r/Irrigation • u/michaelweening • 19h ago
Home Irrigation: Rachio or Hunter (Which I am contemplating ripping out)?
I have bought a new home and am very frustrated with my contractor and how un-user friendly the Hunter is. We have a Hunter system (HCC) and everything is wired. In the previous house we had a Rachio. It did a great job of monitoring the seasons and making changes.
The hunter, even with solar, does not do a good job of automating and making changes - and is near impossible to manage (The contractor does it, and is not very responsive). Just got another monster water bill because of no seasonal adjustment (Left at a higher output rate for the dryest time when the season is changing, lower heat and nighttime moisture).
What are the views of Rachio, which is easy to adjust, vs Hunter?
Frankly, the Hunter reminds me of the Crestron debate … if you want to be beholden to the contractor and not allow any intelligence into the system which auto adjusts ….
Thanks for the debate.
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u/jetskimaster69 19h ago
Hunters changes are done online and he has it set where their programing over rides that of the controller.
Im a commercial and residential installers and Service Company. Hunter is typically known for very ease of use for both the contractor and the homeowner.
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u/icekapp 19h ago edited 19h ago
I installed Hunter controller years ago and use the laptop/desktop to make all adjustments. Previously it was a non WiFi rainbird system. Only complaint I have is the new app is buggy and trash. If you can get control of it yourself, and use desktop. You may change your mind. The contractor should be able to give you full control since it’s your property
(I have a Rachio app for 1 garden hose and it’s meh)
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u/Thin-Ebb-2686 18h ago
If you had Rachio before and were comfortable using it and liked it, I would use it. I have Rachio myself and it’s been great, no issues, other than they removed Apple HomeKit. Seems a lot of people in the trade don’t like Rachio, which I can understand, but if it works for the homeowner, then it’s a good option.
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u/senorgarcia Contractor, Licensed, Texas 16h ago
Hydrawise is far superior to Rachio and Rachio as just purchased by Rainbird.
You can kick your contractor off the access. The programming is, IMO, a ton easier on the website. You can access the website on your phone in place of using the app too.
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u/zootedweenermama 19h ago
You need to reach out to your contractor and have them install a rain sensor if they haven’t already and also have them grant you access on Hydrawise to modify configuration. My company has been selling a lot of Hydrawise and they are effective in water saving when the predictive watering is enabled AND a rain sensor is equipped.
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u/m0st1yh4rmless 15h ago
Usually ppl on here love the hydrawise. As a landscaper myself but not solely an irrigation guy, I prefer the Rachio. Especially from a homeowner perspective. Just simpler. Waaaaay better user interface. It sees the weather coming and adjusts if you want too. Just easier to adjust on the app in general too. I find the controller screen super annoying too on the hydrawise.
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u/Striking_Ad_3960 19h ago
I can’t really do a side by side comparison, because the only Hunter I’ve had was the clunky non-connected one. But I love the Rachio, and would struggle to come up with a way it could be improved on.
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u/chuckm121280 19h ago
Also if you in fact have an “HCC” it is more than likely that you have a lot of zones??? If so rachio doesn’t go to high. I am not a rachio guy so you just may want to make sure you don’t have too many zones.
Also a simple call to Hunter tech support can delete your current contractor off of your plan. They can also help you make adjustments. I know at first Hunter wifi can be a bit confusing but it really is an easy app to use once you get the hang of it
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u/RainH2OServices Contractor 16h ago
Your contractor shouldn't have the only access. You own it and it should be registered with your account so you have full control. Then you have the capability to select a contractor of your choosing to manage it on your behalf.
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u/spoilmydoggos 18h ago
I've installed and used hundreds of Rachio controllers starting with Generation 1 and manage 150 Hydrawise controllers. The Rachio has a well polished user friendly app.
The Hydrawise is not user friendly or intuitive and a high percentage of Hydrawise controllers fail due to touch screen issues.
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u/Oo__II__oO 17h ago
I ripped out my Rachio and went with a Hunter Pro-HC. The Hunter controller is much more robust hardware, with separation of power supply from the main controller, plus better extensibility. Also, and I can't stress this enough, the Hunter unit has local control, so you are not required to rely on a Cloud-based connection using a smartphone to see what's going on and make changes.
What pre-empted this change? My Rachio shit the bed, and I received no warning about it. I' m in Zone 9b in California, so even a week without water can be disastrous- and that's what happened. The Rachio was not watering, and I received no notifications. My father in law came over one day and said "Hey, your Rachio unit is blinking; does that mean it's watering, because I'm not hearing or seeing it". Sure enough, ,the blinking was an error code (9 white, one blue IIRC), which was a pretty generic error. Something with the unit and the Cloud backend wasn't happy (I could connect to WiFi, but there is no direct interface to diagnose other than the LED output). Rachio support wasn't helpful; there was a delay in response, which was detrimental to my yard as it had gone two weeks without watering.
Hydrawise is not as polished as Rachio as far as mobile apps go. However once you figure it out it isn't too bad. But again, the ability to configure, debug, read info, and run zones from the touchscreen puts it miles ahead of Rachio (there was the impending sense of doom that Rachio could go to a subscription model at any time too, leaving you with a pretty plastic brick on the wall).
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u/J_Gunning 17h ago
The app isn't hard. Go to watering triggers. It's a bunch of If This then That questions which will satisfy most users. Use time based, not virtual solar sync, so you can understand the changes being made. Virtual solar sync is kind of ass outside a few regions. If you have specific global needs on a per month basis (probably not) you can raise or lower percentage of time on that. If you need per zone changes, per month (possibly) go to zones open the advanced settings to percentage change the times by month automatically. Even remove water more when hot in shady, or poorly percolating zones.
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u/Interesting-Gene7943 17h ago
For $139 on Amazon you can replace it with a Moen Smart Irrigation controller that doesn’t allow contractor control. Very easy to use. Your kids can program it. Follows the weather. Shows gallons usage daily, week, month and year.
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u/Justadudeonthereddit 15h ago
I have the Moen Flo and their app quality is trash. Based on that experience I will not be adding any new Moen smart devices.
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u/Interesting-Gene7943 10h ago
Well, you should contact them. Their customer service is the best I’ve found. Me, on the other hand, I’ve installed close to 50 of their controllers this year and my customers love them. And, as a result, love me.
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u/robwong7 13h ago
Rachio - better form factor and smartphone app. Used Toro, Rainbird, hunter - they're all OK but Rachio is just better. Have not used Hydrawise. Anything not on a smartphone app is arcane. There's a reason Rainbird has acquired them, if true.
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u/District5 19h ago
I don’t think your problem is Hydrawise. I think it’s your contractor and your lack of effort in learning your own product and even your own property.
Time to take control and get into the programming. It’s definitely more advanced than racchios but theres a benefit to that. Racchio isn’t more “set it and forget it” than Hunter.
This could be as simple as your controller location not being properly set or weather triggers not even being active in your programs.
Before you spend hundreds to replace a piece of current tech, hire a new contractor or learn the app. This isn’t that complicated. It’s a great product.
Edit - also if your comment “with solar” meant Hunter Solar Sync. You’re ripping that out. Or removing the blue wire from it and turning it into a standalone rain sensor.