Make Your Sprinklers Smart With a Rachio 3 Controller

The Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller gives you total control of your sprinkler system without even going out to the yard! You can start quick runs, use voice commands, and even save water after it rains.
Rachio 3, 8 Zones: geni.us/USBWz
Rachio 3, 16 Zones: geni.us/OYvBKY
See what else my Smart Yard can do: • Make Your Yard Smart
00:00 What is Rachio 3
02:16 Installation
04:30 Smartphone & Wi-Fi Setup
06:36 Rachio App & Quick Run Test
09:16 Zone Setup
12:21 Creating a Schedule
16:44 Making Your Yard Map
19:48 Google Assistant
21:02 Amazon Alexa
21:42 SmartThings
22:16 Apple HomeKit
23:30 Google Assistant Voice Commands
25:16 Alexa Voice Commands
27:42 Manual Control Options
29:42 Water Usage Report
30:57 Light Bar Settings
31:42 Sharing Your Device
32:33 1 Week Review
33:55 Rain Update
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[@TechWithBrett]

Update: I fixed my broken zone! I had to change out some of the wiring. Now it's time to clean up the garden box area. What else would you like to know?

[@murjanshafiq186]

Qejtut

[@karthikeshramanujam8670]

Thank you....

[@painkillerO8]

Thank you for the video. My current controller not connected to ac outlet. It connected to the outlet. Any adapter that I need to buy

[@appuroshan6717]

Xhdhd

[@Drew-ql3gq]

Product review of of Kohler dtv + smart shower system

[@nmraidernation.6092]

DARN YOU!!!! I have now gone off the deep end, as my wife told me. I saw this review and I was HOOKED! Installation was SUPER EASY, it actually surprised me, maybe all of 3 minutes and 10 more to set it up with the app download, it's CAN'T BE THIS EASY! So far so good, waters as its told, love the rain and wind abilities! You have caused me to jump into this smart home, thanks for the reviews, thoughts and the many various vlogs, please keep them up..

[@testticklehead]

I'm super excited, got my Rachio 3 and I'm setting it up today. It will serve as a sprinkler control and a deterrent for people allowing their dogs to poop on my front lawn. Once my cameras send me a notification of the irresponsible dog owners I can turn on my front sprinklers before they do the deed. A safe and easy way to keep my front lawn poop free 😛

[@this_is_nick]

Bought it on Amazon for $200, and got a $150 rebate through my utility company. So far i love it.

[@bhk808]

BRETT, Your review on this product was terrific. I was really impressed with the breathe and scope of the features you covered. Well done!! Based on your video, I'm getting this unit. Mahalo, Barry

[@jimcook575]

Thanks for your easy-to-understand video. I recently purchased the Rachio 3 from Costco. I would have updated sooner if I had realized how easy the install was. The more complicated part is going to be getting used to the phone interface and how to navigate it. Today was the first run of the system, and it worked perfectly. I have ours set to Smart Cycle and Soak all zones. I set the Rachio 3 up on the Alexa platform to give me an additional control option when I'm not carrying my phone around the house.

[@myutube6422]

My current sprinkler controller died, turned out to just be a fuse, but it was time for automation so got a Rachio 3 from Costco and with the great help from your video got it installed. Thanks

[@techboycjp]

I’m getting a sprinkler system and seeing this as a smart home geek made my eyes light up 🤩

[@wusty23jd]

Absolutely! I'm in the same boat.

[@sunilkulkarni1464]

Awesome information! I will go ahead with Rachio for my existing sprinkler system as I am always on the road badly needed such control on my sprinkler system. Thanks for posting this highly educative video!

[@gomerpylevw]

Very comprehensive video. Appreciate the information and has convinced me to go with the Rachio.

[@ramachandrarao1646]

Super Review! Really thorough information. You did a very good job. Thanks Brett!

[@ryankim233]

Brett, your channel is awesome! I am learning so much.

[@NRHTX1]

This is an amazing tutorial and thank you. I went ahead and purchased the Rachio 3 today April 8th, 2022. Looking forward to replacing my 21 year old Hunter XC unit.

[@pjwilken5372]

Bought a house with a sprinkler system. Since we hadn't ever had one, this video was excellent. We had a company open it for us and discovered we need some work on the electrical wiring underground. We installed a Rachio 3 and are working on the wiring issues. Company says our system is original and 40 years old! Take care :)

[@donavonlewis1039]

Well done!!! Great detailof the app and abilities of the system BRAVO!

[@tt2sj]

Have Rachio... it’s the best! Thank you for doing the video.

[@TechWithBrett]

Thanks for watching!

[@gus13letter]

Great video! I have been wanting to get a smart controller and after watching your video, I made the purchase and am excited to get it connected today!

[@macmovieman1]

Great details and Love the thoughtfulness with each of the smart platforms. I’ve heard there have been some issues with Apple HomeKit, but based on your video, it looked very easy.

[@myHomeKithome]

I like the HomeKit integration, of course. Ima a fan of smart spigot Controllers too.

[@BY-ib9ew]

Very detailed and clear. Thanks.

[@Darx97]

damn, things like this makes me wish I lived in a house with garden and not in an apartment, so cool to see those sprinkles pop up

[@TechWithBrett]

It is pretty amazing how well they work for being outside and exposed to all kinds of weather. It took us many years of living in a little apartment before we could get the home so hopefully one day it can happen for you.

[@spencerbigum1309]

Awesome review - would love an update in like 6 months!

[@carldevans1]

Very nice thorough video. Well done.

[@lany_07gaming]

That's nice, great review.👍

[@tonychriswell-xy6tw]

So awesome! Thank you for making this video ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@alexfithero]

I still have a rainbird from 10 years ago lol. Wanted to check out one of these.

[@edde333]

Awesome video! Just think of how much fun you could have pointing them heads in the walkway. 😂😂

[@TechWithBrett]

I can now so the neighbor kids at any time, haha!

[@edde333]

@@TechWithBrett If it's not on video it didn't happen. 😉😎🤣

[@Dynamic4it]

best review

[@earldauterive372]

Excellent video. Not your first rodeo obviously. Well done!

[@danweidner1403]

Thanks for this thorough review! I am wondering how easy the device is to use for an Individual who doesn’t have access to the account (lawn company blowing out/starting up seasonally). Currently my WiFi RainBird controller can be run in a test mode which cycles through each zone for two minutes which is handy for these situations. Thanks in advance!

[@Josh_Quinonez]

Let's Get Started!

[@yepitsmememe]

I have had the Rachio Gen 2 for about a year, and most of the capabilities you demonstrated are available with the Gen 2 product. Do you know what features I am missing by not going to the Gen 3 version? Thanks, and great job with this and other videos you produce.

[@Talentman18]

Thank you 🙏🏾

[@mikelemans]

Thanks!

[@glen_adams]

On your HomeKit app, what are you using to display “...... iPad battery low” ? Thanks

[@David411]

Nice Review. Couple questions. 1) I have Rainmachine and suddently isn't working with Netgear's Orbi Mesh Router. What router are you using? 2) When you show manual operation, after showing how you can run 1 zone at a time you then went back to wifi access on your phone to run things how you want them vs. running them on a schedule. I'd like to know if you can create a program of zones to run for specific intervals, then name that something like "moderate watering" and would there be a way then to run that manually if needed (in the case where wifi is down)? If not, is there any alternative for when wifi is down that you can run your group of zones for specific times through the unit without having to babysit the unit and run it one zone at a time? Thanks for your help!

[@nmraidernation.6092]

Again, did not even know this existed, thanks for the review, I am about 1 month into my "smart home" upgrade and has been awesome with vlogs like yours, thanks for them! So it has been awhile for your water system upgrade, what are your thoughts, pros and cons would love a small update or reply....:) thanks!

[@TechWithBrett]

Welcome to the smart home building club! I have really loved the Rachio system and how easy it is to make adjustments to my watering schedule. My lawn has never looked better and I can't really think of anything I don't like about it.

[@gonzalorodriguez7940]

Bro you the best. Nuff said …..

[@DarrinRich]

Love it! Definitely going to get this now. Are zones like the sections that control a specific area of the sprinklers? On my current system for example, the entire backyard is switch 3 and 4. So that would be 2 zones? Trying to determine if an 8 zone is enough for me or not is all. Thanks

[@TechWithBrett]

Yep that is exactly right. So each zone is from each a valve. I have 2 box's with 3 valves each for a total of 6 valves or 6 zones.

[@DarrinRich]

@@TechWithBrett perfect. Thanks

[@ojiisan493]

How many start times can you have for each zone .. I have a lot of run off and want to increase times it starts with multiple start and stop times for each zone. My current system only has 4 start times

[@pilotboba]

I'm interested to know if the fully automated system will figure out the watering times. Also, will it download current watering restrictions and days based on your address?

[@NRHTX1]

Do you by any chance have a new video coming out soon, how your experience has been using the Rachio for about a year? When I first set up my schedule for Spring Apr thru Jun 19. I set it up to water Mon, Wed, and Fri just like you. However, I noticed that the Smart schedule provided its watering per zones and it got me concerned because the watering per zones was a little high and I did not want to water 3 days a week for about 6 hours total. So I lower it to 5 mins per zone for that date range. After Googling around, I noticed that the Rachio water calendar schedule was only showing water on Mon and Fridays. I emailed tech support and they told me it is working fine because it is calculating based on the weather conditions. However, they told me to add another day for the flex monthly schedule to work correctly. Any feedback would be appreciated, thank you.

[@WILLISISM]

Do I have to change the pump in order to use the Rachio system?

[@evt641]

Anybody have a current assessment of the Google home functionality? i.e. specific zones or times?

[@doodlexenosinfopinion6107]

Cool

[@bfisher9826]

Can I install new system and use this with any sprinkler head system

[@MrGaborseres]

👍 Cool 😎

[@applemaniac3658]

It’s kinda funny it integrates with nest protect and turns on when smoke is detected.

[@austinitel.2972]

hi, is it easy to set this up? it seems really complicated with all the wiring and stuff.

[@DexarJaydenOne]

Can Use Apple HomeKit In Rachio 3

[@kbrehmer2008]

Have you set up schedules for Water Rationing with different watering days for various months? We have 4 different watering schedules in Las Vegas over the year. I understand watering schedules can be set over months, but the year needs to be changed. Is there an IFTTT app that will update yearly schedules so that you never have to update schedules once they are set.

[@pilotboba]

I don't have it (yet) but IFTTT is listed on the box.

[@EA-du5]

I love your views

[@myutube6422]

Sadly I'm returning this controller. The first thing that always irritates me is that there is no way to contact customer service. The other issue was that if it detects a "fault" it shuts down all of the cycles. It does send you a notice,. but it's not clear what the fault might be and especially if you are out of town there is no way to correct the fault even if you figure it out..

[@docjonski2257]

Thank you for this vid. By the way, do you need to turn off anything in your main circuit breaker to start installing (so you won't be electricuted) or you just need to unplug the old sprinkler? Thank you!

[@TechWithBrett]

You just need to unplug the previous system. That is the only power the unit receives.

[@docjonski2257]

@@TechWithBrett Ok Brett. Thanks a ton! I'll be working on my Rachio now (after the rain stops) cheers!👍

[@docjonski2257]

@@TechWithBrett By the way Brett, my sprinkler controller is located outdoors, I unplugged it already but I can see another wire coming in from the wall what do you think this is? I don't have a tester so I don't know if it's still live (I don't want to touch the live wires to test it lol.😅).

[@BookTube0ne]

At the beginning you mentioned that you need an irrigation system already. Do they have the whole system for beginners?

[@TechWithBrett]

I had to look this up but they actually don't. You will need to have another brand of electronic system installed. I found this video helpful to learn about how everything is wired. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYKaiKV_Yt2HqaM

[@gabrielflores1431]

Can you use it on the device without the phone

[@williamoliver3550]

I still can't figure out how to navigate this app. I can't find a decent manual and am thinking of switching to a Rain Bird smart controller out of shear frustration

[@Wqack30quirt120]

Nice music

[@Peternorris]

Challenge in South Africa is we use 230 volts. Any idea where to find a 24Vac 1amp adapter that works on 230 volts? Only other option is to send it back.

[@shandradm911]

If down internet working locally?

[@davidsikorski4802]

Anybody else have problems using app on apple 12. Mine on setup would not connect to network. Had to borrow a android device

[@DavidD-fj3vq]

What can i buy for it to protect it outdoors? I bought the 12 zone from costco ok sale for $150

[@TechWithBrett]

Here is the official Rachio weatherproof enclosure: amzn.to/3C1l3ZB (affiliate)

[@WillAnderson4]

Hi Brett, great video. I just bought a house that came with a rachio 2. I can't find the mapping option in the rachio app. Is this exclusive to rachio 3?

[@TechWithBrett]

I couldn't find any details about that so it might be limited to just the newer version.

[@WillAnderson4]

@@TechWithBrett I emailed rachio and they confirmed that mapping is only included with rachio 3.

[@mikespiller1901]

will this allow you to program a single zone more than once a day

[@allaboutroofing2]

Yes

[@EA-du5]

I love you

[@virgiem1213]

Tech Brett. I have a new Rachio 3 installed by an irrigation guy recently. He has the app in his cell phone and my cell phone. He is not my gardener. How to I disable his app which he established without my consent. He did not answer why he has the app in his phone, which he installed to control my sprinkler. Should I disable my Rachio 3. What should I do? Or what should I unplug so he cannot control the system? He tore up the manual and left only the cover page of the manual in my garage. I did not authorize him to do so. Please give advice. Thank you .

[@TechWithBrett]

Hey, sorry to hear about the odd situation. The reason it is most likely setup like this is so that he didn't have to use your phone to get everything set up. To fix this, in the Rachio app go to profile and see if it is showing your email and phone number. If so, you can then press Change Password and set it to your unique password and this will lock him out of your account. If it is showing his information, you will then need to Transfer Ownership to your own account. So you will add in your email address, then go to your email and follow the steps to move it into your account. Info on that can be found here: support.rachio.com/en_us/transfer-ownership-of-a-rachio-controller-to-your-account-S1EnDIJtP

[@virgiem1213]

@TechWithBrett thank you very much Tech Brett for the info and your prompt response. I will contact the company. My Rachio 3 doesn't seem to have as many options as your system. I will inquire from the company. Again, I love your video. Very detailed. I will repeat watching it to get the most info to input to my Rachio 3. Great video to watch.

[@DexarJaydenOne]

Can Use Smartthings On Samsung Phone

[@b6s4shelter]

Wow. Who knew....options are inexhaustible

[@juffle]

Now you need to have an outside soil moisture level sensor to control it instead of weather prediction... Maybe with ifttt

[@TechWithBrett]

There is actually a RainBird sensor that is available to put in the ground that can do that some how. Maybe one day.

[@irmmz1776]

With all this smart tech, by the end of the decade or century. You will be called a boomer if you do not have a complete smart home. Like smart stove, lights, garage door etc.

[@Raynaldinho]

I will watch this video

[@davidhuez7027]

Sure didn't work like that for me. Mine offlined itself and the app won't allow me to add it back.

[@dan__________________]

I wonder if the outlet still doesn't have a cover....

[@TechWithBrett]

You would be correct, lol.

[@DexarJaydenOne]

You Will Can Change Zone 1,2,3,4,5

[@alexcrews1860]

hi

[@TechWithBrett]

Hi.

[@TechisodeTV]

Wanna be friends?

[@TechWithBrett]

Hahaha!

[@TechisodeTV]

@@TechWithBrett haha, I thought you'd appreciate that. Awesome video BTW!

[@jimmyispromo]

Block!!! Spam!

[@TechisodeTV]

@@jimmyispromo lol 😅

[@mrman7453]

Rachio was running fine until they did a software upgrade . Beicked my system . Ruined my lawn for the season . I didnt notice the lawn wasnt being water until it started drying out . Rachio claims it happens with certain operating systems . THE ENTIRE UNIT IS A PAPER WEIGHT.

[@Raynaldinho]

So I will What kettle black

[@WilmaCreighton]

I liked the part where you talked about "shhhprinklers"...

[@lheojfgzwhfyuodognjo9491]

text

[@diaduckk]

Is it just me or is the video really fast?

[@TechWithBrett]

There was a lot to cover!

[@jimmyispromo]

I thought it was perfect. 20 min video would have been fast.

[@Kathy0118]

Hello, do you accept business cooperation? About testing our smart sprinkler controller and making a video for us.

[@deuteronomyjones3070]

Don’t buy this! The design is completely backwards. If you want to delay watering you hit a button that says “Fill”. If you want to water sooner you hit the other button labeled “Empty”. WTF? From the online help - they don’t offer a user manual so if you’re new to controllers you are lost because you don’t even know what functionality controllers have so you don’t even know what to search for - here’s their explanation for how the system knows when to water next. If the “graph reads 50%, then your lawn's "gas tank" is really 3/4 full and will be refilled when it's 1/2 full. If your Moisture Level graph reads 0%, then your lawn's "gas tank" is really 1/2 full and ready for a refill. Think of it as a percentage of a percentage.” Yeah, that’s intuitive. I don’t know what brainiac designed this thing but you need a math degree to set the controls. As for how it controls watering? Some zones get water when they’re at 31% (which is really 66% using their fun math) while others don’t water until they’re at 2% which is, of course, 51%. Clear, right? Of course you can override that and water right away by hitting Fill. I mean Empty. smh

[@MatSmithLondon]

Wasted four minutes watching this until I realised this is obviously for some American set up where the actual plumbing is nothing to do with the sprinkler controller… The stuff isn’t suitable if you don’t already have sprinkler actuators

[@jaredmiller9606]

Obviously

[@SMG-0_0]

Use a iPhone it’s better