Michael McSharry
Active Member
If you are going to acquire something that can provide the timer function such as the HAI for Rain8UPB or Creston for Rain8Net then you can start your automation earlier. In the UPB case you will want to use the Rain8UPB Pro because the firmware on the standard model will fail if you have other UPB traffic. If you do not yet have a clear automation path I still recommend a simple timer that any installer will be able to install and test. When you start automating your irrigation then your primary consideration should be what your automation objectives are. If you are concerned with minimizing water use then the timer provided by HAI or most other controllers will do no better than what a non-automated system will provide. You will want something that controls based upon environmental or soil conditions rather than some periodic timer. It all depends upon what you expect out of automation. For some all that is desired is remote control via internet. For some it is just an easier user interface to change the timer settings.
If you happen to be in a place such as those posting above in Florida you need to consider what you are going to do about the wire you are running underground what will make a nice easy path into your controller electronics. The PRO version of the Rain8 hardware is more immune than the standard version. I do not know if JR is still in business, but he does provide a front end for this via TManufacturing.
If you happen to be in a place such as those posting above in Florida you need to consider what you are going to do about the wire you are running underground what will make a nice easy path into your controller electronics. The PRO version of the Rain8 hardware is more immune than the standard version. I do not know if JR is still in business, but he does provide a front end for this via TManufacturing.
