Rainbird Irrigation Controllers

[stever]

Hello,

Is there anybody out there who knows anythingn about RainBird LMM-DTC IQ irrigation controllers? The controller our landscape put in is the ESP-LX controller that can be upgraded to a computer controller. Being the tech-loving-guy I am, just wondered how much this expansion module costs and how it works... It would be nice to reprogram the timers or shut them off if it rains without going out to the middle of the back yard....

http://www.rainbird.com/landscape/produ ... LXMDTC.htm
(I have the controller shown on this link, but not the "DTC Upgrade")


Thanks,
Steve

 

[GoodAndYou]

Stever,

I am not familiar with the RainBird controller you have...I have a Hunter unit that my landscaper installed. It has a wireless rain sensor which will prevent the system from irrigating if it has rained. Not quite as tech savvy as that module but it still prevents you from running out in the rain to shut the system down. This is also useful if you are out of town (or even out of the house) when it rains as it requires no intervention by you.

One other item they installed with mine is a remote control. At first I thought "why the heck do I need a remote control for my sprinkler system?", but I gotta tell you it is great for when you need to adjust sprinkler heads. I can be out in the yard and start a zone with the remote control, make my adjustments to spray pattern, etc., shut down that zone, then move on to the next. It is much better that running back to the garage where the controller is to start a zone, run out to the yard to adjust, run back to the garage to shut down and start the next zone...yadda yadda. It is also handy here in Colorado where we have to winterize our irrigation systems. You can hook up the air compressor to blow out the lines and be able to shut down and start up different zones without the same running back and forth.

Just thought I would throw out a couple of features that I have found handy with my system. I am not sure if RainBird offeres similar features or not. Hope this helps.

 

[stever]

Goodandyou,

Thank you -- sounds like useful features. I'll have to check if the Rainbird has these. Hunter is a really great brand -- I would not be surprised if they were the first w/ the remote.

I figure worst case I could set up a wired 'rain sensor' that is just a togle switch inside the house. I believe these sensors are just 'open' or 'closed' and I can fake out the controller to think it's raining in order to turn it off until I flip the switch again.

Steve

 

[HarryH3]

Hardwired rain sensors are pretty cheap. Typically under $25. They become part of the common side of the valve circuit and go open when water is detected so that power can't reach the valves. Once the water evaporates, the circuit closes again for normal operation.

Lots of info at http://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/

There are lots of options when it comes to sprinkler controls. Irritrol even has a controller that can be controlled via a wireless remote and the remote can be hooked to a PC to let you program the controller remotely, manually control zones, etc. They have a demo video at http://www.irritrol.com/pccontrol/