Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller - Step-by-Step Installation and Review
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- Опубліковано 13 тра 2020
- An honest review of the Rachio 3 Smart Water System. We'll take you from unboxing the unit, through the installation process, and even show you what the smartphone app looks like.
If you want your yard to be the healthiest and most beautiful it can be, you'll want to consider adding the Rachio controller to your list of essential yard tools.
==Product Link(s)==
Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller: geni.us/gjllJrQ
==Tools Used In This Project==
DeWalt 20V Impact Driver: geni.us/tJU26k
DeWalt Impact Bit Set: geni.us/QBnon
Long Nose Pliers: geni.us/2ZWhvjW
==Materials Used==
Toggler Drywall Anchors: geni.us/hDKxr
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@RachIo - Навчання та стиль
Thank you for this video! I literally followed it step by step without any problems. My new Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller is working thanks to YOU!!
Thank you. Just what I needed! Also, love the little kids in the background. I had to stop the video twice to make sure they weren’t mine. Using ears buds so they sounds just like my kids downstairs somewhere. Loved the bloopers too.
We have learned to keep the camera rolling, never know what we might capture 😂
I had same thing happen to me. Sounded like my grandkids were in the house, but they weren’t!
Thank you for the setup video. Because of it, I ordered and installed the Rachio 3 system. Very easy.
Great, we are working on an updated review. How have you liked it?
I have 15 years installing Irrigation Systems, let me tell you that you did a good job in This video, you explained in detail just like I would do it, I use wire stickers to identify the wiring or take a picture with my phone to keep track where everything goes, it just depends on how many zones you are dealing with.
Keep it up!
Thank you for the feedback!
Thanks for this video. I am doing this exact upgrade, same rainbird and rachio. This is very helpful.
No problem 👍
I have an old Rainbird sprinkler system and wanted to upgrade the programming unit since it is so difficult. I had looked at this Rachio system but was afraid I would not be able to wire it up or that if I did, it would not work with my system. Your video showed me there's not much to it and I'm going to replace mine today! Thank you.
Glad I could help!
I know this comment is very late to the original posting of the vid, but just wanted to say thank you for detailed install...appreciate it!
Glad it helped!
Perfect, thanks! You made it way too easy for me.
Thanks for the video. Just installed my new Rachio controller. Let’s see how this goes.
Just purchased...thanks for the detailed information!
Sure thing!
Love, love, love this video. I have the exact same Rainbird system. Going to purchase the Rachio 3 and use this video
Awesome, glad it helped!
Very useful video. Thank you!
Great video already purchased will install tomorrow
This video has helped me tremendously. Thank you. Earned a sub.
Awesome, thank you!
Thank you for your great video and response.
Great. Ordered my rachio
Let us know how you like it!
I assume the person who asked if you wanted to unplug the power was your wife. Thank you for including her comment. 🙂 Loved it, can't beat having a Good Woman!
That was her and I couldn't agree more :)
Do you have if it has support for a rain sensor input?
This was really good! / Like i think i could do this even! Hey, any issues after a power cutt with it not coming on line ? or it not connecting to the internet ?
Thanks for the great tutorial. I want to install and set up a smart sprinkler control like the Rachio 3 in a second home. Will I be able to control it from my primary home in another state or do I need to be on the same network?
Yes, absolutely. As long as the location where the controller is installed has internet access, you can make changes to it no matter where you are. Thanks for watching!
great video, thanks for posting. Have you added any type of sensors to monitor the current ground saturation?
I haven't added anything else to the system yet. I'd like to get the flow meter too but they discontinued it.
This is a beautiful video tutorial.
I am still dangling between either purchasing the Rachio or the RainMachine(love the display).
One quick question on safety, so just unplugging my current Hunter Pro C from the wall is all i need not to get electrocuted as i handle the wires, right?
That should be the case. It's my understanding that all sprinkler systems are low voltage. With our old Rainbird and the new Rachio, the only power the system needed came from the power adapter that's plugged into the wall.
First off, great video! I’m replacing my old rain bird sprinkler control box with a Rachio. The old box has two wires going into smt sensor. I don’t see that on the rachio. I do see S1, S2, and 24vac slots on the rachio. Do I put the 2 smt sensor wires into the 24 vac slots?
You said you have 5 zones so what are the additonal white and red wires that you moved to the Rachio controller?
What does the different colors mean in the light bar on the front? I just moved into a house with this unit.
Is the system smart enough to modify your time duration by itself? For example, a soil sensor to determine how much water I need and proper duration for it?
Yes, it does. Not only will it make adjustments on it's own based on the weather (rainfall amount), you can specify the type of soil in each zone. As for soil sensors, they are supported as well. This is from the Rachio website:
Soil sensors operate similar to a rain sensor; once the moisture threshold is met or exceeded, the sensor interrupts the common wire and suspends all watering events until the moisture threshold dries out and returns to a level below the threshold.
Rachio supports any standard soil sensor:
Toro Soil Sensor
RAIN BIRD SMRT-Y Sensor
I hope this helps!
Great information !
Thanks for letting us know!
Thank you. I have ordered one from Costco and will be replacing the Rain Bird controller. Do you need to power off from Mains before removing the wires?
It depends on how it is wired, in our case we just had to unplug the old system.
It will be here tomorrow.
How has it worked for you?
Do we need to turn the power off at the breaker
I have same rain bird however I have a power wire going into rain bird and some 120v converter. I don’t have a plug for rachio. Any idea?
I currently have the Rainmaster and after 2 years have started to have issues with the connection to my Wifi Mesh system (Orbi).
They are aware of this issue and I was told this is common among many of the wifi sprinkler units. Do you know if there are issues regarding connection for this unit to an Orbi Mesh wifi system?
I found this discussion thread and it sounds like it works fine with the Orbi system. Here's the link so you can see the comments yourself: community.rachio.com/t/mesh-routers/20992
Hope this helps!
@@TopHomeowner I wish that were the case. I called Rainmachine Tech Support and they are aware of the problems they are having with Orbi. I then called Orbi as well and they too are aware. Apparently, I has something to do with Orbi doing updates and the drivers to the older network cards used on the Rainmachine (older tech). Mine was fine for 3 years...just now gave me issues after updating my firmware on my Orbi a couple weeks ago. Rainmachine can't figure out why, once their product disconnects from the network, why it has so much trouble reconnecting or maintaining a connection. Kinda caught in the middle.
Do you set the length of time for each zone to run? I live in a desert. How long does each zone run for?
It's actually aware of your local weather conditions based on zipcode since it's connected to the internet (rainfall, climate, etc.) Each zone duration will run as long as needed based on the weather and what type of soil and vegetation you define when you setup that zone in the app. You can add a soil moisture meter as well, but I'm not sure how hard that would be. Also, you can manually water each zone (or pause) depending on what you feel is best. Everything is configured in the phone app. Hope this helps!
@@TopHomeowner Curious how this works for those of us who have replaced their lawns with native plants. Here in bone dry SoCal, you have to refrain from watering during the summer as it's (surprisingly) the surest way to doom a native plant. I'm concerned our zip code would trigger more summer watering rather than less. Any good info on this? Thx.
I just purchased a house that has this system, how do I go about programming since I didn't do the initial setup.
I found this article that explains how to transfer ownership so a new owner can set it up: support.rachio.com/en_us/transfer-ownership-of-a-rachio-controller-to-your-account-S1EnDIJtP
So I’m looking to have someone help me turn on my Sprinkler system in April. Do I need to have my system active to install the Rachio controller? Your instructions are great and will make the install easy
Yes, the system should be active. When you're setting it up, it will try turning on the different zones to make sure the system is working properly.
Do you need to be connected to Wi-Fi on your smart phone in order to control the Sprinkler System? or can you control it from anywhere when connected to mobile data?
Your phone doesn't have to be on the same WiFi, you can control it from anywhere.
Please explain in detail about controlling from anywhere.
Thanks.
so if you lose your phone, or wifi connection, can you run each zone for 20 minutes manually ??
Is it as easy as installing a Nest thermostat? looks similiar to me. thanks
Yep, very similar process.
@@TopHomeowner thank you
Thanks for video I accidentally disabled one zone while testing do you know how to retrieve it?
At the bottom of the screen for your irrigation zones, there should be a button that says "Show Disabled". You can select the zone and reenable it with the option at the top. Hope that helps
What happens if you system is offline and you cannot identify the wires and zones from old system?
damn that was a fantastic video!
Thanks!
thankfully i only got one zone, yay. cant believe it but i cant wait to get this. im so sick of my old hunter controller. it keeps resetting and is hard to tell what is going on.
Did you end up getting the Rachio?
@@TopHomeowner sadly lowes didnt have, least not that day. got the b-hyve. works great, super easy to see what is going on and test
Good info. What is that dull tone in the background?
I think it's our deep freeze. We have better mics now to help with random house and kid noises 🙂
Thanks for this thorough video. What disadvantages does this unit have? Other than cost, I'm not finding any.
Overall, it's a really solid unit. If I could change one thing, it would be nice to have a digital display on the unit itself with some basic information. For example, I can start watering manually from the controller, but it's not really intuitive so it's better to just use the app.
Top Homeowner thanks!
@@TopHomeowner what happens when your wifi goes out? seems too dependent on that with no screen on the actual device.
@@gizmo9006 the unit will still function without a Wi-Fi enabled device by manually starting it from the controller
This statement is from Rachio directly: "if your Rachio controller loses connectivity with your Wi-Fi, it will always continue to water using the last saved schedule"
Hi, Please do you know is it possible to use RACIO on Europe electrical network.
I looked for some information but it sounds like it's not supported, sorry.
@@TopHomeowner thanks
Question is RACHIO can work outside of the house ? I saw internal but what about out side ?
Yes, they make an outdoor enclosure rachio.com/weatherproof-enclosure/
I wonder if you can have the two controlers on instal rain bird and RACHIO but used rachio ON just in case internet got off rain bird like back up system ??? So rain bird off used RACHIO
Rachio will use the last known schedule if there is no internet connection
do you have a video where you install from scratch?
Do you mean the installing the entire irrigation system?
i have the same exact rainbird unit. how did you connect the MV wire? also, there are two "C" connections on the rachio, how did you decide which c connection to use (left or right side)?
Rachio tech support is useless. They do not have a telephone number. I've emailed photo's asking questions, and I did not receive a response. I'm considering returning my rachio because there's no way to get support in the future.
For the MV wire, I connected mine to the M terminal. It's the wire that controls the master valve to your sprinkler system. Either C connection can be used, but I chose the one on the left next to the M wire. Sorry to hear about your tech support experience. I hope this helps you!
This really helps. Thank you. I've read somewhere that using a MV wire, you'll also need to go into the app and tell it. Did you need to do that?
I went back to my notes and it looks like it automatically detected it. When you are setting up the zones, it asks if the sprinklers are working. I always chose Yes since things were fine, so I'm not sure what would have happened if I said No but I assume I could have changed the setting there. Also, looking at the app now, I have the option to change the MV wire setting between 1) Master Valve, 2) Well or Pump Start Relay and 3) Neither.
Rachio was running fine until they did a software upgrade . Bricked my system . Ruined my lawn for the season . I didnt notice the lawn wasnt being water until it started drying out . Rachio claims it happens with certain operating systems . THE ENTIRE UNIT IS A PAPER WEIGHT
Any update?
@@HuckfinnC wasnt worth the back and forth with Rachio . Trying to save my lawn for this season. Purchased Wyze controller . It had a defective AC adapter . I purchased an ORBIT B HYVE works on blue tooth and wi fi. Moved on .
I heard you say that it will not water if it's raining, but what if it rain recently like and hour or so? Would it not water also?
Great question. It's going to use the forecast to determine wether or not to water but I can't find the answer to your specific question.
Is the rachio compatible with all in ground sprinklers?
Yes, as far as I know. Here's their support email if you want to ask about your specific situation: support@rachio.com
Can this control system be mounted outside?
Yes, they make an outdoor cover for it
So where did the 'GND' wire go from the rainbird?
The GND wire was from the power brick for the rainbird. Rachio's power is a barrel plug instead of bare wires. Hope this helps!
@@TopHomeowner So did you need to insert it or not in the Rachio? Thanks
@@hhattingh Nope, not needed
@@TopHomeowner Ah! Understood! Thank you very much.
Rainbird has wifi controllers too
Your video was instructive up to a point, but it would have been nice to see what the app wanted to know about the various zones, i.e., very low irrigation, low irrigation, moderate, etc. In other words, does it control the flow for drought-resistant plants vs. water guzzlers? Also would have been nice to see how one can manually control the controller: you told us how you turned on areas that needed more watering, but you didn't show us. Finally, when we override the controller, can we designate how many minutes and which days we want the controller to hit , say a newly planted area, which might need more water to get the roots going. On the rainbird, there were 3 different programmable options: A, B, C which you could set automatically. To achieve this, we have to do it manually, overriding the Rachio? Lastly, do we need to buy a weather device to attach to the Rachio? I assume it's built in, but would it take a wire to a better weather device? And, what happens if the wi-fi doesn't work? Power outages that disconnect the modem? Then the Rachio doesn't work?
Is this an outdoor unit or indoor or both?
It's indoor but they make an outdoor enclosure for it too: geni.us/PjYu
Good morning, in your Rainbird you have red going to MV which is the pump start terminal. But in the Rachio you have red going to zone 1. Shouldn’t your blue go to zone one in Rachio as in Rainbird? Also, I have this exact Rainbird and Rachio (5 zones, 4 active plus weather sensor on the roof). Embarrassingly, I haven’t had the nerve to try and install the Rachio so it’s been sitting in the box in the garage for 4 months!
Here’s why..so, where your old Rainbird has 3 wires plus yellow in the upper left, mine has 7 wires! Because I’m unsure what do I’ve done nothing. Those wires are 2 red to the left most terminal, 2 red to the second, a green to the third, brown to fourth and white to fifth. Confused? So am I.
To make matters more confusing the Reds are different gauges. There’s a thicker red and a thinner red on the first terminal then a thicker and thinner on the second terminal. As one of your other posters commented tech-support is nonexistent.
In any case I believe I have 3 large transformer wires (two red one green) and 4 weather sensor wires (two red, one brown, one white). Im sure there’s no need to connect the 3 transformer wires. But what to do with the 4 small weather sensor wires is what’s got me intimidated. Do I split the brown and white to sensor 1 & 2? Or do the they go brown sensor 1 and white common? Any ideas from anyone greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Edit: Wanted to point out that there are two clusters of wires right. My confusion is the transformer/weather sensor cluster. The other cluster for my 5 zones has its cluster that includes its own white wire going to the common terminal just above Rainbird zone 4.
I have to admit I second-guessed my wiring after reading this! I took a second look and I think the issue is with the video angle. It looks like red is plugged into 1 but it's actually in M. To the left of the red wire is the common wire C which looks like it's lined up under M, but it isn't. I took a picture just now to clarify: tinyurl.com/y83p7uym
Your installation is definitely more complicated than mine! I can't really help figure out your specific wiring, unfortunately. I will say that we have had an irrigation company come out and perform maintenance, including checking the backflow valve per city ordinance. At first, I thought they would need my help using the Rachio to turn on zones, etc. but the guy seemed really familiar and did everything from the unit itself.
If it were me, I'd recommend contacting someone to help get it installed. Its worth having the upgraded unit and with it sitting in the box it isn't doing much good! Don't be afraid that these companies won't be able to figure it out like I was if you are worried.
Good luck and I hope this helps!
Top Homeowner thx for the pic I see it now for sure. I am going to take a stab at it myself first. Worst thing that could happen is I do it wrong. Full disclosure for others feeling hesitant, if you are able bodied and even a bit handy go-for-it! My hesitation or “intimidation” has more to do with a physical disability. TMI but I don’t have time or strength to do it twice! Thanks again for the advise and quick reply. Excellent vid.
I was just about to buy this controller, but was informed the unit does not indicate when you have a zone malfunction (i.e. short or bad solenoid). Anyone know if this is correct? This is an extremely important function. With 16 zones I guarantee you will have 1 or 2 zones that malfunction every year........and if not fixed, you could end up with dead trees for plants.
It looks like it does. Check out this page: support.rachio.com/en_us/zone-fault-detection-B1A9DL1tD
Sorry for the typo errors.
I sent quickly because my first draft disappeared.
Great video i just work on an house she instal RECHIO and give me the access so i Can repair valve problem is great work FAST and good
Does it have to use WiFi?
Yes wifi is required.
My speinkler installer Rachio 3 has control of my sprinkler from his cell phone 2 weeks ago.
He left me only the front cover of the manual.
I I am new to this. How to get a copy of the manual. I couldn't find the address and phone number o f Rachio.
I find the installer not trustworthworthy. I will not hire him back for other projects
How can I remove his access to the sprinklers.
The sprinklers has. Ot be scheduled. I have to manually turn it on.
Please help. I need your input.
Thanks for your video.
Yes, I agree you should have full access. This is the process you need to follow to get him removed: rachio.kustomer.help/en_us/transfer-ownership-of-a-rachio-controller-to-your-account-S1EnDIJtP
Hello, do you accept business cooperation? About testing our smart sprinkler controller and making a video for us.
Rather than screws just use two sided adhesive strips? Do not know why you needed to remove the top screw. Could you not have left in and just used it with new unit?
I think the hole where the wires came through didn't line up since the Rachio is smaller than our old controller. Probably could have used adhesive strips but I feel better using screws since the temperature changes in the garage might affect the adhesive.
Riddle me this….will rachio schedule watering for fruit trees
I found this post on Rachio's website that may help: community.rachio.com/t/which-watering-category-to-use-for-an-orange-grove/24184
How come you never mentioned there is a Wi-Fi connection issue? there's a lot of videos talk about that problem I myself having this problem right now and it's not working for me I'm going to return this device after 5 hours trying to connect it to Wi-Fi I did everything from restarting it shutting it off rebooted restart my Wi-Fi and you name it by the it's the third generation it was nothing but waste of money and waste of my time
I didn't mention it because I've never had an issue with it connecting to Wi-Fi. I do talk about it in my follow-up video since I've gotten so many comments about it: ua-cam.com/video/hJeuVMEMymw/v-deo.html
Hasn’t saved by me a penny on water bill. One time the system came on with a 75 percent chance of rain. Also impossible to set up with an iPhone, must be android, which nobody tells you upfront, and terrible customer support and tech
I set up and use mine with iPhone and haven't had any issues. You can actually see that it's an iPhone in the video where I show the app. Also, I did a one-year follow-up if you're interested. It helped us figure out we had a leak in our sprinkler system and we got that taken care of. ua-cam.com/video/hJeuVMEMymw/v-deo.html
Was told by rachio tech support that iPhone 9 or above you are unable to connect on initial start up
Thank you for sharing that information.
@@TopHomeowner I had mine installed today and set it up on my iPhone 13. No problems.
Installation? Everything was already installed, you just swapped the old unit.
as an irrigation tech, we hate these clocks. get a b hyve model that has good manual controls on the panel
This video was useless, I wanted to know how to create a schedule
OK, so what happened to the "honest" part? Why do instruction videos lately look a lot like advertisements?
I’m not sure why you think it’s not honest. We purchased it ourselves and are still happy with it. There are other units and brands available too that I’m sure work well so I hope you find the one that works best for you.
@@TopHomeowner Well, you hit all the talking points of Rachio, but where is the review of what if your place for a controller is far away that it doesn't receive a good wifi signal, what if the wifi goes down, what information does it send back to the company or whoever is collecting data, or addressing the other issues you can find in the oline reviews? Maybe I should rephrase it and instead of saying it wasn't honest, which of course would be incorrect to say, I should've said it wasn't thorough.
I appreciate the feedback. My main focus was on the installation, because at the time that was one of my main concerns... How hard is this to install and setup? I understand where you're coming from. I'm thinking about doing a follow-up video that's a more comprehensive review since this one is over a year old now.
This is NOT for the homeowner. In my opinion unless you have hours and hours and hours to spend figuring how to program this unbelievably technical waterer rather than just water the damn plants then this unit is NOT for you. Grab the trusty rainbird and get on with your life!!!
I appreciate your comment. To me this was (and still is) way easier to setup and use than my old Rainbird. These Rachio's tend to get a strong reaction on way or another, so I think it really comes down to preference and what you're comfortable with.
Not trying to be rude here, but to save others some time. This video is pretty useless for review. I'd say, just watch it if you want some info on installation. There is about 30 seconds at the end, before some "bloopers" where he gives a "review". All he says that he really likes it, and that you can control it with a smart phone, and oh yeah, use my link so I get affiliate commission.
Hi Sean, thanks for the comments. You are right that this is mainly an installation video, which I referenced in the title as "Step-by-step installation". I'm thinking about making a follow-up video that's a full review since I've owned it over a year now. What content would you like to see in it?
@@TopHomeowner Please do a video on how to use the app. I just had mine installed today, and I can't find anything on how to maneuver in the app itself. Thank you for the great installation video.
Don’t buy this! The design is completely backwards. If you want to delay watering you hit a button that says “Fill”. If you want to water sooner you hit the other button labeled “Empty”. WTF? From the online help - they don’t offer a user manual so if you’re new to controllers you are lost because you don’t even know what functionality controllers have so you don’t even know what to search for - here’s their explanation for how the system knows when to water next. If the “graph reads 50%, then your lawn's "gas tank" is really 3/4 full and will be refilled when it's 1/2 full. If your Moisture Level graph reads 0%, then your lawn's "gas tank" is really 1/2 full and ready for a refill. Think of it as a percentage of a percentage.” Yeah, that’s intuitive. I don’t know what brainiac designed this thing but you need a math degree to set the controls. As for how it controls watering? Some zones get water when they’re at 31% (which is really 66% using their fun math) while others don’t water until they’re at 2% which is, of course, 51%. Clear, right? Of course you can override that and water right away by hitting Fill. I mean Empty. smh
bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla
I have a total of 7 valves, but in my Orbit controller, there's only 5 I see inserted. The orange and black wires are just hanging loose, and not even cut back. Did the last person install it wrong, or is this okay?
Or does it mean, two of my valves haven't been on timers for years?
(And do 'valves' equal 'zones'?) 🫣
About to order the Rachio 3, your review really helped ease my anxiety about installation!