Watering the garden every morning not so simple anymore?

[Don2222]

Hello
The Orbit B-Hyve faucet timer purchased at Lowes is scheduled to water the garden every morning at 6:45 AM for 15 mins.
It has automatic rain delays based upon weather information in the app.
Based on the following scenario, why does it look right now that there is no rain delay being performed for the scheduled time??
The B-Hyve app said it watered the garden this morning at 6:45 AM for 15 mins and is now on an automatic rain delay but it will water tomorrow morning at 6:45 AM
There is a rain delay right now but it says it will water tomorrow at 6:45 AM
News 9 weather says 17% chance of rain today and 46% chance tomorrow.
Is this right?
What is the algorithm here?
YouTube vid on how auto smart watering works.

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B-Hyve control web site
Smart Watering, Sprinkler & Drip Systems | Orbit Irrigation
Pic 1 - Ch 9 Manchester NH forecast for this area
Pic 2 - B-Hyve shows it watered the garden at 6:45 AM today
Pic 3 - App shows it is on automatic rain delay right now @ 12:38 pm today
Also shows it will start watering again at the next scheduled time of 6:45 AM tomorrow
Pic 4 - shows app weather forecast for this area
Pic 5 - shows Orbit B-Hyve unit purchased at lowes for this purpose.

 

[vinny11950]

Ay Caramba

 

[tlc1976]

Would never work here. Even the forecast for the next hour is often inaccurate. Say it’s going to rain all day and it continually breaks up at landfall and nothing happens. Or a mildly gray sky with nothing on the radar and it just dumps.

 

[vbu]

I have the same one, well, I have the 4 outlet version. I've never bothered with the rain delay. If it's gonna rain, just turn it off. There's only a certain level of lazy I'll go to lol. I used it when I sprigged grass, and needed to water an acre every hour for 5 minutes, to keep it moist with 4 sprinklers. Worked like a charm

 

[Don2222]

Hello
Well, it looks like I got my answer.
We just got a few drops of rain late in the day yesterday but we did get quite a bit of rain very early this morning.
Therefore when I checked the water timer app at about 2:30 AM the sprinkler did not go on at 6:45 AM
It is now 9:34 AM and the automatic rain delay is OFF
This is a very good system!
Note: The activation and timer is in the phone app so if you turn the phone off then it does not work!! LOL

Pic 1 - Rain delay still on at approx 2:30 AM
Pic 2 - App shows scheduled 6:45 AM not done due to rain delay
Pic 3 - 9:30 AM automatic rain delay is off scheduled watering back on for tomorrow
Pic 4-5 Garden is growing!

 

[Don2222]

Good Presentation on the B-Hyve Smart Phone App.
I like the idea of a catch cup to help calculate the optimum time for the sprinkler to be on based upon the type of soil you have.

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[Ashful]

I'm more familiar with commercial irrigation systems than this B-Hyve system, but is there an input for soil moisture meter? I wouldn't really care about the forecast as much as present soil conditions, although I'm admittedly in an area where water conservation is a non-issue.

 

[Don2222]

I'm more familiar with commercial irrigation systems than this B-Hyve system, but is there an input for soil moisture meter? I wouldn't really care about the forecast as much as present soil conditions, although I'm admittedly in an area where water conservation is a non-issue.

I do not see a soil moisture sensor on their web site. The auto weather forecasted rain delay came out in Gen 2, so maybe in Gen 3 when it comes out?

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[Stelcom66]

Wow agriculture has gotten high tech with apps and all that! Reminds me of the telecom service call I got last week. The phone line for the modem integrated with the robotic cow milking system was out of service. It was a big deal when WiFi was down in the barn. I saw a video with a farmer sitting in huge John Deere tractor not doing much as the GPS guidance system aligned the tractor with the rows that were being plowed.

Any watering is out of the question here, we're in a borderline severe/extreme drought situation, and I have well water. The automatic/smart watering system looks impressive and practical though. I had a rain barrel that collected a decent amount of water that unfortunately cracked due to a surprise early freeze, I want to get or make another one.

Makes me think of that iconic picture, I think it's a drawing, a farmer with a pitchfork and his wife. I guess today's version could be a farmer in a barn with a Smartphone using a farming app - with an access point connected with Cat6 cabling mounted up by the loft.

 

[begreen]

I'm more familiar with commercial irrigation systems than this B-Hyve system, but is there an input for soil moisture meter? I wouldn't really care about the forecast as much as present soil conditions, although I'm admittedly in an area where water conservation is a non-issue.

That's an option for our Rain-Bird system for our drip irrigation beds. I don't have it. Rain is not common during our hottest months. I just turn it off if a major rainfall is anticipated. I think I have only done that a couple of times in the 12 yrs the system has been in.

 

[Ashful]

That's an option for our Rain-Bird system for our drip irrigation beds. I don't have it. Rain is not common during our hottest months. I just turn it off if a major rainfall is anticipated. I think I have only done that a couple of times in the 12 yrs the system has been in.

Yeah, this is what I do, as well. I have an older RainBird system, and while it has an option for a rain gauge, everyone pretty much says the thing doesn't work very well. I don't typically bother changing it for a single rain event, but I will shut it off when we have wet weeks forecast spring or fall, and then leave it on pretty much continuously mid-June to mid-August.

A lot of the newer systems seem to work on a forecast, as they're all internet-connected now. But our forecasts are so constantly wrong (to the point where they're often saying no chance of rain while it is presently raining, or even more often the opposite), that it would be downright counterproductive to use that option here.

 

[Stelcom66]

We're in a severe drought situation. Most lawns are brown, what is growing is mostly weeds. Years ago I had a rain barrel, it cracked from an unexpected early freeze. Wish I had one now, I may make one and re-use the spigot. It's simple, but more effective than I thought. I was surprised how much water was collected after a couple rainfalls. We did have some much needed rain last week, but will be in the drought situation for a while.