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ESP-SMT run times vs. schedule times and watering window

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camner

Senior Member

Posts: 22

1

Tuesday, June 19th 2012, 12:02am

ESP-SMT run times vs. schedule times and watering window

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. Why?

2. When the ESP-SMT was first programmed, the watering window was set for 4:00-7:30am. That wasn't enough, so I changed it to 2:30-6:30. The new end time was respected (the unit shut off at 6:30, it said), but the new start time was not respected, it seems. The first "DONE" time, Zone 6, was at 5:06am. Given that zone 6 was scheduled for 64 minutes, perhaps it actually started at 4am (since the actual run times seem to be a bit shorter than the scheduled times). But why didn't the unit start at the 2:30 start-of-window time?

The brain of this smart controller is either well beyond mere mortals, or it is behaving very strangely!

GatorGuy

Moderator

Posts: 458

2

Tuesday, June 19th 2012, 8:10am

I'll go with the 'beyond mere mortals' idea.
Yesterday something occurred that caused me to go through the manual line by line.
A partial list of things that can cause you problems:
wrong zip code entered.
wrong elevation entered
wrong average wind speed for month entered
wrong average humidity for month entered
wrong soil type
wrong sprinkler type/efficiency.
wrong plant type.

And so on.
If I were in your spot I'd completely wipe/reset the controller, start completely from scratch.
Allow plenty of time.

camner

Senior Member

Posts: 22

3

Tuesday, June 19th 2012, 5:57pm

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!)

Central Irrigation

Supreme Member

Posts: 364

Location: Central Minnesota

4

Tuesday, June 19th 2012, 6:37pm

That' is a very small window for an ET controller.

camner

Senior Member

Posts: 22

5

Tuesday, June 19th 2012, 6:47pm

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?

Central Irrigation

Supreme Member

Posts: 364

Location: Central Minnesota

6

Tuesday, June 19th 2012, 7:43pm

Optimal window is 24 hrs/7 days a week. Depending on the layout of your yard and zone criteria you programmed, you're not leaving much room for the controller to do what you want it to do. 9 zones in 4 hrs doesn't leave much room for cycle/soak. I could barely water a 9 zone system on a conventional controller in that amt. of time. I don't know if you have certain days of the week off, also. I would at least set the kick in time to sun down, and the kick out time at 7-8a.m.

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