Rain Bird9 Valve Sprinkler Timer

Originally purchased the 4 zone version to replace one of two systems that went out (front and back yards were done at different times). It worked so well, it got me thinking to replace the 4 zone with the 9 zone to cover the 7 zones needed. Compared to two clunky older systems this unit replaced, it is a dream. Granted, 10 years plus have gone by, this should be revolutionary. The standards are still the same but the User Interface significantly improved. Gone are the days of backup batteries and cryptic and sometimes inflexible settings. The rain sensor add on might make it even more interesting then again, how often would that even kick in in Sunny Southern California? The controller seems to also make the old sprinkler valves open up better as the water pressure appear to be greater now and spray pattern enlarged as result of replacing the older controller. Over all, very pleased. It is a great way to revitalize an aged sprinkler system. Now I have to seriously consider replacing some of the sprinkler heads as well as some of the valves. And since the hard work of the original install has already been done. This is an easy plug and play upgrade and changing programming so simple that the rest of the family can do it without much consternation. The complaint about multiple watering time has some minor merit although the rationale for watering multiple times evenly spaced out is well worth the reduced complexity it would otherwise add to elegant and simple to understand user interface. Highly recommend it for all but the most persnickety water schedules.

I have used several different models of timer/controller from Rain Bird and Orbit and this is by far the best. Many of the features have been covered in these reviews, so I am going to cover only the things that I didn't see in the other reviews.Multiple Common Wire ConnectionsThis unit can accommodate two common wires (see photo) so you can consolidate two separate systems into one (for example, one system for the back yard and one for the front).Water One and Water AllThere seems to be some confusion about this as a number of older reviews state that you cannot water a single station easily or water all stations. This feature has been added to the unit (see photograph). For water all, you just hit the Water All Now button. For watering a single station manually, you dial the station and then hit the Water One Zone Now button.Display next watering timeWhen the unit is set to Auto, it will not only display the current time, but it displays the date and time of the next zone to be watered (see photo) - a nice touch.Watering a zone multiple times per dayIt is true that you cannot directly control the additional watering times when you set a zone to water more than once a day. If you need this function, you will need to look elsewhere. For areas where it is not important to you exactly what time the second, third, or fourth watering per day is, the interface is pretty clear on when the zone will be watered (see photo).Overall InterfaceThe overall interface is very clear and easy to use. When programming a zone, you dial the zone you want, press the days that you want to water and set the time you want the zone to be watered. It all shows up very clearly, so there is no guessing if you set it correctly (see photo)

I just installed my lawn sprikler controller. This was a replacement for a unit that had been in service for 20+ years.The install went fairly well. However, it was pouring down rain while I was performing the install. I could not get the "water now" function to work to see if I had installed the system correctly. I called Rainbird for assistance. To make a very long story short, the "rain sensor" will not allow the manual "water now" function to work if it is raining. You also need to have the yellow jumper wire installed if you want to bypass the "rain sensor". You can see why it took the technician and me a long time to figure out this unique combination of events. If you are installing the controller and it is not raining or hasn't rained recently, you shouldn't have this problem.The system seems to work flawlessly and regardless of my problems, the install was easy despite the fact that this was a replacement for a 20+ year old system.My only complaint was that it took me all day to get through to Rainbird. This was the Tuesday after Labor Day and I guess their call volumes are very heavy the day after a holiday, but it was quite frustating, nevertheless. Had it not been raining when I was doing my install, I probably wouldn't even have had to call them.This is an edit of my previous review:I'm disappointed that this controller does not have a manual function. That is, I don't necessarily want to water on a schedule, but when my yard needs it. This controller does not have a manual function. You have to run each zone by itself and start each zone one at a time after they complete. The default of 10 minutes per zone cannot be changed in the manual mode. This is disappointing. Their product promotion tells you what it will do, but not what it will not do.

Ce contrôleur remplace un autre qui était défectueux. Installé et fonctionnel en moins de 45 minutes.

This matches my other irrigation controllers and makes setting up my irrigation in the spring quite easy now that all my controllers are of the same model.

Dial for selection function failed so that you cannot select any particular function. The last controller I had was non -name brand and lasted 25 years.