Orbit B-Hyve XR Smart Sprinkler Timer Unboxing Installation and Review
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- Опубліковано 7 лип 2024
- ► Orbit B-hyve XR 16-Zone Smart Sprinkler Controller #ad: amzn.to/2Hf4WRk
► Orbit B-hyve XR 8-Zone Smart Sprinkler Controller #ad: amzn.to/3dOKq60
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Orbit makes a line of garden products under the B-hyve brand. We unbox, install and review their latest sprinkler timer, the B-hyve XR. This is a smart irrigation controller that you can control with your smart phone, front panel, Alexa or Google Home.
The B-hyve XR even syncs with the Flume Water Monitor, a smart home water monitor to track water usage and provide that info to the XR to accurately record the amount of water used every time a zone runs. The XR comes in 8 or 16 zones and is water resistant so you can mount it indoors or out. Connecting your valve wires is super easy with push button connections.
Watch this video to see the B-hyve XR in action.
TURNS OUT you can share your XR Sprinkler Timer but you have to look for DEVICE SHARING on the DEVICE DETAILS screen under the picture of your controller on the top left of the screen. It doesn't look clickable but it is. From there you can specify Managers and Guests. Guests can only do basic functions like run a zone, and they can't change any of your setup. You get to the DEVICE DETAILS screen by clicking the "My B-Hyve" tab at the bottom of the home screen, then DEVICES and finally click on the picture of your XR.
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Product information and Affiliate links:
B-hyve
► BUY the Orbit B-hyve XR 16-Zone Smart Sprinkler Controller: amzn.to/2Hf4WRk
► BUY the Orbit B-hyve XR 8-Zone Smart Sprinkler Controller: amzn.to/3dOKq60
Flume Water Monitor
► BUY the Flume 2 (newest model) Smart Home WiFi Water Monitor and Leak Detector: amzn.to/37sAPRc
► BUY the Flume Water Monitor (reviewed model): amzn.to/3oazSCK
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Affiliate Disclosure: This description contains links that may earn us a commission from the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. B-Hyve provided the product used in this review. Opinions and conclusions are our own.
00:00 Intro
00:57 Flume Water Monitor
01:27 Unboxing
03:26 Installing the Timer
04:33 Setting up in the app
05:56 Water Restrictions
06:10 Smart Watering
06:53 Voice Assistants and Flume
07:03 Watering Calendar and History
09:16 Flume Water Usage
10:00 Alexa Control
10:42 Repairing Sprinklers
11:24 Manual Watering
12:35 Conclusions
13:56 Wrap-up - Наука та технологія
TURNS OUT you can share your XR Sprinkler Timer but you have to look for DEVICE SHARING on the DEVICE DETAILS screen under the picture of your controller on the top left of the screen. It doesn't look clickable but it is. From there you can specify Managers and Guests. Guests can only do basic functions like run a zone, and they can't change any of your setup. You get to the DEVICE DETAILS screen by clicking the "My B-Hyve" tab at the bottom of the home screen, then DEVICES and finally click on the picture of your XR.
i love the video but where did you get that timer because my sprinklers don’t even have a timer and i have to go outside and turn it on
@@relly925 you can buy either the 8 or 16 zone versions here: ► BUY the Orbit B-hyve XR 16-Zone Smart Sprinkler Controller: amzn.to/2Hf4WRk
► BUY the Orbit B-hyve XR 8-Zone Smart Sprinkler Controller: amzn.to/3dOKq60
Using that old box was a nice way to preserve the life of the new unit.
thanks
Great video, Thanks! I was looking for a good timer to activate with Google Home and it seems that this is the best one, and loos easy to set. Regards from Chile!
Thank you, glad you liked it. Let us know once you've set it up.
Nice review! Thanks.
thank you, you are most welcome. we really like the XR and it’s integration with the Flume.
Thank you . Very helpful.
You are welcome.
The b-hyve app is able to be integrated with Home Assistant through a HACS repository and obviously then shared with your gardener. If b-hyve send me a fee unit I’ll do a full tutorial on how to do this as well as an installation guide. You can tell them. 😀 By the way Home Assistant would then be able to send you the notifications you spoke about eg runaway valve.
That's a nice offer Rob. We are considering testing home assistant next year.
I would recommend calling their support folks with your offer, you never know they might take you up on it.
Hello AppMyHome, thanks very much for the review especially the part about the Flume integration with the B-Hyve. Question, in order to get that data from Flume did you have to subscribe to the Flume $50/yr service or were you just using the free service? If you used the pay service, do you know if it would work properly with the free service? I understand the free service does not provide as detailed information as the paid service. These product integrations are cool but having to pay for this Flume data is a deal breaker for us. Thanks and keep up the wonderful reviews!
You're welcome, glad we are helping.
Turns out Flume stopped charging for the premium service. Yeah! You actually didn't need the premium service for it to work with Bhyve anyways. Please let us know how it works for you.
Here is the info from the Amazon page "SUBSCRIPTION NO LONGER REQUIRED: Get all the very best Flume has to offer including: custom water use budgets and water leak alerts, indoor vs outdoor water use, water usage by fixture and appliance and much more! All now available with your Flume purchase. No subscription, no contracts, just water."
Looks like you've had the Orbit B-Hyve and the Raccio. I'm trying to decide between them. Which did you prefer and why? The $30 price difference is not an issue, at least for me.
The BHyve is a newer model for us. We were happy with both. Right now we are using the BHyve XR which works with the Flume so we can determine water usage per zone. I believe that Rachio now also supports Flume, but we have not tested that.
Just purchased 2 (front/back yards) and installed yesterdat. Will be enclosing 1 of them as you did - I'm guessing the enclosure box is about 12 in wide by 10 in (?) high - I measured the b-hyve xr to be 8-3/4 in X 6-3/4 in. Do you think your box dimensions are about 12 X 10 ? Thanks, appreciate your review and enjoying the controllers.
Answering my own question - found timer enclosure box at Home Depot and Lowes. If Home Depot: Orbit Outdoor Timer Box Model# 57095.
awesome
Hi Mark, great video. I noticed you had Rachio 3 and now Orbit Bhive, wondering why you switched and which system you prefer. Maybe do a vid about it? Thanks!
hi Keisel, one of the first products we reviewed was the Rach.Io we did that on our blog at AppMyHome.com. then after seeing the XR at ces, they sent us one to review. we like both though the integration with Flume and that you can get the XD units to control in the same app pushes us to stay with the b-hyve. (for now) my bet would be either would be a fine choice.
@@Appmyhome Glad to hear that! Keep up the good work!
Does any orbit smart sprinkler system works with flume or just this one?
as far as we know only B-Hyve so far.
Ok, So if I run a test through my Orbit, it messes up my timers. Do you have this problem or am I doing something in error?
we haven’t seen that issue. this said we don’t have any timers set up currently. we use the automations that figure out when and how often to run per zone. I would call support they are very responsive.
Where did you get the outdoor box you placed the B hyve in?
Home Depot.
@@Appmyhome they have tons of them there, thought maybe you had a specific one. But I will figure it out thanks
@@realflaman it's been like forever, we got it when we had our Rachio. BTW, I'm pretty sure the XR is made for outdoor use as is, at least according to their website, though would seen you would need some where to plug it in that is covered, like the usual outside outlets with those plastic rain covers. Per B-Hyve website:
"Weatherproof Design
@@realflaman we've had that box for a long time so don't know if we could find the exact one online.
@@Appmyhome understand, thank you. I just measured the device and purchased a box to fit it. Just that simple, don't know why I made it so hard lol. Thanks
I am considering purchasing a Flume 2 and a B-hyve controller (Orbit 57950), for a 48 unit apartment complex. Do you think the Flume AI will be effective to help pinpoint leaks with 80 toilets, 80 showers, 126 faucets, 48 washer/dryers, 48 dishwashers, pool auto fill, and 7 irrigation zones? Water is always running. Currently the water slows down to about 50 gallons/hour from 3:00 am to 4:00 am, but never slower. I am guessing that the irrigation alerts will not be effective because water is always running in the complex. Can custom alerts be created that look at the water flow by the minute from 3:00am to 4:00am, to help me find the balance of my leaks?
I would appreciate your thoughts on how this hardware/software can isolate my leaks, and would be open to hear about any other hardware/software solutions that would help me to save water!!!
Thank you!
I would go to flumewater and chat with their support. they are very fast to join in. their analytics is new so I’d imagine you’d have a pretty big case to test against.
This might be a dumb question but how does the controller connect with the actual water and zones?
You replace your current zone controller with this unit. The install is fairly easy, you just move the wires from the old one to the new one. We show how we did it, your situation might vary.
It’s all the same installation the different is u can use with ur phones
After all the rain we had, now I can't get my b-hyve to come back on, any tips ????
Is your XR outside or in? Sometimes I need to pull the plug on our XR, wait 10 seconds and plug it back in so it reconnects to the WiFi. Now if you mean it doesn't power up at all I would call their support line.
It’s out side mounted on the wall. We had a month of rain , now that the sun is coming out and the weather is much better but when I push to connect it just spins looking for a connection.
I heard from a flume update on iOS that Flume 2 is coming out...horrible for me because I had Flume 1 for under 3 months or so. :(
It just appeared. It is on Amazon now. Looking at the update, the unit on the meter appears to be like twice as large. But they claim 2X battery life and longer WiFi range to the base station. As far as I can tell those changes and a promised AI in the spring to tell when you flush your toilet or do the dishes is all that is different.
What is the part number of that enclosure?
we purchased the enclosure from Home Depot a while ago so unfortunately I don’t have a part number for you on that. I would check the dimensions of the XR and look at Home Depot for the similar box making sure the XR will fit with the bows outlet not covered over by the XR. also make sure the box comes with a ground fault outlet.
Does the XR need to be in an extra box? I assumed that it was stand-alone and waterproof for outside wall mount.
We installed the XR in conjunction with iPhone, and there are many issues that Orbit has not yet resolved in the Smart Watering portion of this app. Many text/phone calls to tech support and they, to date, can not resolve these issues. I would not recommend this product until these app problems are fixed.
Hi Dena, we've been using this since the review without any major issues. What types of issues are you having?
One issue we do see is if you change the Smart Watering settings it takes a little while before the calendar shows the new watering days. I'm talking like 5 or 10 min. You can also quit the app and wait a minute and launch again and it's usually updated.
They have a web app as well that can be used to see the setup. It also has a sync button that should force the update.
In any case when we make a change to the smart watering it does work.
We have reported this to their support as well.
Where did the white wire go?
as shown in the video the white wires are the common wires and connect to the white common terminals in the XR. your setups wires might use different colored wires so be sure to label them from your prior setup.
@@Appmyhome cool. Good video bro.
thank you, appreciated.
I'm not exactly sure why anyone would need a 5 Ghz connection to their sprinkler system haha
It is very nice when a product supports both. Usually means they have a better WiFi chip in it. Plus no confusion on connecting to your router. Now do they need the speed? No. However the 5 GHz band is less crowded and more likely to have a successful connection.
The wiring diagram is too basic, there's no details on the Sensor or Pump connectors, and nowhere does it state where to connect a Master Valve wire. I've since learned my systems MV wire can be attached to the Pump connector.
Thank you for that update. How is it working out for you overall?
@@Appmyhome So far it’s great. I previously had a RainMachine for about 5 years, which worked very well, until that company decided to charge a monthly fee to access the system remotely. I decided against paying them, but the device all of the sudden died, which helped make my decision easier to switch to something else. So far I love this B-Hyve, it’s smart mode is far more intuitive than my last system.
@@Celtic-Texan Very cool. BTW did you also have the Flume? It monitors the water use, and you can connect it via the app so it will let you know water use by zone. We did a review on it as well.
@@Appmyhome I wasn’t aware of it until I saw your video, I’m definitely going to add that to my system. Would have come in very handy about 3 years ago when one of my zones had a stuck valve and free flowed for about 8 hours until I happened to look out the window and see a small pond forming.
@@Celtic-Texan yup, sounds familiar. Glad the video helped discover the feature.
Installation review is not helpful at all . garbage
hi Byron, can you tell us what is missing and what you’d like to see to improve our installation sections.
@@Appmyhome you mentioned that in the box there was a wire, I also found a wire nut in my box as well. Is there a way to hard wire and what is that wire for?
the white wire if I recall was if you need to jumper a terminal. as for hard wire, do you mean not use the 110v plug end? That you'd need to ask the manufacturer. We just plugged it into a GFCI outlet.