Very important to know that the A,B,C program selector switch is for programming purposes only, it does not determine which program will run. If you set unique programs for each they will ALL run regardless of where this switch is set. To fix this I have turned each day "OFF" in the programs you do not want to run. Alternatively, you can reduce each zone time to 0 minutes for the programs you don't want to run (though that defeats the whole purpose of multiple programs). Thanks for posting this video.
Thanks!!! This comment saved my sanity. I could not find out why it came on twice in the day when I only had it set once. Why would they make it like that?
Thank you so much for this video! I am renting a house and programming was wiped after a power outage. In trying to get things set up again, I managed to set it up to water 6 times a day. Your video was just what I needed to get things back the way they should be. My system is old! After power outage, it reverts to 1995, but this was close enough to get me going the right way.
Fabulous job in this video. He did an excellent job on describing all the features. I highly recommend this to anyone that wants to learn how to use the sprinkler system
So happy to discover this video! Currently renting a house and ever since we moved in we were not taught how to work our Sprinkler control box which is like the one shown in this vdeo. Thanks to this video I was able to learn how to operate my sprinkler system. It was clear and very informative!
Thanks for the info on the delay timer! Some landscapers messed ours up and it kept blinking a 7 hour delay. 2 companies told me we might need to replace our timer because it must be broken! I just changed the delay timer myself thanks to your video!
Adam thank you sooo much for this video. I had no idea how to program this box or what that box on the wall was. Just bought this house here in Florida. My grass was dying. I went over and follow all your instructions and everything works just how you said. I almost called a tech to come over and fix ,y sprinkles. Thank you thank you. God bless.
I was looking for instructions on how to get the system to run more than once in a day. Your video showed me how to get it done. My newly seeded areas will be getting short amounts of water three times a day.
thank you for instruction on using Test All Valves (8:51). I needed to know that you choose the area, hit Manual Start, then return switch to Auto, and it will test each station for 2 minutes. I made the mistake of trying this when my sprinklers were actually timed to start (just by coincidence) and things went a bit wonky until I realized it and just turned the switch back to auto. Thanks for this very clear instruction for a 2000 to 2015 year program.
Thanks, helpful video. Mine was watering twice a day and I hadn't noticed I had accidentally created two watering events at the same starting time. With your video I realized that was possible and checked, and yes, that was it.
***Also, to reset all your settings and start over...turn dial to "Season Settings" and press Up and Down buttons at the same time til you see "Clear." This resets all your settings back to the first original default.
This is the best instructional video I have ever seen !!! THANK YOU !!! One thing I wondered about is when the Alarm light comes on (and the sprinklers are not working) how to find the problem???
Great info. How do I troubleshoot a section that is not working. For example, I have 12 stations. Stations 8, 9, and 10 are not working. Is it a wiring or valve issue? Wasps?
Really good video. Thank you! Recently moved into a new home with this beast already installed. I’ve had several controllers in my lifetime but nothing as non intuitive as this one. Could not find manuals online that were the least bit clear. I should have come here first!!!
Hi thanks for the video. We've had this for a couple of years and I still have trouble understanding the program a,b,c button. My understanding from the beginning was the way you described....to be used to set up different schedules and only the one the button was on would run. For example, (A) watering setup for 3 days a week & (B) watering 2 days a week for time of year when there's more rain......and if you leave the switch on (B), it will water 2 days a week. We set it up that way and got an outrageous water bill When I called our installer, he said all the programs that are setup all run. So it was running back to back apparently.
Most excellent - thank you for posting - answered my questions as I wanted to set it up for 2 times day for the next 20 days as we just aerated and seeded!
Awesome video. As you can tell by no “dislikes”, very useful. I had my gardener controlling it all before but in LA, water restrictions are tight. Also good advice on weird areas that only allow to water on certain days. I live in one of those areas, we can only water our lawn Tues, Fri & Sun since my address ends w a odd #.
Programs A, B, and C run at the same time. The selected switch is for programming. If you have a program set up for each A, B, and C, they will all run.
Same here, just realized through doorbell camera at work that my sprinklers were running through the cycle three times!!! My summer water bill was huge last year and now I know why :(.
Hello Adam, although it's been over 6 years since you posted this Instructional video, hopefully you are still monitoring posted messages. Anyway, at the end of the video, you mentioned an Instructional video on the ET Manager sensor device. Do you have the video available? I can't find anything on YT concerning it. BTW, your Rain Bird Sprinkler video was outstanding!!!
Thank you for this video - after years of procrastinating from reading the manual, you showed me how to set up my rainbird controller in minutes! I still have a question about the program switch - the inside cover of the controller says the program switch is used only for programming and does not determine which program will run, but that's ok - I only use program A anyway.
thank you good sir. I just bought my first house and the box has no instruction card. It was a bit tricky to search for instructions online because the box doesn't say Rain Bird. It just have a big sticker saying TURFGRO. Most of the functionalities are intuitive, but some are not very clear, so thank you for all the explanations.
Thanks for the video! I especially appreciated the explanation of the percentage feature. I actually took a semester of irrigation in college but haven't used it often (and mostly Hunter) and was dreading reading the manual. BTW, only being allowed to water on certain days are for those places that have droughts. We water our lawns with the same water that we drink so have to conserve water. I've experienced over two months of temps in the 100s and 100 days without water (at the same time) in North Texas. Yikes!
Great Video. Is it possible to have your second station run several times a day without having the station 1 come on with it? I am starting my second station from seed and I need it to stay wet. My grass on station one is already established and don't need to water it so much.
Great video Adam! I have a question, can I program it to run 2 valves at the same time? My sprinkler system is attached to a well and according to the well company the pump is shutting off and then turning on constantly stirring up sand within the well and causing the heads to become clogged. He stated the smaller zones are causing the pump not to pull enough water and that running 2 of the small zones at the same time would fix this problem. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you :) -Nicole
Nicole Kallenberg You would have to hook up both wires to the same terminal in the box. I would have to try it in my system to see if there is enough amps to activate two solenoids. The other problem that you may have is, is there enough water pressure to run two lines at the same time.
Old video but maybe your still following- my esp modular with 4 zones with hunter solenoid control valves. Everything works perfectly except after the fourth zone cycles- instead of turning off it will just cycle to first zone - and do this over and over until I manually turn the system off.
just bought a home that has this. Very helpful! I was wondering if there was a way to just turn everything on to make sure everything was working ok? Is that the test all valves knob?
Adam, very good video. I am having trouble with my Rain Bird ESP Modular controller. The controler lights up and #s are visible but none of the zones will turn on when I try to manually run the system. Went to Home Depot and they said to change the fuse but I cannot find a dang fuse. any suggestions. I have the exact same controller as shown in this videdo. thanks.
Hi, Your video is very informative. But I didn't get the answer I needed to know, not unless I missed it. Can you set certain zones to only run on even days and others on odd days (For example, zones 1 thru 6 to run only on even days, and zone 7 to run only on odd days)? Please advise. Thanks. Emmanuel.
Yes, you can do that using the programs A,B,C. Because they are all being executed at the same time, as somebody mentioned previously here, no matter in which position the switch is. So set the program switch to position A, and set all zones from 1-6 to run on even days. Then change the switch to position B and set zone 7 to run on odd days. All settings of each program are unique to that program only. The only constraint, per my understanding, is that two zones can't run at the same time, so make sure the program's start times are not overlapping.
Hello Adam , & Thanks to this valuable video , which I took advantage of it , frankly & no more technician cost . Mr Adam I've got a message of ( error 8 & Alert lamp ) !! Yes , valve No. 8 is not working , wires in the timer apparatus are connected well . So , what should I check to resume it ? What is the (A,B,C ) switch useful for ? & how I program it ? Best Regards Yaqoob
Great video. I've programmed (custom) 4 cycles for each day because I laid down new sod. But now I want to delete 3 cycles, but I can't figure out how. Any ideas? I shouldn't have to switch the program, I just want to delete a cycle I've set up. Thanks.
Ok so the ESP controller already has a built in rechargeable supposedly non replaceable lithium battery which supposedly keeps the data in the event of a power failure. My system is about 7 years old now and the lithium battery apparently doesn't keep a charge for long. Now are you telling me the 9v battery you show in your video is a backup battery for the data? According to rainbird this battery is for some kind of remote controller. Please explain.
We have an asterisk over the hour symbol so we are having difficulty adjusting the start time???? How can we get it to display an hour and minute time? Thanks, your video has taught us a lot the we did't realize.
I have this timer and the screen went blank.I changed the 9v battery and nothing. I was about to buy a new timer but I decided to take it apart and inside there is a hidden lithium battery about the size of a nickel. I replaced it a bingo. When I say take it apart it's like 3 screws and very easy so don't be afraid to give it a shot if you have already replaced the 9V with a battery you know is good. Oh and I had it connected to power but without the hidden battery it won't work.
This tip about the 3 volt Lithium button battery is a life saver. I don’t think it is mentioned in the manual, and it is not visible until you decide to look for it. The problem, of course, is that you don’t know to look for a hidden battery that is not mentioned in the manual. Thanks again for this great money-saving, time-saving tip! (After writing this comment, I electronically searched my PDF copy of the manual again. There is a mention of it on the very last page, where it states that this battery is not replaceable and that the controller should be discarded when the Lithium battery dies, after about 10 years or so. Glad I found this tip before I saw that misleading instruction. This battery is readily available anywhere that batteries are sold and easily replaceable.)
This is a great video! Does anyone know where the AC power plugs into the unit? We have two Orange and one blue/green electrical cord that we can’t for the life of us find a home for. (Somehow came unplugged over the winter). Thanks!
Hey Adam great video i learned a lot, thank you.. I have a ESP Modular just like the one in this video and i think i have a bad transformer. how can i make sure it is a bad transformer? i checked voltage on the two wire's that go to the 24 VAC with a volt meter and one gives me 28 the other gives me 0.3 and together it gives me 29 when the timer is on but the sprinklers don't go on .. please help
So. Want to use program "A". Want valve 1 to run every 3rd day so will use advanced cycles, custom. Also, want on same program "A" to have valve #2 to run every 5 days. How do I accomplish this? Valve #1 is for plants, valve #2 is for trees???
hi, i got a problem with the running times, i have 4 valves, set all for 15 minutes, right time and days of the weeks, it does turn on but once the number 4 ends , the number 1 start over again and stay running all 4 all day long, what can i do?
So I’ve got 1 start time in A switch 2,3 and for are off. Do I look for 1,2,3 and for in B C and make a start time there? Do I do it in B C where it says 2 start Time? Thanks
in the instruction sheet on the door, it says something to the extent of: the program switch does not determine which program is running. So it can't be seasonal. (although that would be convenient) I guess I need to open that thick manual....
Leslie JS while the manual is not precise. In the troubleshooting section it mentions that if there is an unexpected watering occurring, it's because an unwanted program is on, and that programs stack. Multiple programs can run at the same time. The program switch just toggles which one you want to make changes to at that time. So Programs ARE NOT for seasons, that's what seasonal adjust is for.
I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. It looks like I'm following all your instructions but my timers don't seem to come on and shut off together. I have all 4 stations set up for ON at 5:15 a.m and set to shut OFF in 10 minutes but they don't come on the same time and they keep running until I manually have to shut them off. Do I need to hit that RESET button inside and start again?
The way the stations work is they all take turns. Only one station can run at a time. So the first station will turn on and when that is done the second station will run. Does that answer your question?
looks like i got the same problem, they do take turns but when the last one end its time the first one start on again and i have to turn it off manually, any help?
You have a second start time in the same program. turn file to start times-Make sure its in program A-It will show a 1 and a time so enter a time to start the system.Now hit the manual button and it will go to the second start time-make sure this says off-Use arrows up and down to find off.Do the same for 3 and 4th start times in program A.Now go to program B and C and do the same thing.Make sure everything in program B and C is off.
I have a question do you have a video about errors because mine for number one saying error error error error and I don’t know how to fix it I don’t know what it’s for and no one ever have videos about the vows the actual valves are in the ground that are connected to the water pipes do you have anything like that
If I change it to cyclic every 3 days when will it sprinkle for the first time? The next time it hits the time I set? So if I set it for 3am will the first time it sprinkles be 3am the next day and then again at 3am three days after that?
Need your help please. Is there a way to set timer to water zones 1 & 2 on Monday for 45 minutes, Zones 3 & 4 on Wednesday and Zones 5 & 6 onFriday? Please and thanks
Nice Video Adam.... I am having one issue...I have five stations, in manual I can test and get functionality for all stations..However when I go to program the stations it only lets me program 4 stations if I try to advance to station number 5 it goes back to the 1st station.. any suggestions?
