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I'm trying to figure out how much of an upgrade the SMTe is vs the SMT. I know that the SMTe can handle up to 22 zones. It also permits a couple of other adjustments such as varying the rain threshold before suspending watering. What are the other differences? Is the weather sensor the same as for the original SMT? Thanks.
What's the difference? Both here and on the King Innovations web site the specs seem completely identical.
Quoted from "mrfixit" That was me in the other post. Door number 2 get's my vote. Go ahead and use unions if you wish. Some people like them. If installed correctly they could go forever without leaking. I have to warranty everthing I install. I've been around a long time. I know what leaks and what problems can arise from what. I'll say it again, it's just one more place for things to leak... With slip ports yes your only option is to cut the pipe if the whole valve needs replacing. With threa...
Quoted from "Wet_Boots" this is one reason why there are special manifold fittings made with built-in unions Others seem to prefer glue and fitting manifolds vs. "special manifold fittings with built in unions." Why do you prefer the fittings + unions approach?
A followup question (or more..) If one uses glue and fittings, there seem to be three approaches about how the valve attaches: 1. Use a valve with slip connections and glue the lateral and supply lines directly to the valve. 2. Use a valve with FPT connections and use a MPT x slip connector to connect to the laterals and supply lines 3. Use a valve with some kind of swivel connection (or a union) On another post, some responder wrote: Just glue everything. I can't stand unions. It's just one mor...
Thanks both for your responses. I assume that the advice would be "build your own using glue and fittings" vs. PVC-Lock type glueless products available from (at least) Orbit and Hydro-Rain?
Quoted from "Wet_Boots" go with the ordinary valve and skip the jartop May I ask why?
I'm pretty handy and have done my own sprinkler system repairs (but nothing too extensive), but I've never built a manifold. I'd like to replace some old individual valves each in their own small box with a manifold in a single box. Obviously, SW here has prebuilt manifolds (up to 4 valves, though I presume if I want 6 I can connect two 3s or one 4 and one 2), or I can try to build my own. Aside from whether I'm more likely to screw it up (more than possible), are there advantages one way vs the...
There are many preset pressure regulators, ranging from 15 to about 40psi. On what basis should I choose what pressure to restrict the system to? Seems the lower the pressure, the less likely to blow out a fitting, but also, the less pressure, the less volume, no? Other things to think about?
Quoted from "GatorGuy" At this point I'd call Rain Bird at (626) 812-3400 or (520) 741-6100. Called Rainbird. Talked to a guy that knows a lot less about this controller than I do. Waste of time. (Perhaps I should have cheated and pushed the button for "contractor" rather than "homeowner.")
Quoted from "Central Irrigation" That' is a very small window for an ET controller. You're saying 4 hours is a "very small window for an ET controller"? What do you suggest?
Quoted from "GatorGuy" I'll go with the 'beyond mere mortals' idea. If I were in your spot I'd completely wipe/reset the controller, start completely from scratch. Allow plenty of time. I see two ways to "reset" the controller. There's "restore to factory settings" via the front panel, and there is a (magic?) "reset" button on the rear of the front panel (see diagram on p. 57 of the manual). Any idea which option to choose? (I suppose I can always try and see what it does!)
Today I went to my ESP-SMT and it told me this in terms of what it did on June 18: 6:30 INCOMPLETE <--I know what this means, but see below Z5 6:15 DONE z1 5:49 DONE Z7 5:11 DONE Z6 5:06 DONE Z9 30 MIN SCHED Z7 13 MIN SCHED Z6 64 MIN SCHED Z5 54 MIN SCHED Z3 26 MIN SCHED Z2 30 MIN SCHED Z1 72 MIN SCHED 1. The scheduled run times don't match the actual run times! For example, Z7 said it was finished 6 minutes after the previous zone (Z6) said it was finished. But z7 was scheduled for 13 minutes. ...
Quoted from "GatorGuy" I'm scanned the entire manual and can't find an answer. I also can't confirm that if it does not finish watering in a particular water window it will finish in the next. Too many factors. It might determine your soil needs more/less water, a "grow period' might be entered. At this point I'd call Rain Bird at (626) 812-3400 or (520) 741-6100. I also looked through their FAQ, figuring this problem might show up for others. Nothing. If you find a solution we'd appreciate if ...
Quoted from "Wet_Boots" I do not generally have the opportunity of employing a restricted watering window. Too many lawns have to be covered from a limited water supply, with watering sometimes being restricted to two or three days a week during drought conditions. There have not been any observations of lawn damage from watering over most or all of an overnight period. Thank you very much for your thoughts. I'll likely increase the watering window by starting earlier in the morning (more like ...
Quoted from "Wet_Boots" the ESP-SMT is a tough controller to program - you have your homework cut out for you, and you get to do the heavy lifting personally, I think controllers with 80-page instruction manuals are for professional use only, or for homeowners with vast amounts of persistence, and very good reading skills Well, I think I have both persistence and good reading skills! I also have to say that at least as far as I could tell by interviewing about 5 well-regarded local professional...
Quoted from "Wet_Boots" why do you have only a 3 hour watering window for ten zones? Well, because I've read that it's not great to water much during the night time hours (possibility of inducing disease) and during day time hours there's a lot of evaporative loss due to sunshine. So, I figured a short watering window would be reasonable and that when the controller didn't have enough time to finish the program it would finish it the next day. When I had a manual controller I essentially forced...
I have a 3 hour watering window programmed into my ESP-SMT. Recently the following was seen in the event log (a paraphrase): 14 May: (all 10 zones scheduled for a total of 275 minutes) [I have a 180 minute watering window] 14 May: Z1 complete 14 May: Incomplete This makes sense so far. This tells me that zone 1 completed its cycle but the others did not. The controller directions says that the other zones will be completed in the next watering window. BUT, the next day I see the following: 15 Ma...
