Rain Sensors - Product Review
If you are interested in conserving vast amounts of fresh water, installed one of these smart, easy to install rain sensors.
If you are interested in saving vast amounts of our precious water, you should look into the water-saving abilities of a rain sensor for your automatic irrigation controller.
I would place a rain sensor at about my #3 priority for saving water. Now on the face of it that does not seem that high, but if you consider #1 as being the automatic irrigation controller and #2 being water efficient irrigation systems such as drip irrigation, it makes perfect sense.
Features of the Toro Rain Sensor:
Water conservation device that meets legislative standards in states/municipalities with mandates
Wireless, features 300-feet range
Works by absorbing rainwater and then responds by interrupting power to the valves No changes to the timer programming are made
For new or replacement installations
Works with most irrigation timers
If you have purchased an automatic irrigation controller sometime in the last several years, there is a very good chance that one of these 3rd party sensors will integrate into your system.
The rain sensors do not change the timer function on your existing controller. They only interrupt the signal to the valves, thus shutting down the system.
The rain sensor works by absorbing rainwater and then responds by interrupting power to the valves. The rain sensor will then gradually dry out, as does the soil, allowing sprinklers to run as scheduled.
For existing irrigation systems, I prefer using the wireless models. They will give you up to 300' of distance (that is line of sight, so there has to be a clear signal between the controller and the sensor).
I have found this distance to be somewhat less with trees, shrubs, and the controller located in the garage or basement, reducing the effective line of sight distance.
Some of the more advanced units like the Rainbird WR2 and the Hunter Wireless Rain Click, feature LCD screens with features that are available at the push of a button. These units are really easy to set up, especially for the one man setup operation.
They also offer more advaced features like weather reporting, multiple controller support, multiple rain set points, giving you much more flexibility, dual antennas an a lot more...
LCD screen to see signal strength, set points, etc. at a glance
Signal strength indictators on sensor and LCD screen
Versatile mounting bracket that easily attaches to walls, fences or gutters
Pair one sensor up to four controllers
Six rainfall set points
Quick shut-off suspends irrigation immediately
Dual built-in antennas and a lot more features
Wireless Models: The wirless models are very easy to setup. The sensor consists of a sender unit (this is the sensor itself) and a receiver unit (this receives the signal from the sensor and passes this communication on to the irrigation controller.
The sensor is weatherproof (that makes sense), and can be easily cliped onto a rain gutter with the handy enclosed clipping device.
The received can be mounted either indoors or outdoors as it is also weatherproof.
There will be status LED's, signal strength LED's and battery level LED's giving you great feedback as to the prime location of the sensor and the life of the battery.
Usually the batteries installed in these units are rated for a 5-year life, so you can let the sonsor do its work for a half a decade without the need for any maintenance.
Once installed, tie the receiver into the controller using the simple enclosed instructions, set the rain sensitivity for your particular location (this is usually somewhere between 1/4" to 1" of rain), which will shut off the irrigation system, and you are ready to save a LOT of water.
Hunter Wireless Rain Click Rain Sensor:
Hassle-free, wire-free easy installation
Hunter unique Quick Response feature
Modular mounting options; gutter or wall mounts
Set a maximum dry-out period
Operates up to 300' from the receiver unit
