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how hard is it to upgrade my rainbird? UPDATE - Rachio installed! its the tits
Posted on 3/31/25 at 9:21 pm
Posted on 3/31/25 at 9:21 pm
right now i have to remember to go outside & manually turn it off for the day if the weather indicates rain, i know this is an older system and it works fine..but it would nice to have more control over it from my phone.
anyone ever done this? i have 8 zones so a few things to reprogram.
UPDATE ---------------------------
so i finally got around to installing it..aside from a nasty surprise because whoever installed the rainbird, relay and pump controller was THE WORST HUMAN ON THE PLANET....so because of the shitty way they handled the cut-outs, the relay was a LIVING HELL with about 10 wasp nests compacted inside.
surprise, i took the cover off to fix the fact they had the power and the valve lines coming out the same hole and got stung about 10x.
(pic doesn't do it justice, most of the nests fell out when i removed the cover.)
anyway, LOVE the rachio so far. PITA to setup using an android phone..i highly recommend you baws get an iphone or something if you don't want pairing issues.
ancient rainbird
WTF this electrician should be shot.
RUN CAD RUN!!! (too late)
rachio installed despite being swarmed. not the wasps' fault. they were provided a perfect habit to build nests for the last 20 years.
rachio in and happy
anyone ever done this? i have 8 zones so a few things to reprogram.
UPDATE ---------------------------
so i finally got around to installing it..aside from a nasty surprise because whoever installed the rainbird, relay and pump controller was THE WORST HUMAN ON THE PLANET....so because of the shitty way they handled the cut-outs, the relay was a LIVING HELL with about 10 wasp nests compacted inside.
surprise, i took the cover off to fix the fact they had the power and the valve lines coming out the same hole and got stung about 10x.
(pic doesn't do it justice, most of the nests fell out when i removed the cover.)
anyway, LOVE the rachio so far. PITA to setup using an android phone..i highly recommend you baws get an iphone or something if you don't want pairing issues.
ancient rainbird
WTF this electrician should be shot.
RUN CAD RUN!!! (too late)
rachio installed despite being swarmed. not the wasps' fault. they were provided a perfect habit to build nests for the last 20 years.
rachio in and happy
This post was edited on 4/18/25 at 4:33 pm
8
Posted on 3/31/25 at 9:31 pm to CAD703X
Which model is that? May just need the module to connect to WiFi.
But, to answer your question, probably only a couple hundred.
But, to answer your question, probably only a couple hundred.
This post was edited on 3/31/25 at 9:45 pm
Posted on 3/31/25 at 9:55 pm to CAD703X
Amazon Rain Bird 8 Zone
Rain Bird rain sensor so you don’t have to manually operate
Rain Bird rain sensor so you don’t have to manually operate
This post was edited on 3/31/25 at 9:56 pm
Posted on 4/1/25 at 4:43 am to bbvdd
2nd Rachio
Had for about five years and recommend it to everyone
My wife could have followed the directions to switch it out, super easy
Had for about five years and recommend it to everyone
My wife could have followed the directions to switch it out, super easy
Posted on 4/1/25 at 6:45 am to CAD703X
Posted on 4/1/25 at 7:00 am to Penn
Well 2 problems with rachio.
1. Every video looks like it's indoors. My rainbird is outside so I would need to also look for some kind of outdoor case.
2. It uses a standard plug. My rainbird is hard-wired and there's no outdoor outlet anywhere on that side of the house.
1. Every video looks like it's indoors. My rainbird is outside so I would need to also look for some kind of outdoor case.
2. It uses a standard plug. My rainbird is hard-wired and there's no outdoor outlet anywhere on that side of the house.
This post was edited on 4/1/25 at 7:30 am
Posted on 4/1/25 at 8:07 am to CAD703X
quote:
2. It uses a standard plug. My rainbird is hard-wired and there's no outdoor outlet anywhere on that side of the house
You can cut the power brick off and hardwire it. Make sure there is a drip loop so the water doesn't run straight to the power source.
For the outdoor part, couldn't you drill through your siding/brick and bring the wires inside, too? The only reason I'd suggest that over just a waterproof case (you literally have zero need to touch it once the app is running) is that you need to make sure it can get a 2.4Ghz Wifi signal (they may have updated it to take 5Ghz since I bought my last one.)
FWIW, I have a Wyze smart controller in my rental that does the same thing, albeit with a $10 a year weather subscription
. Subject to the same restrictions as the Rachio about mounting, but far cheaper for the unit.
Posted on 4/1/25 at 9:16 am to CAD703X
My Rachio is outside in the weatherproof box they sell. Works just fine. You can easily add a surface mounted exterior outlet or hardwire it. Either can be done with the existing circuit.
Posted on 4/1/25 at 9:18 am to LemmyLives
its on a wall on the other side of my office which has built-in bookshelves. the bottom shelves have doors on them..so let me think about that for a minute. its also low on the wall (house is on a hill) so its probably directly behind those bottom doors so if i mounted it inside it would be completely hidden behind those doors.
am i overthinking it; literally just have to connect the zone wires up properly and i'm done?
this is actually something i've been wanting to do anyway; i start the irrigation at 3am because the SIXTH AND SEVENTH zones are both down at the road and since this water comes out of the pond, if it doesn't get to them until 630am or so, my 2 neighbors get scum water on their cars when they are leaving.
current system wont let me start with those first, so making those the first sprinkler zones to run would be a nice side benefit.
tl;dr just need power and the wires for the current zones connected? is it that simple? there is a dedicated breaker outside that i flip off when its being winterized.
i'll get a photo of the current setup on the wall; its not pretty; i would have never left the wire mess the way these guys did but this was put in before we bought the house.
am i overthinking it; literally just have to connect the zone wires up properly and i'm done?
this is actually something i've been wanting to do anyway; i start the irrigation at 3am because the SIXTH AND SEVENTH zones are both down at the road and since this water comes out of the pond, if it doesn't get to them until 630am or so, my 2 neighbors get scum water on their cars when they are leaving.
current system wont let me start with those first, so making those the first sprinkler zones to run would be a nice side benefit.
tl;dr just need power and the wires for the current zones connected? is it that simple? there is a dedicated breaker outside that i flip off when its being winterized.
i'll get a photo of the current setup on the wall; its not pretty; i would have never left the wire mess the way these guys did but this was put in before we bought the house.
This post was edited on 4/1/25 at 9:20 am
Posted on 4/1/25 at 9:20 am to CAD703X
also, is the general consensus that rachio is better than rainbird?
the other downside is i pay someone to winterize and open it so i would need to be home to let them in to test the system out when they come out but no big deal there. its only twice a year.
the other downside is i pay someone to winterize and open it so i would need to be home to let them in to test the system out when they come out but no big deal there. its only twice a year.
Posted on 4/1/25 at 9:22 am to CAD703X
Rachio sells an outdoor enclosure for $30. The enclosure has an integrated power outlet. You hard wire that outlet. Then plug the Rachio power supply into it.
Posted on 4/1/25 at 9:46 am to TAMU-93
quote:
The enclosure has an integrated power outlet. You hard wire that outlet. Then plug the Rachio power supply into it.
perfect! this is why i come to this place.
still on fence on indoor v outdoor
Posted on 4/1/25 at 10:00 am to CAD703X
ok last question (i promise!) will that pump relay or 'start box' cause any issues? do all rainbird systems have those?
can i ignore those when putting in the rachio as long as i connect the wires up in the rachio controller correctly?
do i just rewire the box (looks like i have 8 zones) matching up the wires as i go? there are a few i'm not 100% sure about because there are ALOT more than just 8 zone wires and some that appear to be 'for the future'.
here's all the pics including me pointing at where the box sits relative to the 'outside' of the wall compared to inside.
ETA look at the wiring conduit between those boxes. HOLY SHITTY JOB, batman. i'll be cleaning all of that up.
can i ignore those when putting in the rachio as long as i connect the wires up in the rachio controller correctly?
do i just rewire the box (looks like i have 8 zones) matching up the wires as i go? there are a few i'm not 100% sure about because there are ALOT more than just 8 zone wires and some that appear to be 'for the future'.
here's all the pics including me pointing at where the box sits relative to the 'outside' of the wall compared to inside.
ETA look at the wiring conduit between those boxes. HOLY SHITTY JOB, batman. i'll be cleaning all of that up.
This post was edited on 4/1/25 at 10:14 am
Posted on 4/1/25 at 10:10 am to CAD703X
You can add a RainBird rain sensor to that controller. If you would like, you can upgrade to a newer RainBird controller and add a WiFi module. They are available at Keeling and Ewing in La
RainBird rain sensor
RainBird rain sensor
Posted on 4/1/25 at 11:01 am to Daponch
Rachio is the way to go. Bought mine couple years ago when my rainbird sensor wouldn't ever work. The Rachio app is pretty cool because you can just start/stop yourself whenever you want from anywhere. Very easy to setup.
Posted on 4/1/25 at 11:16 am to CAD703X
As others have said, you can get a rain sensor, but in my experience, they crap out pretty easily. We went through several of them, but they all quit working and we got sick of replacing them, so now our stuff just gets some extra water on rainy days.
Posted on 4/1/25 at 11:19 am to CAD703X
For wiring it up, you will have a common wire which I can't tell on your machine if that is yellow or white.
the common goes to every valve. The numbered wires are your zones. They go to corresponding zone.
If I remember correctly the app walks you through the entire process.
the common goes to every valve. The numbered wires are your zones. They go to corresponding zone.
If I remember correctly the app walks you through the entire process.
This post was edited on 4/1/25 at 11:22 am
Posted on 4/1/25 at 11:27 am to bbvdd
quote:i think i see it..its white and in the first bank in that photo to the left, it says COM above it.
For wiring it up, you will have a common wire which I can't tell on your machine if that is yellow or white.
looks like the whole thing comes out and i will just wire up the ground, black & white wires (blue capped in the pic) to the new outdoor box that you can buy w/ the rachio.
then push the white into a common connector & then do the zone wires.
This post was edited on 4/1/25 at 11:29 am
Posted on 4/1/25 at 12:01 pm to CAD703X
You can add the dongle for bluetooth on it. I think that model has a line for the rain sensor. I just swapped mine out about 2 weeks ago and it took me 5 minutes. My old one's knob kept going from OFF to slightly on.......on it's own 
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