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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RainMachineMiniUserManual
4.2.3.PortForwarding(optional)
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TomakeyourhomeRainMachineaccessiblethroughtheInternetyoumustconfigureyour
routerusingportforwarding.
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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)
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Youcanfindmoreinfoandportforwardingtutorialsonportforward.com.
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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
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Note:InourexamplethepublicIPaddress(WANIPaddress)wouldbe:201.68.0.102
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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.
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Note:InourexamplelocalIPaddressis:192.168.12.142
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3)LoginintoyourWIFIrouterandconfigureTCPportforwarding:
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Protocol=TCP
SourcePort=443(or18443)
Destinationport=443(or18443)
DestinationIP=RainMachine’sIPaddress(example:192.168.12.142)
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4)GotoyourSmartPhoneAppandaddanewdevicebyclickingon“Addnewdevice+”
button.
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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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