Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I just finished installing and programming this irrigation timer. All I can say is wow! This thing is awesome! I've used 4 other timers through the years in various houses. All were terrible, an absolute pain to set, with finicky buttons, dials, bad displays, etc. What sets this one apart is the programming method. You simply choose the zone you want to program and then select its start time, run time and days to water - all on one intuitive screen. You never have to turn a dial to select each component of the program individually and you see all settings in one location. You then repeat the process for each zone. Contrast this to other timers that make you think in terms of an A, B, or C program and segregate the programming functions and display of set values into their separate functions, i.e., select start time for each zone, select run time for each zone, select days to run for each zone. Once you've tried the approach used by this Rainbird timer, you'll never want to go back to the other approach.
Pros
- Beyond easy to program
- Easy to install
- Flash memory storage of programming so no battery required
- Display of all programming info related to a single zone shown on one screen
- Zone run time allows up to 240 minutes (important if you do occasional deep water using a drip system)
- Displays the next zone run date and time
- Has the usual features such as an input for a rain sensor, seasonal % adjust, master valve connection, odd/even day run settings, up to 4 run times per day on a zone
- The "water now" feature is dead simple to use
- Has a rain delay button that lets you set a specific time period to keep the water system off
- Feels sturdy and well-made
- Great price
- Also comes in a 4 and 9 zone model
Cons (I didn't view these as cons when considering my purchase because the functionality meets all my needs, but others who need more functionality may view them as such)
- You can only set the first start time that a zone waters on a given day, if you select multiple runs for that zone during the same day (up to 4), the timer uses a pre-set number of hours from your first time to determine the other run times
- It only allows for a 7 day cycle. If you want to run a zone, say every 15th day, you can not program it to do so. You can however, set the zone run time with no associated day and then just manually hit the "water now" button when the zone needs water (this is actually my preferred approach for managing certain of my drip zones containing low water use plants as I watch for stress before giving them a deep water)
- It's meant to be mounted in a weather proof location only (I mounted mine inside my garage). I assume you could mount it inside a weather proof case outside.
Summary: Absolutely the best timer if you are looking for a simple to set (and use) timer and you don't have need for the more complex programming described in the "cons" above.
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Rain Bird SST-600I Simple Set 6-Station Indoor Automatic Sprinkler System TimerZone based set up. All options shown at once in plain English. Superior surge protection. Sealed from the environment. Valve fault protection. Impact resistant transformer. Easy to use and durable. No. SST 600I: 6 station No. SST 900I: 9 station
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