Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Just too unpredictable when a zone is going to run

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 2
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 template Next
    #1

    Just too unpredictable when a zone is going to run

    Mike, I know you're getting tired of me but I just can't seem to figure out when a zone is going to run. It seems very random and unpredictable. Here is my latest problem.

    There are two areas running right now and neither of them should be.

    Area 3 has one zone. It is set to run every day at 23:00 (11:00 PM). It is running now. I can't see any reason why it would have started.

    Area 4 also has one zone. It is set to run every day at 12:00 (noon) for 30 minutes. It started at 12:00 (which is good) but it should not still be running at 2:50.
    Attached Files
    Tags: None
    #2
    And area 3 just started again. It's set to run daily at 23:00 but it just started at 3:26 PM (for the second time this afternoon).

    Comment

      #3
      First thing to set is sequence control so zones are part of master sequence if you do have limited source pressure. The data of most interest to help me is the debug output which will be genererated in a text file in the /Data folder when the general debug checkbox is checked on the Other page. The mcsSprinklers.ini file will also show me the complete setup so I can replicate a scenario.

      Comment

        #4
        It started again at 22:00. I've been gone all evening so I don't know when it's run. It might have started every hour. I'll see if I can find the files you mentioned and send them to you.

        I just disabled the area until I figure out what is wrong.
        Last edited by DC; August 13, 2005, 11:09 PM.

        Comment

          #5
          Maybe this will help. Area 4 said "Next on today 1:54 PM for 30 minutes". Then a couple minutes later it said "Next on today 156 PM for 30 minutes". The next time it should run is tomorrow at noon. (Every day but Friday at noon).

          I just turned logging on. How long should I wait before I pull the log and send it to you?
          Attached Files

          Comment

            #6
            The Config\mcsSprinklers.ini gives me the entire setup so I can replicate you situation. The predictor is walking with later and later times because there is some dependency that does not actually let the cycle start. I will need to replicate to see what it may be. This is not of too big a concern since it is only information display and not actual control actions.

            What is of most interest is the debug log at the time a zone starts when you do not expect it to.

            Comment

              #7
              The most typical reasons for a predicted time to repeatedly show the next minute is that the mode is now manual or a restriction exists that is not based on time.

              Comment

                #8
                If an area is set to run once a day at 11:00 PM, why would it EVER show "Next on" at ANY time other than 11:00 PM? If I set it to run at 11:00 PM, I wouldn't want it to run any time but 11:00 PM regardless of what other logic it goes through. Manually clicking "Run Now" would be the only exception.

                Comment

                  #9
                  When in Auto mode and the time time will not be impacted by the scheduling of other zones then 11 PM is all that you should expect to see.

                  The Auto / Manual moding is a virtual device control. This device is normally controlled by the web page buttons on the Zone Status or General Status pages. When this device is set to manual mode the normal scheduling transitions from one time slot to the next will not occur and the predictor assumes that auto mode will be entered as soon as possible and base its displayed value on this. If Homeseer is restarted while the virtual device is set to manual mode then it will remain in manual mode on restart and will not return to auto mode without some manual action.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Attached are the ini file (renamed as .txt).

                    I can't upload the trace file. The first time I tried it it said the limit is 2.0 MB. The file is a little over 2 MB so I split it into two files. Now it says the limit is 390 KB. Can I email it to you?

                    OK, here is a smaller trace file. The system is running Area 3 now. Area 3 is only supposed to run at 11:00 PM but it started at 10:09 AM.

                    I just realized the first trace file I uploaded didn't include the time when the area started so I copied everything after 8:00 AM out of the other file and uploaded one called "small".
                    Attached Files
                    Last edited by DC; August 15, 2005, 10:18 AM.

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Michael,

                      I have found similar problems when entering manual mode. Manual mode works but there are problems when returning to auto mode. The start time will walk with the current time. One thing that seems to help this problem is after a manual start and it finishes, I go to the Areas Setup and select "Save Changes". I then go back to the Zones Status page and make sure that the start times are correct. This works most of the time. Sometimes however it does not in which case I erase my ini and start over again. I have 0 problems once running OK in the auto mode. If I start a manual mode, the problems begin.
                      Jim

                      Comment

                        #12
                        That could be a good hint. I do use manual mode quite a bit since I can't schedule two automatic waterings in one day with different durations. It is SO hot here now that I have to water some areas twice a day.

                        Comment

                          #13
                          I suspect the problems are related to the mode transition. Homeseer restart and moding are killers to assure all the correct state information is in order.

                          I have seen the walking time when playing with manual mode and then doing a HS restart when in manual mode.

                          The problem item from the log is

                          08/15/05 10:05:48 AM | mcsSprinklers Debug | iNextStartTime=0,1500,0,

                          which tells me that Area 1 and Area 3 have start times of 0 hours rather than the later times that show on the zone status page. The only place I can see where is may happen is if the times are restored from a manual to auto transition while no auto to manual transition occurred. I believe I have that resolved with the build I'm now posting V2.3.71.

                          To confirm my theory I would be nice if your existing debug file showed when a value of 0 first appeared for any of the iNextStartTime values. The shorter file showed the following value

                          08/15/05 10:21:59 AM | mcsSprinklers Debug | iNextStartTime=1500,1500,1380,

                          which tells me that the Area 1 and Area 2 have happened or will not happen today, but Area 3 will start at the end of the day.

                          Comment

                            #14
                            When an area is setup with multple start times within a day then you can also associate a duration factor with each time. For example,

                            Zone is setup for 30 minutes on Zone Setup page
                            Area seasonal adjustment for current month is 100%
                            Area start times are 8:00 , 13:30, and 20:00
                            Area duration factors are 1, .2, .5

                            The zone will be watered for 30 minutes as 8 AM, 6 minutes at 1:30 PM, and 15 minutes as 10 PM.

                            Comment

                              #15

                              Zone is setup for 30 minutes on Zone Setup page
                              Area seasonal adjustment for current month is 100%
                              Area start times are 8:00 , 13:30, and 20:00
                              Area duration factors are 1, .2, .5

                              The zone will be watered for 30 minutes as 8 AM, 6 minutes at 1:30 PM, and 15 minutes as 10 PM.
                              That sounds great! I will install the latest version and give it a try.

                              Thanks for the persistence in getting these problems resolved.

                              Comment

                              Previous 1 2 template Next
                              Working...
                              X