Rainbird ESP-TM2 Programming

[@ThriftyGarage]

Product Link: amzn.to/2RSj993

[@tammycorrea8268]

Thanks for a great and informative video. I’ve had my equipment for almost 2 years, and the manual is unclear on how to set up a single station/zone to run every day which I need for my flower borders, and you provided the answer to that. Prior to watching your video, I worked around this by manually running the needed flower border zone every day in tbe summer which was a hassle, and my flowers didn’t get watered if I was away. You solved my problem. Thanks again!!

[@ThriftyGarage]

Glad James and I could help!

[@spideywhiplash]

Thank you! I screwed up my original program. Your tutorial walked me through the steps better than the company's video.💧🌱

[@ThriftyGarage]

That’s a great to hear!

[@sallybrown9194]

Thank you so much! You explained what the manufacturer didn't ❤

[@ThriftyGarage]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mikeshepard3432]

I watched two other videos on setting ESP-TM2. Yours is the only one that made sense. Thanks! Good job!

[@ThriftyGarage]

Thanks, I really appreciate that compliment.

[@MIgardener]

It’s Topper from outer banks!

[@ThriftyGarage]

He said thanks for the compliment! He said he is also a viewer of your channel!

[@sassyedwards8842]

Great step by step explanation. MUCHOS GRACIAS!

[@ThriftyGarage]

¡De nada!

[@danielbecker4365]

I have one program and 5 zones. Why does the program run twice? It will water all 5 zones then will start again with zone 1

[@AtomicAnimatronic]

How many start times do you have on that program?

[@danielbecker4365]

I have a start time for each zone. @@AtomicAnimatronic

[@petesspspsps]

How do you run on odd/even days rather than days of the week? My city restricts watering to those days rather than days of week.

[@VestaVesta-cd4vv]

Best direction ever!!

[@TheTruckGuy]

40 minutes seems excessive if you are watering 4 times per week. But then again, I'm not sure where this was filmed. Also, when I saw how the lawn looked (I figured it might need some extra water if he's seeding)...

[@ThriftyGarage]

Yes, this was in Utah which is considered a desert. If you get any amount of rain that will reduce your water requirement substantially.

[@jeffbehringer1262]

Yeah. Better off running 20 mins twice.

[@imbrandana]

great video! so just to confirm, If I put my garden on program a, and my grass on program B, will it run through AB and if programmed, c? I just wanted to be sure it wouldn't only run a or B or whichever one I selected during programming, if I had also programmed runtimes on some zones within another program as well. thanks

[@ThriftyGarage]

If you add run times on program A be sure to add start times as well as what days of the week you want watering. If you add run times under program B or C you will also need to add start times and days of the week. If you add run times to any program but forget to add start times to that program it will not run.

[@bigwat60]

Explanation was excellent 👌

[@ThriftyGarage]

Thank you 🙂

[@مسالم-ش4و]

Hallo mein Bester, ich habe mir RAIN BIRD ESP -TM2 (Mit Knopf) gekauft. Ich habe nur zwei wasser ventiele. benutze ich nur den A und B. Wie mache ich das in Program A ein mal am tag Gießen solte in Blumen feld 1, 45 min . und an den gleichen Tag in Feld 2 Beume Gießen solte in Program B 45 min. Aber am nächsten Tag die selbe Spiel aber pro feld 30 min. Danke

[@celestelabadie]

Thanks for this video. Can you explain how to CLEAR the Cyclical setting. It’s set for every two days but I want to get rid of that setting completely and can find no information on how to turn that off and simply set the days manually mon off tues on etc. thanks

[@ThriftyGarage]

What controller do you have?

[@celestelabadie]

@@ThriftyGarage the one in this video. I figured it out. I needed to leave the days of the week screen up (instead of going to a daily cycle screen).

[@foxfur8327]

Great explanation. Can you pkeaxs explain though how to run it manually if the "A" program times had already passed, and now you also want to run it on a date that was turned off as well as on earlier time? Would you program that into B and then change the OFF day you want to an ON day and then type in each new B time? Also the sprinkler sometimes does 2 runs, although only A is programmed. One might be at 10 PM and another at around 12 and I can't figure out what causes that when no times are typed under B, C, or D programs. Do you know why? Thanks.

[@edithreardon6042]

Mine runs thru more then one cycle too. I paid big money for a tech to come out and not fix it.

[@ThriftyGarage]

Find a reputable irrigation contractor with good reviews and referrals. It’s best to have someone who can look at it with their hands on the sprinkler system.

[@Kruggie2001]

Thansk guys! Very helpful.

[@ThriftyGarage]

Thanks for watching!

[@artjenny3832]

Thank you for the basics. However, it is misleading to say that the rain sensor setting is in bypass when in fact the rain sensor is not connected. Also why did you install a 12 zone controller when there are only 4 zones?

[@ThriftyGarage]

This yard is only partially irrigated with sprinklers in the backyard. We installed a larger controller with room for future expansion. As far as the rain sensor goes if there is no rain sensor I always bypass it so the controller does not use that input.

[@hanzohattorri2471]

If you have 3 run times for program A like 7am, 12pm, 6pm how do I turn off the 12pm time?

[@ThriftyGarage]

You have to go around the clock back to 12AM. There is an off setting between 11:59PM and 12:00AM.

[@sirmasteryan4958]

bravo guys well executed.

[@ThriftyGarage]

Thank you Sir Masteryan

[@ChexRider]

I’m trying to make my timer run everyday but under the water data settings when you click the right arrow and it goes to cycles, the lowest cycle option is 2 days. Why can’t I choose 1 days cycle?

[@ThriftyGarage]

Rarely do you need to run your controller every day. Most lawns require watering 3x a week for the proper amount of time. A watering cycle should be equal to about 1/2” of rain. You can used a flat bottomed dish such as a tuna can to catch water and measure how many minutes each zone needs to run to accumulate that amount of water.

[@ThriftyGarage]

You should be able to select what days are on and what days are off. Don’t used the cycle option. If you need extra water for establishment purposes you should be able to water every day or multiple times a day.

[@karenkey929]

Thanks! Very helpful!

[@craftolic]

It is time to turn my system on for the year and I thought all I had to do since it was programmed last year that turning to auto then times would work but it says to start with a hold of the arrow to the right. Nothing happened when I did

[@jordangolson4508]

I want to run all zones 2 days a week and only 2 zones on a third day a week. If I change the program to B will Both programs run? And can I set run times per program? Mine does not allow me to select all programs. I just toggle through A/B/C

[@ThriftyGarage]

If you want all zones to run 2 days a week you can set them up under Program A. The 2 zones you want to run a 3rd day that week you can add to Program B. I would set Program A to run Mon and Friday and Program B to run on Wednesday. This is one way of doing it. You could also remove the 2 zones from Program A and have them run 3 days a week on Program B. I hope that makes sense.

[@hatunkalaman8526]

Türkçe uygulama lütfen

[@agoogleuser1753]

So it's normal to run sprinklers longer than 5 minutes? All my zones were defaulted to 15 minutes and I thought that was too much running water.

[@ThriftyGarage]

Depends on a number of conditions; soil type, slope, moisture content, etc... Most pop-up spray head zones need to run for about 15 minutes per cycle. Most rotor heads need to run for 30-45 minutes per cycle. If your conditions don't permit 1 application for that length of time you can adjust and "cycle soak." You can run it for 5 minutes and wait several hours. Run for 5 minutes again until you reach the correct water amount. Keep in mind that at most you don't need to run more than 1-3 a week for many parts of the country. It's better to water deep and infrequent, rather than often and shallow to promote root growth.

[@malvizar85]

I can't seem to get my 2 zones running together at the game time on auto mode. Either one starts or I can toggle over manually to the zone other but not both together automatically. What am I doing wrong

[@ThriftyGarage]

Do you mean run one after another? If you truly want them to run at the exact same time then you can connect the valve wires to the same terminal. However, if you don't have sufficient pressure the zones will not operate property.

[@malvizar85]

Thrifty Garage oh so they aren't meant to operate simultaneously? They are meant to operate one zone after the other?

[@MAGAMAN]

@@malvizar85 No, that is the whole point of having zones. They run one at a time so you get better water pressure. This also allows you to water more for large areas and less for small areas so you don't flood out the smaller areas.

[@MAGAMAN]

@@malvizar85 No, that is the whole point of having zones. They run one at a time so you get better water pressure. This also allows you to water more for large areas and less for small areas so you don't flood out the smaller areas.

[@alvaroboza3558]

Hello, I have a query, I have this model but I need 1 station to work with cyclical days (every 3 days, 3 times a day, each time for 1 min), could you please explain how to configure it, thank you very much.

[@alvaroboza3558]

if I have the normal configuration in program A (station 1,2 and 3) and cyclical days in program B (station 4). Both programming work for me simultaneously?

[@bartholomewa9294]

Thank you for the video

[@ThriftyGarage]

Thanks for watching!

[@e7bk]

I have 5 zones run 15 min for each zone 2 times per week my water bill over 170$ per month , I changed ot today to 1 min per zone and 1 time per week

[@ThriftyGarage]

Might as well turn it off if you are only going to water for 1 minute per zone. Actual water requirements would depend on sprinkler head type and configuration. Culinary water can be rather expensive and lawn sprinklers can easily use 5-10x the amount of water needed for household uses.

[@Average_joe29]

Why do my sprinklers go through the cycle after the cycle is complete?

[@stevehiner7392]

Mine do the same and I have no idea why?

[@ThriftyGarage]

Is cycle soak setup? Also, sometimes a second run time is set up on the same program.

[@stevehiner7392]

@@ThriftyGarage Thanks! I am not sure what cycle soak is but there is a chance there may be multiple run times set up on the program as this was set up by the installer after we had sod laid down and it would go off three times a day. How do I determine that and how do I clear it as I only want it to go once a day? When I look at it, I only see the time I programmed. Lastly, we are on odd even watering days so I assume I program the two weeks as program A and program B? Thanks again.

[@ThriftyGarage]

Usually you can select odd or even days. For the Program start times, generally you can program up to 4 start times per program. You will want to clear start times 2, 3 and 4 on all programs.

[@cmkrowel]

Quick question. I set up the 3 zones and it came on on time and for the allotted time assign each zone. But it started up again with the 1st zone instead of turning off. Please let me know how i can fix this.

[@ThriftyGarage]

You can have multiple program start times. Make sure that you only have one start time per Program (A, B, C).

[@cmkrowel]

@@ThriftyGarage thank you so much

[@edithreardon6042]

@@ThriftyGarage I only have one start time and it continues to do it.

[@ThriftyGarage]

Does the valve turn off and then back on again or stay on the entire time?

[@cmkrowel]

@@ThriftyGarage thank you it is fixed

[@salvatoreuliano5214]

How do I turn off certain zones? My backyard has no grass since it will be seeded soon and is a mud area. I want to shut my 2 zones in the back to prevent mud while keeping the other zones running.

[@ThriftyGarage]

Find what programs (A, B, C ,D) are set to run. Then adjust the zones you don't want to run to '0 minutes' under each program. Another option is to simply disconnect the zone wire to ensure no water turns on. Be sure and take a photo before!

[@duuuuude1526]

When I have mine set to auto the stations don’t start up at all. I have no idea what to do

[@ThriftyGarage]

Do they have water to the valve?

[@duuuuude1526]

@@ThriftyGarage manual station 1 (only have 1 station/pump) works, but when it's set to auto (correct program A) it doesn't start at my specified time. All days are "ON" on a 31-day cycle. I've tried basically everything I can think of but it just doesn't start on auto. I have to manually set it every night in place of auto not working. HELP!!!

[@ThriftyGarage]

All days are on? Or 31 day cycle? 31 day cycle means it will water once every 31 days. There are so many variables to diagnose via text. I would recommend factory resetting the controller and programming from scratch. If you need to you can look up the pdf manual online and follow the setup instructions. If you still have issues you may need to hire a local sprinkler repair company.

[@duuuuude1526]

@@ThriftyGarage ohhhhhhh I didn't understand what the cycle was. So if I want to water every day it needs to be a 1-day cycle with all days on?

[@ThriftyGarage]

Generally you can only select one or another. But yes. One day cycle would be every day. You can also select a custom cycle and water every day of the week.

[@sidneywhite749]

How do I quick start aa zones?

[@ThriftyGarage]

Turn the dial to manual run and press and hold the arrow.

[@sidneywhite749]

Thrifty Garage Thank you. Bad typing by me. I wanted to start manual watering and when I press the arrow I see a run through of the zones but not start. Sometimes I need to do a watering on the spur of the moment. Please help, sorry to bother you.

[@britneyhouston-escajeda]

Very helpful thank you

[@ThriftyGarage]

Glad to hear! Thanks for watching!

[@larsseagren6814]

Thank you !!

[@mattmilia7771]

Great video!!

[@ThriftyGarage]

Thanks for watching!

[@bart8063]

Great video. I'm running 5 zones but when I turn the dial to "start times" my 5th zone doesn't show up. Even though I have a run time set up for zone 5, when I scroll through it goes straight from 4 to 1. Any ideas what the cause might be?

[@Jack_Lange]

Hey mate did you resolve this issue? My dad wants 5 zones, and each zone's running on specific days, different to other zones...

[@alvarinespinoza5302]

How did u guys solve it?

[@bart8063]

Never did

[@ThriftyGarage]

Do you have run times added for the 5th zone?

[@MAGAMAN]

Price of crap doesn't have a manual rain delay like the old systems. This one relies completely on the rain sensor which will dry out way to quick, so if you have extremely heavy rains the day before your scheduled watering, it will still water again the next day if you are in an extremely hot area like Texas. My old system had a manual rain delay where you could delay the system for up to 72 hours.

[@brianmcmahan5802]

I just had a 3 zone system installed yesterday. My question is can all 3 zones run simultaneously? Thanks, Brian

[@ThriftyGarage]

Sounds like you found the answer but generally it’s not a good idea to run more than one zone at once. Zones if designed properly are intended to use the most amount of available water. Running two zones will usually result in low water pressure.

[@antoniodiaz8319]

Great thanks man

[@ThriftyGarage]

Thanks for watching!

[@TrungNguyen-ko3kb]

Thanks

[@marklenson5481]

GREAT info. Suggestion, hold the camera STILL. I am nauseous watching the vid. But GREAT info!!

[@ThriftyGarage]

Sorry! This is an older video. Hopefully the audio and video is greatly improved on the newer videos. Thanks for watching!

[@cmkrowel]

Thank you

[@ThriftyGarage]

Welcome!

[@joeycaridi3030]

00:05:39 Your dog likes the sprinkler!

[@karenkeeker540]

how to

[@ThriftyGarage]

Did it help?

[@gregoryherbert2935]

This video doesn’t explain specifically what each of the buttons does or which one is the “enter” or select. The use of the plus or minus for days of the week was not clear at all.

[@ella1808]

d1 hater fr

[@christopherherbert2856]

maybe if you weren’t such a boomer you would be able to follow along on this wonderful tutorial

[@christopherherbert2856]

WOMP WOMP

[@christopherherbert2856]

lick a johnson

[@christopherherbert2856]

😢

[@jljuliano1]

Sorry kids, this video makes no sense to this 72 year old. I must use this system because I live in a HOA situation. The maintenance and irrigation is up to me. I sought help and was told all I needed to know was on KZbin>Dah!!? you move too fast, take to fast and explain like I'm a grounds keeper. I guess I gotta pay some genius to come and set this thing. By the way, the unit was on the house when we bought, not my choice of easy

[@ThriftyGarage]

How old is the sprinklers system? This is a very new controller and unlikely to be installed on anything more than a year or two old.

[@brianmcmahan5802]

OOPS, I found my answer in previous posts. Reading is fundamental LOL SMH

[@psesolarscott]

IF YOU BOUGHT ONE OF THESE, send it back now unless you have endless PATIENCE AND TIME. Its garbage and Not an upgrade from the old POS

[@ThriftyGarage]

Sounds like user error. Did you call tech support? There are 1,000s of these units all over the country and likely the world. Realistically 10s of 1,000s or 100s of 1,000s. I’m not paid to say this. This is simply knowledge from working in the landscape industry. I’ll admit it’s not the best controller on the market. But it’s a price point item. It’s intended to be for smaller residential use. James has used this unit for years without issue.

[@drrmagneto4176]

4 channel with 3 programs, rain bird is dumb

[@thall3348]

Too damn fast!!!

[@ThriftyGarage]

Can’t please them all!

[@MAGAMAN]

Price of crap doesn't have a manual rain delay like the old systems. This one relies completely on the rain sensor which will dry out way to quick, so if you have extremely heavy rains the day before your scheduled watering, it will still water again the next day if you are in an extremely hot area like Texas. My old system had a manual rain delay where you could delay the system for up to 72 hours.

[@ThriftyGarage]

You can use the RainBird app to apply a rain delay manually.

[@hudson040]

This is designed for the wireless sensor that waits 48 hrs before restarting. The wireless sensor can also provide the 72 hr delay you're looking for.