Is Rain8 UPB Pro best irragation controller for Omni Pro 2?

I am considering replacing my old Rain Bird timer with a Rain8 UPB Pro.  Would you recommend the Rain8.  I have an extensive UPB lighting system under guidance from my Omni Pro 2.

Take a look at this - http://cocoontech.com/forums/topic/18678-rain8net-integration-with-omnipro-ii/

I have an omnipro ii with an extensive UPB network too.   I currently have a basic irrigation timer and will be upgrading over the next 6 months.  However, I am leaning toward an irrigation timer that uses evapotranspiration--ET.   (which is a $20 word that means it adjusts the water to the local weather conditions)  
 
There are a bunch of them on the market to choose from.   Some get the weather from the internet, and others use weather sensors.
 
I am a little snake bit about lightning protection.   I had a strike hit my irrigation system, taking out the controller and everything on the circuit the controller was plugged into.   No way I would direct wire my irrigation system into my omni.  The Rain8 seems to have good lightning protection, but it still needs a smart controller with ET. 

Here removed my Rainbird ESP controller and went to LInux Software mcsSprinklers running on a micro pc inside of the rainbird box.
 
It uses E.T. and I water here by the percentage of moisture in the grass.

chasers03 said:

I am considering replacing my old Rain Bird timer with a Rain8 UPB Pro.  Would you recommend the Rain8.  I have an extensive UPB lighting system under guidance from my Omni Pro 2.

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I know all the cool kids want to integrate everything under their preferred home automation controller, but I've had good success with the Irrigation Caddy S1.  It's pretty cheap, has a web interface and it works.  Expect absolutely zero support from the manufacturer -- the company is pretty much a garage operation and last time I tried to contact them they wouldn't even return an e-mail.  But the device works well, it is simple to repair if it breaks and it doesn't depend on any other device, cloud or otherwise.

jrgrant said:

I know all the cool kids want to integrate everything under their preferred home automation controller, but I've had good success with the Irrigation Caddy S1.  It's pretty cheap, has a web interface and it works.  Expect absolutely zero support from the manufacturer -- the company is pretty much a garage operation and last time I tried to contact them they wouldn't even return an e-mail.  But the device works well, it is simple to repair if it breaks and it doesn't depend on any other device, cloud or otherwise.

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You are missing out on some great features if you don't integrate your sprinkler controls with your automation system.  I had mine integrated and did the following:
 

• Did not water the front grass in high winds (cover cars in driveway with water)
• Did not water if temps were below freezing
• Did not water during heavy rain periods
• Could turn on zones at will, such as when a neighbor walks his dog on my lawn (this was kind of fun actually)
• Could turn on and off zones with remote or phone (great feature when troubleshooting or fixing the system).

So Brave Sir Robbin what sprinkler controller did you do this with

Before I tell you let me make this statement:  You don't want to do this this way (older methodology, better hardware out there now)!
 
I used an older Relay 8 unit from WGL designs that received specific X-10 commands from my HomeSeer computer (long story of why but it had to do with Beta testing some hardware WGL was putting out at that time).
 
I think I did a write up on this that should be in the How-To section.

BraveSirRobbin said:

You are missing out on some great features if you don't integrate your sprinkler controls with your automation system.  I had mine integrated and did the following:
 

• Did not water the front grass in high winds (cover cars in driveway with water)
• Did not water if temps were below freezing
• Did not water during heavy rain periods
• Could turn on zones at will, such as when a neighbor walks his dog on my lawn (this was kind of fun actually)
• Could turn on and off zones with remote or phone (great feature when troubleshooting or fixing the system).

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And you can do all of the above with the web interface on the IrrigationCaddy S1 for the most part.  You would need to use the rain sensor input on the IC to apply the environmental conditions from an automation system.  Then again, I can look out the window to close the loop when I need to do so

jrgrant said:

And you can do all of the above with the web interface on the IrrigationCaddy S1 for the most part.  You would need to use the rain sensor input on the IC to apply the environmental conditions from an automation system.  Then again, I can look out the window to close the loop when I need to do so

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Are you associated with IrrigationCaddy?

FYI JRGrant........ http://www.stevejenkins.com/blog/2015/07/wifi-sprinker-controller-review-rachio-vs-rainmachine-vs-irrigation-caddy/

But can IrrigationCaddy automatically turn on a zone when motion is detected?
 
I'm tired of the "there's an app for that approach" and having to launch individual apps for each and every thing that I want to control. I have a single app that I can use to view the security status of my Elk panel, view temps and adjust thermostats, control lights, view IP cameras, unlock doors, etc. If I got a WGL controller (since I don't have one today) I could add that to the list as well, along with a myriad of other things.

Buy a Rainmachine.  I really like the device. Its got a great app for the iphone and it works well.  I had the UPB system with Rain8's but it had no reali interface and was a PITA.  The Rainmachine is nice right out of the box and i highly recommend it!

thanks Heffneil, it looks good on the internet.  However there would be no integration with my automation system, correct?
 
I assume you've seen this review on Amazon? "
"this would be perfect if the app and web browser worked correctly, the app especially on my iphone running iOS 10 is terrible, it freezes all the time and major lagging problems. the update seemed to make a bad app even worse. all my firmware and software is up to date. the web browser has issues with displaying correctly the bars, it doesn't align with the weather and dates etc..."

Yeah it doesn't integrate but I am confident you won't want or need it.  This is totally independent.  It doesn't need batteries because of the power dies it reconnects to the network via wifi and gets the time so thats less maintenance already.  You would have an iphone app that you can use when in the yard or to put your irrigation on sleep mode.  Otherwise you let the system run and it gets data from certain weather stations to determine your rainfall.  I really like this device and I have looked at a lot.  What is nice vs the rachio is that it has a screen on it and you can do stuff right on the unit.  I gave the login and password to my irrigation guy for him to test as well.  He doesn't even need to be on my wifi for it work.  All very convenient and there is something for a standalone system outside of your HA.  I know people have made arguments for it but I really can't think of a practical reason you would want to integrate with the HA system.  If you can think of one let me know so I can consider it at least for myself.  Meanwhile I have saved like 94% water usage on my two houses with the rainmachine and I couldn't be more delighted.  My lawn guys would typically bypass the rain sensor and we would have a marsh in our yard
 
In response to that review I just recently updated to IOS10 and I am confident if there is an issue the rainmachine folks will correct it centered around the ios update.  I used the app on my phone a lot to test zones before giving the irrigation guys the login and password and it was quick enough to turn on and off zones one by one.  I mean Its not instantaneous and whenever there is a broken pipe its slower but I was using it on my wifi network and over LTE in the further parts of my yard and I really thought it worked well...
 
 
Thanks and good luck!
 
Neil