Green Electronics RainMachine Mini 8 User manual

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RainMachineMiniUserManual
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RainMachine Mini
The Forecast Sprinkler
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USERMANUALv.1.0 
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RainMachineMiniUserManual
1. INSTALLATION
1.1. Fasteningunit
1.2. Electrical
1.3. Powerup
1.4. Setup
2. HOWITWORKS
2.1. BaseWateringDuration
2.2. Protectingyourplants–HiandLowtemperatures
2.3. MissingInternetweatherdata
3. MANUALUSERINTERFACE
4. MOBILEUSERINTERFACE
4.1. Installingmobileapp
4.3. ConnectingtotheRainMachineMini
4.4. Login
4.5. Howtheapplicationworks
4.6. ZonesManualwatering
4.7. Programs
4.8. Zones
4.9. RainDelay
4.10. Security
4.11. Date/Time
4.12. Units
5.Specification
5.1. Controllerfeatures
5.2. Programmingfeatures
5.3. Zonesfeatures
5.4. Mechanicalspecs
5.5. Electricalspecs
5.6. Warranty
6. Appendix1
6.1. Evapotranspiration(ET)
6.2. QuantitativePrecipitationForecast(QPF)
6.3. CropCoefficientKc
6.4. TheRainMachineAlgorithm
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RainMachineMiniUserManual
1. INSTALLATION
1.1. Fasteningunit
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●PlacetheRainMachinecontrollerclosetoanelectricaloutlet.Werecommendplacingit
indoors(i.e.garage).
●Thequickinstallguideisalsoafasteningtemplate.Placetheprovidedtemplateonthe
wall.Markanddrillthroughtheholeslabeled“DRILLHERE”.
●Usingprovidedscrewsfastentheunittothewall.
● Indooroperatingtemperaturerange*:32Fto122F/0°to50°C
1.2. Electrical
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●Removethewhiteplasticterminalslidbypressingonthe2edgedimpleswhitepullingup
thetabsbelowthem.
●Connectyourvalvewirestothegreenterminalslabeled1through8.
●Youcancontrolupto8valveswithoneRainMachineunit.
●CisCommonterminal–allvalvesshare2commonterminalslabeled“C”.Thecommon
terminalsareelectricallyconnectedtogether.OneorbothCommonscanbeused.
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Note:OKtouseonlyoneCommonterminal(eitherone)forall8valvesasthetwoCommon
terminalsareinternallyandelectricallyconnectedtogether.
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1.3. Powerup
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●Replaceterminalwhiteterminallid.
●Connectthe24VACpowercablestotheterminalsmarked“24VAC”.
●Plugtransformer(includedinthepackage)intoACwallsocket.
●Systemwillboot(12minutes)forthefirsttimeandwillenterintotheinitialsetupmode
andthedisplaywillshowtheletterA
1.4. Setup
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● Jointhe"RainMachine"WiFinetworkusingyoursmartphone:
 GotoSettings
 ChooseWiFi
 InthediscoveredWiFinetworkslistyouwillfindthe"RainMachineXXXXXX"
(eg:RainMachine81a175)WiFinetwork
 TapitandwillautomaticallyconnecttotheRainMachineWiFinetwork.
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● LaunchiOS/AndroidRainMachinemobileapponyoursmartphonetocontinuesetup
processofthedevice.ConnectittoyourhomeWiFinetwork(chooseyourWiFiSSID
nameandthenenteritspassword,ifany,inthesmartphoneappscreen).After
successfullyWiFisetup,chooseaname,locationandtimezoneforyourRainMachine
Minidevice.
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Note:Inordertocompletethesetup,youneedaworkingInternetconnectionandWiFi
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AfteryoucompletedthesetupwizardyouneedtoaddwateringProgramsandeditZones
usingtheRainMachinesmartphoneapplication(seechapter4).
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Congratulations!Yourunitisupandrunning.
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2. HOWITWORKS
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Anirrigationcontrollerisadevicetooperateautomaticirrigationsystemssuchaslawn
sprinkler.Controllershavemeansofsettingthefrequencyofirrigation,thestarttime,andthe
durationofwatering.
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Whilemostsprinklershaveafixeddurationofwatering(e.g.1minutesperzone,asdefined
bytheuser),theRainMachineautomaticallyadjustsyourbasewateringdurationbylowering
itonrainyorcolderdaysandincreasingitonhotsummerdays.
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BecausethesystemdynamicallyadjustthewateringdurationtheRainMachinenotonly
saveswaterbutitalsoprotectsyourplants.
2.1. BaseWateringDuration
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TheBaseWateringDurationisthedurationofwateringrequiredforeachzone,duringa
normal,summerday,asdefinedbytheenduser.
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Initialcalibrationeffortsusingcomplexformulasthattakeinconsiderationsoiltype,inclination
andhypotheticalsolarirradiationamountsarepossible,buttheyarenotpractical.Variable
citywaterpressureaswellasunevenwaterdistributionamongallsprinklerheads,coupled
withlocalshadingconditionscreateanimpracticalandinaccuratemodelingaugingwhat’s
bestforyourgarden.
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Note:Ourdeviceguaranteesseasonallyanddailywatersavingsbasedoncalculationsthat
takeinconsiderationvegetationtype,variabilityoftheweatherandtimeofyear,butitcannot
preventwaterwaste,shouldyousettheBaseWateringDurationtosomethingmuchhigher
thannormal.
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GivenaBaseWateringdurationpereachzone,asdecidedbyyou,theRainMachinewillthen
dynamicallyadjustthewateringduration,upanddown,asneeded.Theseadjustmentsare
theresultofEvapotranspirationcalculationsbasedonyourvegetationtype(Lawn,Bushes,
Flowers,Vegetables,Citrus,etc)andfeedbackfrommeteorologicaldatasuchas: 
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● ForecastedTemperaturefromNationalWeatherService.
● QuantitativePrecipitationForecastfromNOAA’sNationalWeatherService.
● SolarRadialLevelsadjustedtoEarth’srotationandinclinationduringtheyear.
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Note:SeeAppendix1foradetailedexplanationoftheEvapotranspiration(ET),Quantitative
PrecipitationForecast(QPF)algorithms.
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2.2. Protectingyourplants–HiandLowtemperatures
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WhilesavingwaterisoneoftheRainMachine’smaingoals,growingahealthylawnorgarden
isequallyimportant.RainMachineprotectsyourplantsagainstextremeweatherconditions,
likefreezingtemperaturesorunusuallyhotdays.
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UsingtheRainMachinemobileapplicationnavigatetoSetting>Restrictionsandyoucan
instructtheRainMachinetoavoidwateringwhentheminimumtemperaturedropsbelowa
certainlevel,ortoaddmorewaterinextremehotconditions.Inaddition,youcanselect
individualmonthsoftheyearwhenthecontrollerpreventsstartingofanywateringcycle.
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Note:BysettingupfreezeprotectyouinstructRainMachinetonotstartwateringcycles
underaspecifiedtemperatureoronspecificmonths.Thatdoesnotprotectyourpipesor
otherpartsofthesystemagainstfreezing.Ifyouliveinazonewherefreezingoccurs,please
winterizeyoursystem.
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2.3. MissingInternetweatherdata
TheRainMachinecanproperlyworkevenwhenyourInternetconnectiontemporarilygoes
down.Thecontrollerdownloadsforecastdataforupto7days;therefore,itcancontinue
normaloperationseveraldayswithintermittentInternetfailures.
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Note:YouneedaworkingInternetconnectionwhenyousetupthecontrollerforthefirst
time.
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Inaddition,RainMachineusesahistoricaldatabasewithyourlocalweatherconditions,and,if
noInternetweatherdataisavailable,itstillssavesyousomewaterbyusingalocallystored
historicalaveragestable.
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Note:UsingForecastdataand/orHistoricalaveragescanbedisabledforanyspecificzone.
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IfbothForecastdataandHistoricalaveragesaredisabledforaspecificzone,the
RainMachinewillactasaregularsprinklercontroller,wateringtheamountyouprogrammed
(theBaseWateringDuration)foreachzone,withoutanyadjustment.
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3. MANUALUSERINTERFACE
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OntheRainMachineMini’sglasscapacitivetouchscreenthereare:
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 WiFi&DELAYbackliticons
 Digitdisplay
 3backlitilluminatedcircletouchbuttons.
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IMPORTANT:AvailabletouchactionstonavigateandmakechangesontheRainMachine
deviceare:onefingertouchandlongfingertouchonthecirclebuttons.Whenthe
screenentersintosleepmode(onlytheWiFiiconisON),onefingertapthecircletouch
buttonswillrestoretheactivestateofthedevice.
Usingthe3backlitilluminatedcircletouchbuttonstheRainMachineMinicanbemanually
controlled.ToselectawateringzonetapUPandDOWNbuttonsthedigitdisplaywillshow
thenumberofthezoneandashortaudiobeepwillsound.
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Note:IftheMasterValveissetasZone1,thedigitdisplaywillstartcountingthewatering
zonesfrom2upto8.
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Tomanuallystartwateringthedesirablezonetapthelastcircletouchbutton:WATER.This
buttonwillstartflashingmeaningthatthewateringprocesshasstarted.Tostoppewatering
processonthatzonetaptheWATERbuttononceagain.Onbothactiontwoshortaudio
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RainMachineMiniUserManual
beepswillsound.
Thedefaultamountofwateringtimeperzoneis1minute.Ifthezonewaspreviouslysetup,
thatlastamountoftimewillbeused,whenthezoneisstartedmanuallyagain.Onlyonezone
atatimewillbeactive.Tostartanotherzonetheactivezonehastofinishorhastobe
stopped.
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RainMachineMiniUserManual
4. MOBILEUSERINTERFACE
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ThissectionwillshowyouhowtoconnectyourRainMachinetoyourApple/Android
smartphone/tabletsandhowtheapplicationworks.
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Note:Thefollowingstepsarethesameoneachmobileplatform.
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4.1. Installingmobileapp
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Step1:OnyourdeviceopentheAppStore/GooglePlayapp.Searchforthe“rainmachine”
word.YoushouldfindtheRainMachinemobileapplication.
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Step2:DownloadandInstalltheapplication.
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4.2Discovereddevices
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● AlistwithlocalnetworkRainMachinedeviceswillbedisplayed.
●RainMachine81a175isthenameand192.168.13.1:8080istheLocalNetworkIP
AddressandportoftheRainMachineMinidevice.
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4.2.1.Addanewdevice
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● Pressthe“Addnewdevice+”button.
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● EntertheRainMachinedevice:
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Name(optional):i.e.MyRainMachine
and
URLorIPaddress:i.e.201.68.0.102
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andthentapSavebutton.
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Note:DefaultportisTCP/443orTCP/18443.
Ifyouneedtospecifyanotherport,enteraddressinthisformat:address:port
example:201.68.0.12:8080
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● WhenyouareawayfromhomeyoumustconfigureyourhomeWiFiroutertogiveyou
accesstoyourRainMachineviaPortForwarding(seebelow).
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4.2.3.PortForwarding(optional)

TomakeyourhomeRainMachineaccessiblethroughtheInternetyoumustconfigureyour
routerusingportforwarding.

Quicknotefortechsavvyusers:allyouneedistoforwardpublicport443(default)or
18443toyourRainmachine’slocal_address:443orlocal_address:18443(eg:
192.168.12.142:443)

Youcanfindmoreinfoandportforwardingtutorialsonportforward.com.

1)FindyourexternalpublicIPaddress(alsocalledWANIPaddress)byconnectingto
yourWIFIrouter,andnavigatetoInternetorWANsection,dependingonyourroutermodel.
Youcandoublecheckthatbyopeningabrowserandyourcomputerandnavigateto
http://www.whatismyip.com


Note:InourexamplethepublicIPaddress(WANIPaddress)wouldbe:201.68.0.102



2).FindtheRainMachine’slocalIPaddressbygoingtotheRainMachineSettings>
Advanced>WIFI.ThefirstlineinthisscreencontainstheIPaddressofyourdevice.


Note:InourexamplelocalIPaddressis:192.168.12.142


3)LoginintoyourWIFIrouterandconfigureTCPportforwarding:

Protocol=TCP
SourcePort=443(or18443)
Destinationport=443(or18443)
DestinationIP=RainMachine’sIPaddress(example:192.168.12.142)

4)GotoyourSmartPhoneAppandaddanewdevicebyclickingon“Addnewdevice+”
button.


ImportantNoteforAirportUsers:DonotsetupyourRainmachineintheAirport’sGuest
NetworkasyouwillhaveadifficulttimeaccessingthedevicefromyourlocalLANaswellas
fromtheOutsideworld.TheGuestnetworkcanbeopenedforguestsonlyandbydefinition
cannotaccesstheinternalhostsandviceversa.
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4.3. ConnectingtotheRainMachineMini

● FirstmakesurethedeviceisinAPMode(wirelessaccesspointmode)letterAwillshow
onthedigitdisplay.ItmeansthattheRainMachineMinihasstartedtobroadcastitsown
WiFinetwork. 

● Jointhe"RainMachine"WiFinetworkusingyoursmartphone:
 GotoSettings
 ChooseWiFi
 InthediscoveredWiFinetworkslistyouwillfindthe"RainMachineXXXXXX"
(eg:RainMachine81a175)WiFinetwork
 Tapitandwillautomaticallyconnect

● LaunchAndroid(sameforiOSapp)RainMachinemobileapponyoursmartphoneto
continuesetupprocess.OnthemainappscreenDevicestheRainMachineMiniwillbe
listedwith“setup”labelattached,itmeansyoucannowstartthesetupprocess.

● Taponitandyou’llbeaskedtoconnectittoyourhomeWiFinetwork.Chooseyour
homeWiFiSSIDfromthediscoveredWiFinetworkslist,typethehomeWiFinetwork
passwordandtapConnect.TheRainMachineMiniwillbeconnectedtoyourWiFi
network.
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● BackonDeviceslistnowtheRainMachineMinideviceissuccessfullyconnectedto
yourhomeWiFinetworkandhasalocalIP(eg:192.168.12.170:8080).
● Taponitandyou’llbeaskedtorenameitandtochangeitsdefaultloginpassword.




● TapSavetosavethissettingsandgotothenextscreenwhereyoucansetupthe
locationoftheRainMachineMinidevice.
● Themobileapplicationdiscoveryourlocation,butyoucanalsochangeitbytypingthe
EditbuttonnexttothediscoveredlocationandstarttypingyourRainMachineMini
location,uptostreetlevel.


Note:It’sveryimportanttosetupthelocationoftheRainMachineMinideviceforfuture
accuracyoftheforecastweatherdata


● Thenchoosedate&timeandthetimezonebasedonlocation
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4.4. Login

AfterconnectingaRainMachinedevicetoyourmobile,theloginscreenwillbedisplayed.
EnterthepasswordandclickonLogin.ChecktheRemembermecheckboxifyouwantyour
loginpasswordtoberememberedbythemobileapplication.

4.5. Howtheapplicationworks

● UponsuccessfullylogintheapplicationwillopentheStatsscreen.Inthissectionyoucan
seetheinformationaboutthepresumedwaterconsumptionpercent,iconforweather
conditionandthetextualLow/Hightemperaturesforthenext5days,includingToday.
● Onthebottomofthescreenthereareinfoabouttheweatherparser(NOAA’sweather
servers)latestdataupdateontheRainMachinedevice,followedbyagreencheckboxfor
“successdownload”.For“nodata”or“noconnection”thegreencheckboxwillbereplaced
withanyellowtrianglewithblackexclamationsign.
● Theusercanmanagemaximum8zonesthatthedevicecanbeprogrammedtowater
andallactivezonescanbeseeninZonessection.Bydefault,thewateringtimeissetto
1minutesand0seconds.Thiscanbechangedbytappingazoneandthenchangethe
amountoftimeusing+andcirclebuttonsforminutesandseconds.
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● TheZone1canbesetasMasterValve

● Onlyonezonecanwateratonetime.Ifmorezoneswerescheduledforwateringtheywill
receivethestatus“Pending”untilthefirstonefinishes.

● Thewateringwillstartintheorderthezoneswerescheduled.

 
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4.6. ZonesManualwatering

InZonessectionyoucanmanagethezonesyouwanttobewateredatonetime.Inthis
section,thelistwithallavailablezonesisdisplayed.
Tobeginthewatering,chooseazone,setthenumberofminutesandsecondsthesprinkler
willwaterusing+andcirclebuttonsandthenclickonStartorifthereisnoneedtochange
theamountofwateringtime,justtaptheON(start/pendingwatering)/OFF(stopwatering)
switchinfrontofthezonenameandtheactionisinstant.

Ifyouwantalltheremainingzonestobewatered,youcanputtheminpendingbytapping
theswitches.TostopthewateringselectthezoneandclickonStop,ortaptheON/OFF
switch.TostopallwateringtaptheupperleftsideStopAlltextbutton.

4.7. Programs

Theapplicationallowsyoutoorganizeyourzonesintoprogramsortodelaywatering
activities.GotoSettingssectionandclickonProgramstocreate,start,editordiscard
programs.

Toaddanewprogram:

○ GotoSettings>ProgramsandclickonAddNewProgram+
■ Tosetthesamenumberofminutesforallzonestobewateredorselect
adifferentvalueforeachzone.

■ Todelaythewateringofthezonesinsideaprogramwith“n”minutes
chooseDelaybetweenzonesoption.

■ FromCycle&Soakoptionyoucansetthenumberofminutesforwater
cyclesandsoak.Thisoptiondivideseachzoneintoanumberofparts
equaltowatercyclesanddelayseverypartwiththenumberofminutes
equaltosoak.

○ RenametheprogramandtaponSavebutton.Thenewlycreatedprogramwill
nowbedisplayedinProgramslist.Also,todiscardallchanges,taponDiscard
textbutton.
○ TappingStarttextbuttonwillautomaticallystarttheprogramyoucreated



TodeleteaprogramgotoSettings>Programs.TaponEdit(pencil)upperrightbutton
andchoosewhatprogramtodelete,taptheDeletebuttonandtheprogramwillbeerased
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fromProgramslist.

YoucaneditaprogrambysimplytapingitinProgramslist.Modifytheoptionsandtapon
Saveredtextbutton.

ProgramscanalsobeactivatedordeactivatedfromProgramslist.Taponaprogramand
chooseActiveON/OFFswitchoption.




4.8. Zones

● You can edit a zone by selecting Settings > Zones section. For each zone you can               
change the name, active state, vegetation, turn ON/OFF forecast data and historical           
averagesoptions.Whenfinished,taptheSavetextbuttontosavethechangesmade.
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4.9. RainDelay

● Theapplicationallowsyoutodelayallyourwateringactivities.FromSettings>Rain
Delaysection,selectthenumberofdaysandtaponDelaybutton.
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4.10. Security
● Changedevicepassword:AccessPasswordsection,enteroldandnewpasswordand
clickonSavebutton.

4.11. Date/Time

● DateandtimesettingscanbechangedfromSettings>Date/Timesection. 

4.12. Units

● YoucanalsoselecttheunitsforthetemperaturevaluesdisplayedinStatsscreen.You
candothisbyaccessingSettings>Unitssection.


5.Specification

5.1.Controllerfeatures
● Weatheraware,ETcontroller*
● WiFi,webbasedcontroller
● 8zones,mastervalve
● Locationbasedweatherdata(NOAA)
● Glasscapacitivetouchscreen
● iPhoneandAndroidapps
● AutomaticorManualRainDelay
● FreezeControl
● HotWeatherCompensation(ETbased*)*ET=Evapotranspirationcontroller
● Indooruseonly
5.2.Programmingfeatures
● UnlimitedPrograms
● ProgramableStationDelay
● MultipleCycleandSoaktimers
● Active/InactivePrograms
● Daily,Odd,Even,specificweekdays
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5.3.Zonesfeatures
● Mastervalvepreandpostdelay
● Editablezonenames
● Zonevegetationtype
● Weatherdataparametersperzone
5.4.Mechanicalspecs
● Dimensions:5.9x5.9x1in
● Weight:7oz
● Packagecontains:smartsprinklercontroller,ACadapter,wallscrews,quicksetupguide
● Shippingweight:34oz
5.5.Electricalspecs
● Wirerange:AWG1422,0.751.5mm
● ACInput:24VAC,60Hz,750mA(adapterincluded)
● Valveoutput:24VAC,max8VA
● Mastervalve:24VAC,60HZ,8VA
● WIFI:802.11N,2.4Ghz,US/Japan/EU
5.6.Warranty
● 1Yearstdhardwarewarranty
● Indooroperatingtemperaturerange*:32Fto122F/0°to50°C
*Forhightemperatureenvironmentspleaseensureadequateairflowinverticalposition
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RainMachineMiniUserManual
6. Appendix1
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6.1. Evapotranspiration(ET)
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Evapotranspirationaccountsfortheamountofwaterlosttotheatmosphereasaresultof
evaporation(bothfromsoilandplantleaves)andtranspirationfromtheplanttissues.Using
ET,theRainMachineestimateshowmuchwateryourlawn,gardenandtreesneedtogrow
healthy.Tolearnmoreaboutevapotranspiration,pleaseconsult:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evapotranspiration
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RainMachinedownloadsweatherforecastdatafromNOAA*andusingacomplexalgorithm,
itcalculatesETandestimatesthewaterneedsforthenextdays.NOAAprovidesforecast
datafortheentireUSwitha5km(approx.3miles)spatialresolution,allowingRainMachine
topredictthewateringadjustments.
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*NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministrationhttp://www.noaa.gov
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Note:Unlikeothersmartsprinklercontrollers,RainMachineusesfreeweatherdatafrom
NOAA’sNationalWeatherService,agovernmentalagencypaidfromyourtaxdollars.You
willneverpayfeesforaccessingweatherdata.
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6.2. QuantitativePrecipitationForecast(QPF)
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Afterestimatingthewaterloss,RainMachinetakesintoaccounttheestimatedamountofrain,
withspatialresolutionof5km.
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QPFistheexpectedamountofmeltedprecipitationaccumulatedoveraspecifiedtimeperiod
overacertainarea.TolearnmoreaboutQPF,pleasereferto:
http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/qpf/qpf2.shtml
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Note:QPFbecomesbetterasweapproachtheevent(e.g.:therainfall).Betterresultson
savingwatercanbeobtainedifyourprogramfrequencyislessthan3days.
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