Do you need a Rain8?

[email68]

Do you have to use a Rain8 controller with this plugin?

I have used a X10 eight relay box to control my valves. In addition I used a second X10 appliance module to turn the power on to prevent false watering.

Can I assign the valves in the mcsSprinklers to my X10 devices for valve control?

[Pete]

No.

Yes.

[email68]

Does it use any hardware to measure the soils moisture or does it only do that in the software?

[Pete]

You can utilize hardware and or software to generate the moisture content of the soil.

It utilizes a formula based on weather data to create an ET number.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evapotranspiration

I utilize a % of moisture calculated partially by the ET.

For example last season my watering was mostly based on percentage of moisture in the grass and town's watering permission schedule. (times and days of the week).

I get my data from hardware and weather sites. IE: I use a rain tipping bucket for rain perception (stop watering), temperature and humidity, barometric pressure etc.

You can also utilize hardware; gypsum sensor. Here's a picture of my old and now current setup.

[email68]

Looks good Pete. Thanks for the info and pics.

I'm curious since you have HSPro and the Rain8, why would you choose to buy the mcs plugin, when the rain8 is included?

[Michael McSharry]

The HST Rain8 plugin allows you to control the hardware, but it does not contain any scheduling logic such as that based upon ET or moisture probes. mcsSprinklers provides a irrigation paradymn while the HST plugin provides a generic on/off control of individual discretes.

If you want very basic timed control then there are scripts that could be used along with the HST plugin.

[Pete]

Actually its been a few years now that I have been running mcsSprinklers; not totally sure; though 6-7 years?

Planned on using it from the get go though when installing the sprinkler system. I think I removed the Rainbird system after a week or two of using it. Need the additional logic here cuz the water was high and today its probably double what it was just two years ago.

I've kept the Rainbird system in FL; except its kind of problematic there with lightning, sand etc. Always fixing or replacing heads and valves and fuses. 10 years of that. Need to put some lighting protection; just never got around to it.

[email68]

So does this plugin really save you money or do you have immaculate lawns that require it.

I have slightly better than a weed patch. Right now I'm just keeping the lawn from being watered when it rains by stopping my rain bird timer with a relay from homeseer across the moisture detecter terminals on the timer. HS reads when its raining from the Ultraweather plugin.

Since I have the x10 relay board, maybe I could switch to using mcsSprinklers if it saves money and my lawn! lol.

[email68]

Never mind. I just noticed the price of the plugin that uses the ET calculations. I don't think I need it that bad ;-)

I didn't know there where three versions of the plugin when I started asking about it.

[Michael McSharry]

The savings potential is based upon variabilty in the weather conditions. Desert is the same every day so a timer will work well and a moisture pad on the 24VAC will deal with the occassional storms.

For average climates the savings is typically 25%. It is a combination of week to week variation in sunlight/temperature, characterization of shade/soil variability within a site and savings associated with deferring until forecast rainfall occurs. The more Northern climates tend to have more variabilty, but shorter irrigation seasons. If you look at the literature there is high demand for ET based irrigation for CA.

You can do ET-based irrigation without mcsSprinklers. It is just a tradeoff between how much development you want to do to get there. For example, if using internet-based weather data, you will not be able to use the dominant ET algorithms because the sensor data needed to feed them is not available. You will need to do your own empirical algorithm development based upon what sensor information you do have.

[email68]

Thanks for the explanation Michael.

[Pete]

I have before and after lawn pictures somewhere; will have to find them.

The lawn was in very bad shape before I started to take care of it with the sprinkler program / sprinkler system.

For sure mcsSprinklers has saved me money being on just the logic calculated schedule.

We are in the middle of a golf course with water and greens surrounding the small subdivision. I wish I had access to one of the surrounding ponds.

Personally I have to keep up with the greens keepers; we are not allowed any fences here; so the lawns blend in somewhat.

The golfers mostly are using good etiquette and never drive up on people's lawns. There are a "few" houses though that do get hit by balls (broken windows). One neighbor built this see through fence screening...goes up to his roof because of numerous broken windows.

[email68]

Sounds like a nice place to live Pete.

I'd love to see your lawn pics. Perhaps it will change my priorities! lol

[reidfo]

Pete, just curious what part of Florida your house is in. I'm in Apopka (just northwest of Orlando) and on a golf course too. Middle of the fairway, so I get a lot of balls hitting the house. Fortunately just one broken window so far in 5 years, and it wasn't the 12 foot picture window thank goodness!

EDIT: I'm a happy mcsSprinklers customer and use Rain8 too. Not trying to hijack the thread, just interested in it.

[Pete]

Lots of rules (I used to be on the HOA board). We are in a court "protected" from the golf course by the surrounding houses. I have though found golf balls in the yard (very long drives I am guessing).

Did a quickie drawing with pics. First picture on top. Lawn was in really bad shape and the back yard would literally flood every time it rained due to the drainage. Little top soil so been adding more every year. The lawn is much thicker now too as I have seeded it every year. I can remote control each of the mcsSprinklers zones outside via an old Palm Pad. I have 8 zones and 5 heads on each zone. The manifold with the valves are on one side of the house, traverse the length, go into the basement to the other side of the basement and out to the garage. I put water meter which is looked at by the mcsSprinklers program. You can also water by the gallon.