SPRINKLER TALK FORUM - You Got Questions, We've Got Answers

I had a Rainbird ESP-SMT controller installed by a contractor...good job on the install, but my questions to the several contractors I got bids from (including the one that did the install) showed me that contractors in this area haven't installed enough of them to really understand how they're supposed to be configured.

I've got a few questions that I hope the good folks here have enough experience to answer..

1. The install instructions clearly say that the rain sensor/weather station should be installed "in a location that receives afternoon sun in order to measure the daily high temperature (South or West exposure is ideal): and "Do NOT install the sensor where it will be located in the shade in the hottest part of the day."

So that's where the sensor is, at the peak of the garage where it gets full afternoon sun. This means that the temperature sensor is reading between 5-10 degrees hotter than the actual high temp for the day! I suspect once summertime comes it will be even farther off. Why wouldn't it make more sense to put the sensor where it will be in the shade during the hottest time of the day so it will read the actual high air temp rather than the artificially high temp that the sensor picks up because it's baking in the sun?

2. Today I checked the controller and it said "Soaking" with "Time Remaining: 89 minutes." What does this mean?

3. With a typical ("dumb") controller, I always have the zones come on in the early morning (say 4am) so that the irrigation will be complete before the day gets too hot (to lessen evaporation). With a smart controller like this, does it make sense to restrict the irrigation window to, say 4-8am for the same reason?

4. How important is it to actually figure out the type of soil I have? The installer just selected "Clay Loam" for all zones, which seems to be an "in the middle" setting.

Thanks!

Thanks for your quick reply.

#1. Perhaps then for me it makes sense to move the sensor to where it ISN'T in full sun during the heat of the day. My concrete driveway is almost all shaded by a large tree, so it gets filtered light for 1/2 a day, then is in the shadow of the house the rest of the day. As for the asphalt street, it's separated from a bed by a 1 foot wooden wall, and it, too, is only in sun for the first half of the day. The back yard/beds are in shade for the 1st half of the day, and then partial sun the rest of the day, and have no street or hardscape to reflect and hold heat.

#2. Makes sense. But an 89 minute soak period? That zone is set to 8% slope, but still, 1.5 hours seems a huge soak time!

#3. Based on your comment, I'll keep the watering window. Is there a way to tell with the smart controller whether the full desired cycles ran completely as the controller, in its infinite wisdom, decides? And, better to push into the day (bad for evaporation) or earlier in the am/night (worse for things like diseases, mold, etc., right?)

#4. Looks as if I should do some digging to test the kind of soil I actually have.

New question:

#5. Is there a way to determine, other than by poorly performing plants, whether the amount of water is reasonable? The old "1 inch per week of water for lawns" seems like a way too general rule of thumb, given all of the other considerations.

Thanks again!