressive to show off? Absolutely. But with the intelligence already built into Rachio's software, there’s a good chance I’ll never need to do anything manually ever again. In summary… this is an excellent product, but it is not for everyone. I do wish there was a review like this a few weeks back so I did not have to spend time second guessing myself before we purchased this product. All in all, this is a solid product, and I would highly recommend it… as long as you have some time to set it up correctly. I hope this helps! Justin

Wow. Install was super easy. One hour. Walked around the house and it turned on and off each zone with a button click. Everything works. I just had sod placed on three section of my yard. Programming to water new sod in n the took two minutes. And it compensates for rain and knows how to handle new gras. Wow.

I bought this system in April, one month before I left for a 7 month deployment. I combined this with my rainbird rain sensor and it's been incredible. First I love how easy it is to set and forget. The system does everything for you. It will automatically change water times based on the time of the year and when sunrise is. How does the system save you money? It has a soaking feature where it will start a zone for 20 minutes or whatever you have yours set up to, then it will go through other zones and eventually go back to watering the first zone. This allows your soil to soak in water and not get flooded and have run off. Essentially you aren't wasting water because of this feature. The system automatically uses weather data for your area, but if you combine the system with a rain sensor it is just that much better. The app is actually useful and works. Too many times is there a smart product where the app just sucks and doesn't make the product worth it. That is not the case with the Rachio app. This can be a one and done type of product. You set the system up, and never have to touch it again. If you actually do the work the system will work for you. What do I mean by you need to do the work? Plug in the correct information into the app. Look up the information of your sprinkler heads and what the flow rate is for them. Do a water catch test and see where in your yard you need more water. If you do these the Rachio will work that much better. Best part was that I got the system for $50 as a rebate deal through my water company so make sure to see if your water company offers the same.

Finally figured out annoying zone Fault error for master valve operation when multiple master valve connected to the M terminal along with the regular zones Operation for about less than $20 wiring work, Really simple wiring and thanks to amazon for selling such simple devices to help rescue in this matter. It’s shame that rachio engineers didn’t design enough power for each channel especially when there is M terminal available for use. Customer should not need to buy anything else to make it work all together. At least they should have allowed up to 5 Amps of power usage for simultaneous multiple zones operations and multiple master valve operation. Which is very common these days. Anyways. I highly recommend, using individual master valves for front and back if you have multiple pipes feeding irrigation at your home, to save on leaks, and protect your irrigation and extend valve life using these available master valve terminals on Rachio 3. It is very simple, to wire up. I got all links for the product and wiring diagram shown below that has been tested and work prefectly. This is all you need. I have got 2 Master valves (1 for front yard, 1 for back yard), hooked up to external power source of 24VAC plugin type, using this simple DIN mount $10 24vac contactor, https://amzn.to/46q988x And this power supply, 24VAC, https://amzn.to/3I0UI6B wired externally to power up these master valve it works flawlessly, I am using these master valves https://amzn.to/4mck5QJ which shows 5W power consumption which is great for the application, however always have higher rated power supply purchased, to be safe to handle inrush (higher current for start up) current of valves when they open initially. I was able to simplify the circuit and use these externally powered master valve with any zones without any zone fault error or compatibility issues with Rachio 3. The product I shared above have been tested by myself, and I guarantee it works as long as you wire them correctly. if you have any questions then please let me know. If you use my link to purchase, it would tremendously help me provide support for your need, feel free to text me here if you have any questions. Hopefully, these photos with wiring diagram helps you out. If not just shoot me question here. The wiring for external pump would be very similar, but I can help you with that if you have unique situations for your case. Just ping me here and be happy to prepare your circuit diagram.

This was my first experience with a Rachio sprinkler controller. Installing the unit was quick and easy. Linking the unit to the App and setting up the system was not. I eventually had to reset and start over the set up process several times. However, once that process was completed, things have been working just fine without any issues. I really appreciate the ability to control my system from my phone and I especially appreciate the extra features like weather tracking and automatic adjustments that come with the unit. I was a little disappointed to see that I had to pay extra in the app to take advantage of all the features that the unit offers, I’m not a fan of “pay to play.” This includes features like sprinkler valve monitoring to alert you of potential problems in your system. If the unit has that capability, then just include it in the initial cost of the product. That said, in my opinion the pros do outweigh the cons and I am happy with my purchase and do recommend it for others looking for a sprinkler valve controller with internet and app capabilities.

Though is not inexpensive, I think I’ve already paid for this water system by saving water. My husband and I installed it and I use the app on my phone to set up a schedule. It understands when it’s going to rain and prevents the sprinklers from going on. It doesn’t use sensors, it watches the weather forecast online. So far it has worked perfectly. Recently, we needed to turn on one station to make sure that the outlets were working properly in our vegetable garden. All I had to do was go to the right station and put it on manually. It was very easy. Our yard and gardens look great! I really like this system!

After nearly four years of use, here are my observations. Things I love about my Rachio watering system: 1. Ease of watering. You can turn on your sprinkler via your phone no matter where you are. Very nice when you are on the go. They will have you enter some basic information on your yard and each zone and you can use their suggested interval schedule, or you can set your own schedule. 2. Pairs with the Tempest Weather system to provide real time weather data to your Rachio system. This allows bypassing watering when rain hits a certain level and during higher winds. I do love my Tempest system for all the data you get. I was an early adopter and have been very pleased with this. 3. Ease of installation. This is really easy to set up. My mother could almost set this up. Well, maybe not. But it is easy. Really, you can have this up and running in just a few minutes if you are replacing an existing system. Things I dislike about this system: 1. Using the Rachio schedule will most likely kill most things in your yard. I live in Texas. We sometimes get up to 110 degrees, and the ground dries out quickly. The standard variable schedule, at the most frequently run schedule, will not run any more than once a week, and as infrequently as once a month during the winter. That may work if you live in the more temperate zones of California, especially in Silicon Valley where this company is based, but that doesn't really work in Texas. 2. Weather Skip reduces watering. I know I stated that I liked the fact that it paired with my Tempest weather station; however, if you have high winds, rain, or even forecasted rain, it skips that prescheduled watering. It doesn't reschedule your interval, it skips it ENTIRELY. If you are down to watering once every 3 or 4 weeks, you now don't get water for a month and a half or two months. If the weather is repeatedly over 100 degrees and the schedule is down to every 7 days, and you hit wind, you now have to wait two weeks until your flowers get water. 3. Upsell for other products. Rachio constantly tries to upsell you on other devices. Timed hose water dispensers, sprinkler heads, root quenchers. They are adding all the time, and you know it. I did try their sprinkler heads, but they dispensed so little water, that they were ineffective in "watering" anything. 4. New subscription patches! I guess Rachio has heard other complaints about items #1 and 2 above, because now they have announced that they understand that you can't simply skip a watering interval entirely, they now have a fix. If you are experiencing 100-degree summer days, and you have a windy day on your watering day, for only $30/year, they will shift your watering day to the next day. No. This is a software patch. It should come free with the product. 5. Rachio's main objective is to save water. If you look at Rachio's website and read the "About Us" page, they pride themselves on the fact that they want to save water. They don't say they want to provide beautiful yards, they want to reduce as much water usage as they can. If you want a green yard, don't use their program. Did I mention that I live in Texas where we have heat and we need water if you have anything in your yard short of rocks and mesquite bushes? To recap, I love the convenience, but this is not designed to give you a beautiful yard. If you buy this, and you live in a warm climate, do yourself a favor and program your own schedule. Rachio, if you are reading this, please take the actual weather and climate into account and give us more interval options as part of the product offering, and not at an additional subscription cost.