Plugin: Rachio Irrigation

Plugins & Plugin Development General Plugin Discussion
#21

No need to delete it, the only thing you need to do is rename the Vera device as you would any other device. Everything else about it seems to be in order.

I’ve already updated the development code base to override the Vera device name in future, so this will be fixed in the next version.

#22

Version 1.5 released. This version will sync the name of the Vera device to the Rachio device/schedule/zone name if changed after initial configuration. This may require a reload of the Luup engine and hard-refresh of the browser to be visible in the UI.

#23

Hi all,

I used this sometime back and always interested in bringing connected objects into Vera but I never found a use for the integration. Can anyone share how they use the integration of Rachio? Maybe it will give me some ideas. Thanks!

#24

I can tell you that for my own use, it’s mostly just for access from a single UI. And I wrote the darned the thing. :slight_smile:

It’s an interesting case, really, I think because it’s such an automated “set and forget” kind of device, it really doesn’t need a lot of management. I do appreciate being able to start a manual watering schedule easily when, for example, the wife says the veg beds needs it–their smarts assume a lot, and are no substitute for hands-on knowledge. I also have Reactor notify me when the Rachio has been offline for a while–it serves as my “canary in the mine” for the garage GFCI, which occasionally trips during storms. And I find it’s easier to put the controller in standby or take it out seasonally from Vera’s UI, rather than having to open their mobile or web app to do it. But yeah, in general, the integration doesn’t get a lot of click traffic.

#25

Interesting and great points. Specifically with going offline. The IFTTT recipe for offline has never worked. I’m the type of person that likes to know all the status of the devices so maybe there’s my use case.

So I don’t use Reactor but I follow the thread and same goes for my reasoning of this post. Does the offline warning work in ui7 without Reactor for a scene or just standard notification from the Vera app?

Thanks @rigpapa

#26

You can do the immediate notification either on the controller device’s Notifications tab, or with a scene (both actually use a scene but Vera hides the one it creates for the former).

#27

Great, thanks for the info!

#28

I have OpenSprinkler, but I use integration to

  • notify me when sprinklers are about to start, to avoid water for my awnings (near the grass)
  • stop watering when party mode is on
  • stop watering if wind sensor has been triggered
#29

Thanks. I was thinking about open sprinkler too before I got the rachio.

#30

IMO, Rachio is too smart, and overpriced. If there’s a difference in my water bill, I haven’t noticed. I’m living with it now, but if it ever dies, I’m replacing it with an ESP8266.

#31

I’m OK with my opensprinkler. It’s not smart enough to predict rain in accuracy (but that’s the problem with rain prediction outside of USA, I guess) so I coupled it with a custom script, using my rain sensor to stop watering if rain has fallen in the last 4 hours. It’s OK most of the time.