RainMachine Mini-8 2nd gen

So far, this thing has lived up to its promises. I am terribly enamored of it. I had grown so tired of paying to water our plants and then having it rain. I also hated knowing I was sometimes over-watering when it was cool in order to make sure there was enough water when it was hot. Plus it was such a pain getting to my old irrigation controller that making schedule adjustments or working on parts of the irrigation system was a nightmare.It was extremely easy to install, for the most part. It's small and compact and light, and it easily fit in my existing weather-proof box (with admittedly some rather brutish modifications to get the previous irrigation controller out). The existing zone control wires were a little too thick for it (they looked like somewhere in the 12-14 gauge range), so I did have to attach some leads with skinnier wire.It's also worth noting that I couldn't get it to connect to my wifi network from its installed location (even though other devices had no trouble in the same spot, and it could see the network fine). I took it back inside to troubleshoot, and then it connected on the first try. When I put it back in the box outside, it kept communicating over the network without a hitch, and has continued to work perfectly for over a month now. Perhaps a stronger/more reliable signal is necessary for that initial connection?The interface seems great to me on my Android device and on PC web browsers. I suppose it may not embody the latest slickest UI standards, but it looks good and clean to me and is extremely functional. I love all the options and the clarity with which the important information is presented. Turning on irrigation zones from my phone to test them never gets old.Most people probably won't care that this fine device runs open-source, developer community friendly software, but that was a plus for me. And I suspect most folks would be pleased by the fact that even if the company goes out of business and their servers go down, you can still get to your device locally (or remotely if you're willing to do a little setup). I certainly hope RainMachine continues to thrive, because I think they deserve it for providing a product I like so much, at a very reasonable price.

I originally gave this unit 5 Stars but after a few days use I realized it has serious Wifi connection issues. My unit has a -52 Db connection on an Asus Aimesh network with Smart Connect. I have over 20 Wifi devices on this network from light bulbs, TVs pool and window covering controllers, etc. None of these devices disconnect. The Rain Machine will connect fine after a power down but disconnect in a few hours and will not reconnect without a power down.According to the online troubleshooting documentation, this is a know issue with modern Mesh and Smart Connect type networks:"Getting Disconnect frequently?Its possible your router is auto channeling and switching WiFi channel every time a channel gets to noisy. This would need to be disabled on your router if determined to be the issue. "I contacted Rain Machine support and they told me this is a security feature to prevent hacking. I find that very odd, since Wifi channel swaps are not a vulnerability and my door locks, alarm and other devices manage the channel swap fine and reconnect after router restarts, etc. The Rain Machine will not reconnect without a power reset. The bottom line is that this is a known issue that Rain Machine either cannot or will not fix. Most modern Wifi routers and Mesh networks offer a consolidated SSID and dynamically pick the best band and channel for each device. This is major feature of these types of systems. I contacted Support three additional times, twice asking to return the unit for a replacement on the outside chance there was something wrong with my device and they will not respond.Search these reviews and online for Wifi issues with the Rain Machine. Then search for Wifi issues with the top rated Rachio line of smart irrigation controllers. It is a frequent issue with the Rain Machine but seems to be an almost non existent issue with the Rachio. I chose the Rain Machine because I read in a forum that it will connect with my ISY 994 HA controller. Turns out the Rachio will connect with the ISY also as well as many other systems including voice control through Siri. I am past the 30 day return on the Rain Machine and customer support will not respond so I am out the cost of this machine but it is of no value to me if it will not stay connected. I am ordering a Rachio. I did not do the proper research before this purchase and it cost me, don't make the same mistake.....Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller, WiFi, 8 Zone 2nd Generation, Works with Alexa

I just installed the unit today, so I may update this later if problems arise. So far I am very impressed. Set up should have been easy but I had some trouble getting the Wifi going. After that was done it took me about 10 minutes to program my 8 zones using the android phone app. It is extremely easy to program. There are lots of options for fine tuning your programs, but getting the basics done is a breeze. It is capable of adjusting your watering times based on weather conditions. You can turn that off if you would rather be in complete control. I decided to use this option but I will watch things pretty closely and adjust my watering times if needed. Once I get things fine tuned I think the timer will do it all. I love having the ability to run or adjust watering on my phone or my PC. I can look at reports that let me know how much water I'm using and when and for how long zones have run. My yard will benefit from smarter watering, and I know I will be able to reduce my water usage.Update: On most of my zones I used the rain machine's recommended watering times. (I had to input what kind of plant I was watering and what type of sprinkler I was using). I put some empty tuna cans at various places in my yard to see if my sprinkler output depth matched rain machine's predictions and sure enough it was very close. My lawn and garden look great. It increased watering on some 100+ degree days and decreased watering on cooler days. Overall I'm saving a lot of water. No problems and I'm very pleased.