Im looking at adding in irrigation control to my vera and have gone through the forums however there doesn’t seem to be resounding yes to any of the units out of EtherRain, Rain8net or OpenSprinkler.
My requirements are not that advanced at this stage. Simply control a handful of zones at different times and don’t water if it looks like its going to rain with the latter already sorted out as a trigger with the weather app. Later I might look at testing the soil to see if its dry enough to water or similar.
I like the idea of OpenSprinkler however have concerns that it may not keep getting developed so will be stuck. That said its opensource so should keep getting developed by enthusiastic tinkerers.
I’m also up for other options that have WiFi if anyone has suggestions.
I have been using EtherRain for I think about 2 years. Not much to say, except that it works perfectly. I have 4 zones and use iVera on my iPhone to manually activate extra watering when needed. I use the Wunderground Weather Plugin, which works fine. After a storm earlier in the year, my unit was damaged by a flood, a call to Quicksmart and it was promptly repaired and returned. I recommend it without reservation.
I have had the EtheRain for a number of years, and I also have no reservations in recommending it.
However, I have watched the OpenSprinkler development and they have done a very good job to date; they have pushed leap and bounds with Version 2. It would have been great if they embedded wifi as well.
I am using the OpenSprinkler and it works great. I choose it because it is open source and it gave me another use for one of the Raspberry Pi’s I had laying around. The rain delays work fine with the weather pulled from yahoo and the logs show me how much each zone runs during the week. So far I am very happy with it so I would give it consideration.
So far no complaints about this WIFi enabled irrigation controller also (it’s only been in service for the summer so no long term use to report on yet). I like the touch display so if something goes awry with using the webpage programming its very easy to use as a stand alone device.
[quote=“rayp, post:6, topic:177111”]So far no complaints about this WIFi enabled irrigation controller also (it’s only been in service for the summer so no long term use to report on yet). I like the touch display so if something goes awry with using the webpage programming its very easy to use as a stand alone device.
I’m going down the open sprinkler path for the following reasons.
It’s open source so have an entire community to provide support if needed
It has a web interface rather than needing a PC to configure
There is a plugin already for open sprinkler that has active development
I do like supporting the little blokes when possible
The only downside is no wifi however going to use an Ethernet over power solution rather than cabling or another AP connected to the device.
My wife is already telling me I’m sad as can turn the pool light on and off remotely or on schedule I’m sure she will be very impressed that now I can do the same with the sprinklers.
Once again thanks all for replying with your views.
[quote=“brettow, post:8, topic:177111”]Thanks to all for responding.
I’m going down the open sprinkler path for the following reasons.
It’s open source so have an entire community to provide support if needed
It has a web interface rather than needing a PC to configure
There is a plugin already for open sprinkler that has active development
I do like supporting the little blokes when possible
The only downside is no wifi however going to use an Ethernet over power solution rather than cabling or another AP connected to the device.
My wife is already telling me I’m sad as can turn the pool light on and off remotely or on schedule I’m sure she will be very impressed that now I can do the same with the sprinklers.
Once again thanks all for replying with your views.
Brett[/quote]
I have my OpenSprinkler working on wifi, but it is the Raspberry Pi Version.
My research is leading me to Hydrawise. Partly because I live in New Zealand and many of the others are tailored for the US market and weather stations, whereas Hydrawise is truly international - I can even hook in to the forecasts for my local vineyards.
I like the no port forwarding web interface and mobile apps too. Anyone any ideas as to how to integrate this with MIOS? I also have a Netatmo which uses a similar style web interface and that was done by someone very effectively so I’m betting its possible. I want to be able to see the status and to suspend watering if, for example someone is walking up the path to the front door.
[quote=“Robjsewell, post:10, topic:177111”]My research is leading me to Hydrawise. Partly because I live in New Zealand and many of the others are tailored for the US market and weather stations, whereas Hydrawise is truly international - I can even hook in to the forecasts for my local vineyards.
I like the no port forwarding web interface and mobile apps too. Anyone any ideas as to how to integrate this with MIOS? I also have a Netatmo which uses a similar style web interface and that was done by someone very effectively so I’m betting its possible. I want to be able to see the status and to suspend watering if, for example someone is walking up the path to the front door.[/quote]
Interesting I didnt come across this one when researching.
Looks good.
Pro’s
Has as wifi built in
Uses AU weather stations
Has some level of reporting
Con’s
Is almost twice the cost of opensprinkler
Doesnt seem to have an API that I could find
They have a subscription model which Im not a big fan of.
Price yes, but quality and features are way up there.
Free trial of software and API is freely available to customers, just ask
Subscription is free unless you want alerts - I figure Vera and Prowl could issue them.
I have now bought mine and have to say their support is top notch - close to 24/7. Quality as I say is great too. I may be back here to ask for help with the API, but plan to add my Netatmo as a local weather station - by the way, even in my corner of NZ their software found 12+ weather stations for me to choose from. And, as you mention Au, they are based in Melbourne.
In my view, there is only one downer on is product and that’s the price, but then again it is good kit.
I should add I am nearly 100% iPad these days, and a while back I did buy a Rain8Net. I considered this a con, there’s no net about it, it uses a serial db9 interface more suited to an old desktop PC than a network. At least the Etherrain is ethernet enabled, but in the end I went for the convenience of wifi on the Hydrawise.
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