The Rachio Is My Favourite Sensible Hose Timer

Sensible hose timers make a lot sense on paper—they can help you flip something hooked up to your hose spigot on and off from anyplace utilizing your telephone. And if it’s raining, the good timer will know and switch off the move for you. It may also observe how a lot water you’re utilizing, can help you arrange automated watering schedules, activate and off with a single button press—although these are guarantees even “dumb” hose timers make.

The issue with good timers is that you just usually can’t belief them—the wifi disconnects, the batteries run out, or they leak, and also you’re out of luck. After attempting quite a lot of good hose choices in the marketplace, from the Hunter BTT to the Orbit B-Hyve, I examined out the brand new Rachio earlier this summer time, and it outperformed all of them—it’s the primary timer that’s been predictable and steady. Sadly, it’s additionally missing a few of the superior options and adaptability of these underperforming fashions.

The Rachio is actually two elements: a hose timer, which attaches to your hose, and a wifi hub, which is able to dwell inside your own home. Irrespective of what number of timers you might have, you solely want one hub. You should purchase the preliminary hub/timer combo for $99, and extra timers for $79.

What I favored concerning the Rachio Sensible Hose Timer

Many hose timers are inclined to look misplaced—like a snake that ate a bicycle wheel. It is because so a lot of producers cram quite a lot of buttons and screens onto a tool that will likely be caught to a hose. Rachio takes the alternative tack with a sleeker, less complicated design that all however forces you to make use of the app for each interplay. Their timer is lengthy, rectangular, lacks a display screen, and has solely one button, which turns it on and off. It has a smaller footprint but in addition is coloured and formed to soften into the background. It’s positively fashionable.

The button responds in a tactile solution to let you realize it’s been pushed, which different timers don’t. I really like that the battery cowl is held in place by a number of small screws. Usually, this could be a ache level, because you want a small screwdriver to alter the batteries, however this has been a failure level on different fashions, just like the B-hyve. The battery chamber wants to remain dry even when it’s raining or if the hose leaks, and on different fashions, the rubber collars meant to carry the batteries in place all failed, inflicting battery points. The screws on the Rachio do the job, although I want it shipped with the screwdriver you want.

Talking of batteries, since these hose timers aren’t linked to energy the best way regular sprinkler timers are, they burn by means of batteries. Battery life on a “dumb” hose timers might be years, but earlier good hose timers have been burning by means of batteries in weeks. The Rachio’s batteries have barely diminished since I obtained it, which is a great signal.

The Rachio doesn’t leak, whereas every different timer I attempted leaked, and was fussy about the way it was positioned—if I knocked into it ever so barely, they would begin to gush water. Whereas I did want to make use of some plumbers tape on the tap to safe the Rachio, that was anticipated, and I’ve had no points.

Principally what I really like concerning the Rachio is that it really works. It’s by no means as soon as missed a cycle or gone offline for days. I want that wasn’t saying lots, however it’s.

Easy to a fault

Loads of individuals want just one hose timer for one hose, however a few of us have a number of hoses going to completely different yard areas. Personally, I’ve sprinklers hooked up to 1 hose timer, and drip to a different. Different manufacturers, like B-hyve, supply a 2-zone possibility. Rachio has determined to maintain it easy and demand you utilize single zone timers—simplicity to a fault, as at $70 a pop, that may get costly. This additionally means that you would be able to’t create schedules with each timers, as they function utterly impartial of one another within the app. You’ll should program them individually.

Extra annoying than bothersome is that every time I open the app, there’s a lag the place the app says my gadget is disconnected. This freaked me out the primary time, however it resolves after a number of seconds. I’m hard-pressed to think about a hose emergency through which 5 seconds would make a distinction, however I’d prefer to see the bug resolved. Total the connectivity is nice, however I suggest establishing the notification that can warn you if your gadget goes offline.

What I don’t love concerning the Rachio Sensible Hose Timer

Since I even have a Hunter Hydrawise Sensible Timer in my entrance yard—a full panel for a drip system—and I’ve tried different good timers like B-hyve, I do know that quite a lot of the explanation to get a sensible timer is for the help they offer when replying on native climate and AI to resolve whether or not you have to water. Rachio, withits fashionable aesthetic and tech startup really feel, ought to have that half down, however as a substitute they’ve gone actually simplistic. As a substitute of utilizing predictive watering to water kind of primarily based on the climate, Rachio appears to make use of an easier “don’t water if it’s raining” setup, with little configurability.

Moreover, the app might be onerous to navigate, regardless of its simplicity. The rationale I often open it is to see the watering report, which is tough to entry. That stated, these are mere annoyances, because the app does operate.

The gist

Sensible hose timers nonetheless have a solution to go. However of the fashions on the market, the Rachio wins for being probably the most constant, with nice battery life, steady wifi connection and a usable, if overly simplistic app. Whereas I’d prefer to see all of the set up instruments you want within the field (together with a micro screwdriver and plumbers tape), and a extra strong use of AI for predictive watering, none of those points are dealbreakers, and the Rachio is a great alternative.