RainMachine Pro-16, Cloud Independent, Touch, 16 Zones Wi-Fi/Ethernet Irrigation Controller, Compatible with Alexa

I recently had more zones added to my system. I went from 5 zones to 9. So I had to upgrade my beloved 8 zone RainMachine. The company I hired to add the additional zones threw in a Hunter smart Pro-HC control panel. I used it for the remainder of last season and I hated it. First of all, the physical box is huge and ugly. I walk past it to get in the house so it annoys me everything I see it. I would say it’s a bit smaller then a shoebox. I found the Hunter app to be terrible as well, there’s a lot of settings you can do, probably too much, just looked confusing and busy.Installation: to switch over to the RainMachine, it’s very simple. As long as you know which wire controls which zone valve, master valve and rain sensor, it’s basically swapping over from existing panel to new panel. Take a few photos before you begins. Once that’s done, connect the power. My power is probably 7’ away, I used the plug that came with RainMachine and spliced the wire to some existing low voltage wire that was going to my old panel.Setup: once I got the Wifi connect, I turned on the sprinker and nothing! My main water line has been on, so it wasn’t that. Then I remembered in the app, system settings, I have to have “master valve” turn on. This fixed it, the sprinklers popped up once I pressed the zone. I love that I can take photos of my yard to identify which zone I’m turning on.Overall, a great sprinkler control panel! If it wasn’t so good, I wouldn’t have upgraded to the same brand!

Bought this after looking at reading reviews on everything out there. We use this at our second home. It has a 2 acre yard with varying degrees of full exposure to heavily shaded. We live in the southeast, so summers can torch the grass. But also, severe late afternoon storms can knock trees down if the ground is too wet. I wanted to be able to turn the system, be it, zones or pre-set programs on or off from a remote location. I also wanted be able to review forecast on the same screen so I could select the program. I know people are just saying let the system do it. Sounds great, but I lived here long enough to know that even though the forecast calls for rain, it doesn’t mean it happens. Yes i have a rain gauge as well. Still, I like the controllability of this system.Was very easy to install. Just took a picture of existing wiring inside my Hunter Controller. Took about 30 minutes. I do have a master pump and the connections are clear on the Pro-16. However, the instruction manual says “connect the pump”. In actuality you connect the pump relay. You still have to go into the software to tell the system you have a master pump. Just because it has the connections, and you hook up the relay, does not mean it will work. It won’t. Turn it on in the software. This was a 5 minute detour to starting it up. The only small gripe I have is that if you do have a pump relay the wires are going to be heavier gauge than will fit in those connectors. Trimming the wire down it worked fine. Just saying.The app works great. Network set-was easy. Be prepared to go through it 2x. Maybe I messed up, but the first time after connecting to the network, it updated automatically. I had to go back and reset my location as I was in the middle of it when it rebooted after updating the software. So probably I got out ahead of my skis on that. After the reboot, everything worked.There is a lot this thing will do that I will never use. The dashboard is very easy to use and understand. Setting up the weather service is straight forward as well, except with Wunderground. They have changed some things. So I used a couple others. Works well.The ability to customize programs is fantastic. Ignore spelling errors. Just wanted to get something out there for others looking at these types of systems.

So, I thought this was a great addition to my system. I have had it for about 13 months and now I receive an email telling me that if I want to control it while away from my home I have to pay a yearly fee. If you read the original description you were always able to use it from anywhere., not anymore. You can't even use on a LAN. Now I see they stopped selling them. Not only do I regret the purchase now, I am in the process of looking for something else. I think it is a shady practice. Whoever is running Rainmachine sucks. They will not get another dime out of me.

[EDIT: I've used this for a week now, and it continues to impress--especially through its advanced adjustments. I've added some comments to that effect.]If you read through the reviews of smart sprinkler controllers, you will see that most of the complaints come from dropped connections. If you have Ethernet running to your garage (or wherever you decide to install this), save yourself the headaches and hard-wire this to your network. You will have a rock-solid connection all the time, and it will deliver on the functionality it promises. (Those of you researching based on wifi connectivity will have to read other reviews to evaluate the relative strength of the antennas in these devices.)Once installed, you have all the flexibility you've read about: watering schedules that automatically adjust according to the weather, the ability to control the device from your smart phone or Alexa device, etc.[EDIT: I've been fine-tuning this sprinkler for a week now, making adjustments for soil type, sprinkler head type, shade, and slope. It has adjusted the times for watering in ways that make sense to me. And I have been able to watch it make adjustments to the weather forecast as well. While this is still the one I would buy because of the ethernet connection, it is now also the one I would buy for its functionality as well.]I've been very pleased with all those things. But the thing that pleases me most is that I am hard-wired in.There is also an 8-zone "Pro" that also has Ethernet. You will have to decide how many zones you need--both today and in the future as you expand your system.July 18 follow up: about a week ago, I noticed the device was no longer logging usage history, though it continued to water on schedule. I restarted it, and it began recording watering history again, but a few days of history are forever missing.