Irrigation thread.

[dice]

Once you program the controllers you can kick the computer out the door.

Ah. So it plugs into the computer with a USB cable for programming
or something like that, and once you have the irrigation controller
scheduled the way that you want it, you can unplug it, and it will
run that program on its own (as long as the batteries are still charged).

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by dice

Ah. So it plugs into the computer with a USB cable for programming
or something like that, and once you have the irrigation controller
scheduled the way that you want it, you can unplug it, and it will
run that program on its own (as long as the batteries are still charged).

The controllers run off of 120VAC with a transformer.
It communicates with the computer via wireless remote that is connected to the computer via USB cable.
You can unplug the remote and go anywhere in the yard and control the system.

You can run up to 4 controllers for a total of 48 zones.
Worth

http://www.irritrol.com/pccontrol/do...l_opmanual.pdf

Worth

[Crandrew]

Originally Posted by Worth1

The reason is my wife would play the devil working with a dial and push buttons where she can easily work with it on a computer with a windows based system.



Worth

If it was a software enabled sprinkler system you wouldnt need the wife you could remote in via your smartphone anywhere data is available and enable the sprinklers. You could probably even set a probe in the soil to measure humidity to trigger the sprinklers in different zones automatically.

[checkerkitty]

I hand water my tomatoes. I have some in containers and in ground. I have soaker hoses run for all the in ground tomatoes but haven't used them this year. My yard slopes and I found that the water tends to pool at the end of the row with the soaker hoses. After some thought, I decided to go back to an old method we tried years ago with success. In the main garden, I buried a 32 oz polypropylene cup with holes drilled in the bottom and sides at the base of each tomato transplant. I have been filling each cup about 4 times (1 gallon or so of water) on both Wednesday and Sunday. I have a 33 inch water wand to help with accuracy and reach. As soon as the cup is full, I flip the valve and move on to the next plant. By the time the second cup is full, the first is empty. I also spray a little water around the base of the plant, but not very much. The container plants just get watered with no cup. I also have a raised bed on the sunny side of the house that gets just straight water with no cup. I love those darn cups! I am really analytical about things sometimes. Having those cups lets me know exactly how much water/fertilizer each plant is getting. Also, I have a terrible memory and short attention span. I would forget about the soaker hoses all the time. I think this is helping me keep the water use to just what I need. It is also easy to pull a cup out of the ground to feel the moisture level of the soil well below the surface. This is a little labor intensive, but I enjoy my alone time in the garden. I'll have to time myself and see how long this takes me. I have 36 plants in the ground and 13 containers, some double planted. I don't think I'm out there more than 30-45 minutes at a watering session.

[Worth1]

Checkerkitty,
I know you wont do it but for the slope problem you can get a battery operated timer.
With this timer you can have the water cycle on and off several times a day.
This will allow the water to soak in instead of running off.

Well you might do it.

Worth

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Crandrew

If it was a software enabled sprinkler system you wouldnt need the wife you could remote in via your smartphone anywhere data is available and enable the sprinklers. You could probably even set a probe in the soil to measure humidity to trigger the sprinklers in different zones automatically.

Crandrew,

I doubt my wife will ever fool with the program on the computer unless she wants to turn on outside lights or change the watering time.


Worth

[Crandrew]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Crandrew,

I doubt my wife will ever fool with the program on the computer unless she wants to turn on outside lights or change the watering time.


Worth

You miss understand me Have you ever run remote applications via a vpn login or remote access?

You would have the application to control the valves on your home computer. Then you would just need the machine turned on and you could remote login via a smartphone (iphone) or laptop from AK. Then you could start up the application and monitor control the irrigation remotely. Your wife knows how to turn a computer on and off correct?

Do you go dark (off the grid) once you are up in AK?

[Crandrew]

^ when I say "you" i mean Worth...not Worths wife.

[Worth1]

Yes I run things remotely as a matter of fact I just did it.

As for my wife she started out in DOS in the early 80,s and when she first saw windows she thought it was for idiots.

My wife also connects all of our modems and gets everything going on the computers.
She works for a web design outfit in Austin so I think she knows how to turn on a computer.


As for myself I will for the fun of it go into the program files on the new controller and see how I can modify it.

Worth

[Crandrew]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Yes I run things remotely as a matter of fact I just did it.

As for my wife she started out in DOS in the early 80,s and when she first saw windows she thought it was for idiots.

My wife also connects all of our modems and gets everything going on the computers.
She works for a web design outfit in Austin so I think she knows how to turn on a computer.


As for myself I will for the fun of it go into the program files on the new controller and see how I can modify it.

Worth

Now I'm really confused... I'll just back away slowly...real slow like.


I guess I'm missing what your conflicting issue is holding you back from full remote site control.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Crandrew

Now I'm really confused... I'll just back away slowly...real slow like.


I guess I'm missing what your conflicting issue is holding you back from full remote site control.

I don't have an issue holding me back from remote site control that's why I bought the controller I did.
I also bought this one so my wife can control it and make adjustments from her computer.

I thought it would be easier for her that going the turn knob push button select zone controller.

Don't back away please.

Worth

[Crandrew]

OH Awesome so you are all set. Must be reader error. Its seemed as if you were at a stand still on your quest for full remote control. im interested to see video if you could ever provide it...

[Worth1]

No worries I was at a stand still till I made some calls and emails.
The controller was ordered and is at home.
A distributer in Austin got it for me for less than I could purchase it on line.
It is the Irritrol PC controll 24 zone.
In time I will expand it to 48 zones if need be.

I can assure you there will be pictures and a video in time.

Worth

[Crandrew]

Originally Posted by Worth1

No worries I was at a stand still till I made some calls and emails.
The controller was ordered and is at home.
A distributer in Austin got it for me for less than I could purchase it on line.
It is the Irritrol PC controll 24 zone.
In time I will expand it to 48 zones if need be.

I can assure you there will be pictures and a video in time.

Worth

Great, thanks Worth. I love gadgets and this one facinates me.

[Worth1]

All irrigation controllers have a limited amount of valves you can run off of one station.

What if you had the opportunity to run more valves or other things at the same time.
You would be limited to maybe 4 to 5 valves and that would be it.

What if you wanted the area that is being watered to light up?
From my previous post on the time delay relay you could water just about any container for how ever long you wanted at the same time.
All of them being watered for their specific time.

Many controllers have what they call Zone overlap restrictions.
The reason is the water supply could not keep up with the amount of water you might use.
The pressure and flow would drop to the point nothing worked.
But what if your calculations showed that you had plenty of water.
With today's water time restrictions you might not have enough time to water everything.

For what ever reason this is a method you can use to bypass this zone overlap limitation function.

Worth

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