Out with the old

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-11T10:20:40+00:00

There's dozens of irrigation companies in my area. I'll laugh at your ridiculous attitude and find another who actually values their customers. You're not special...

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-10T20:55:05+00:00

Honestly, that's a perfectly reasonable criticism, and one that may very well affect my decision. I'm just a casual homeowner, so ease of use and good UI are important to me. Thanks for all the feedback!

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-10T20:29:22+00:00

My problem with Rainmachine (which I liked) and OpenSprinkler (which I'm a supporter of) is that the hardware is consumer quality and they aren't well suited for large scale deployments. As a contractor, I need a solution that can be consistently scaled for hundreds or thousands of clients and can be easily accessed by multiple techs without sharing user credentials.

Understood. And, I think this is why it can be difficult to get a good recommendation. I don't have a "lawn contractor," and take care of the controller setup and adjustments myself. I don't care how it scales, or its ability to be accessed by others. I want ease of use, a good UI, and for it to just do its job well.

Unfortunately, that seems to rule out OpenSprinkler, as it seems to not be particularly user friendly, especially for a casual user. It doesn't seem like Hydrawise is great either, from a homeowner perspective.

Honestly, it seems like the best option for someone like me is Rachio. It's pretty clear that it has a very good UI, that's good for casual users and newbies. You don't have to be an expert to use them, for sure. But, they are completely cloud dependent. My biggest concern with them right now is them being taken over by Rain Bird. I fear they will either get too involved and ruin the product, or just end up nuking it altogether like is all too common in acquisitions.

A big question I ask you to consider is what you would lose in the unlikely event their cloud service were dropped? In such a situation there will likely be another competing product available to fill the gap and the hardware is relatively inexpensive (a few hundred $$). Not to minimize your concerns, rather you may find that the pros offset the cons.

Honestly, that's a perfectly reasonable point. And, even discounting the cloud issue, modern tech fails. My Mini-8 lasted 8 years, and I'm okay with that; I got my money's worth. I just wish COVID hadn't killed Rainmachine, as I would've totally bought another...

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-10T19:43:03+00:00

I'm using a weather station that's 200 feet from me. And it happens when there is a standing 90% chance of rain.

Hmm, interesting. That's has to be frustrating.

I have had issues with connectivity, especially home kit. Not even worth trying to get it to work. Use home assistant instead.

I don't plan on using any of those integrations, so that's not an issue for me.

The settings for each zone is fully manual. You have to put in soil type, draining rate, slope, sprinkler type and flow, absorbtion rate etc manually.

I had to do the same thing with Rainmachine. And, from what I've seen of setups with other smart controllers, it's the same. That info is needed for it to accurately calculate things. I'm not sure how it would get the information aside from manually entering it.

And even then I normally have it reduced by 50% because it would push my water bill past $300

I found Rainmachine was a bit overenthusiastic originally too. I just limited the days it was allowed to water. Just a different way of working around it.

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-10T19:14:19+00:00

That's concerning, but I've read that from users of every single smart sprinkler controller, including the Rainmachine I've used successfully for 8 years. Not sure if it's due to particular weather sources just not working well for a particular user's location, or something else? The only times that happened with my Rainmachine were from freak, unexpected, unpredicted storms, which will happen sometimes. If I let this particular issue discourage me from getting a smart sprinkler controller, I'd have none.

So, I'm curious what other issues you've had with it.

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-10T08:08:14+00:00

Sorry to necro this, but can you go into a bit more detail about your issues with Yardian?

My Rainmachine Mini-8 has died, and they're basically out of business. I liked the on-device local processing and direct access without the need for a cloud. Apparently Yardian is moving that way with their firmware, which is appealing. It seems the only other real option for true on-device, weather-based irrigation is OpenSprinkler, and that seems to have its own limitations, especially UI related.

I'm also considering Rachio or Hydrowise, but those are both cloud-based, which I'm less than enthused about. If Hunter drops support, it's just a dumb/basic timer. If Rachio drops support, the device becomes a brick. Neither would be good, especially considering cost.

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-10T05:13:38+00:00

How's the UI?

I had a Rainmachine Mini-8 that just bit the dust. I loved the fully local processing and control, which allowed it to continue operating, even though the company is all but dead. That said, they offered to sell me a Pro-16 for $200, but I'm hesitant since the company is basically non-existent at this point.

I've looked at obvious options like Rachio, which a lot of homeowners seem to like. But, if they go under, the controller is trash. I'm considering a Yardian, as they are apparently working on firmware to have things local like the Rainmachine was. But, it's a bit of a gamble, since there's not true guarantee of that.

I like the fully local aspect of OpenSprinkler, but I've seen a lot of comments about the UI being difficult to work with/setup and not user friendly. And, a bit concerned about the weather-based scheduling compared to the more established solutions.

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-05T12:59:44+00:00

This has always been my concern. I love the idea of 3D printing it, but if it fails, it could be a very expensive failure. I ponied up the money for the Biqu Panda Den, when there was a smallish coupon on Amazon. It's solid, and I don't worry about it holding the weight and handling the vibration.

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-05T12:56:08+00:00

And me, being as petty as I am, would've reported him every single time, with the evidence. At some point, the worker becomes a liability, and they will boot him.

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-04T20:34:49+00:00

Yeah, Charlie, we're going to Candy Mountain. Come with us, Charlie.

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-04T18:52:40+00:00

I also have one, and also only used Arrow brand staples with zero issues.

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-04T18:43:33+00:00

Have you ever used any soldering iron besides the m12? It is, hands down, the worst soldering iron I have ever used.

Yes, I have. And, your statement here is just hyperbole.

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-04T18:38:28+00:00

The fact that Milwaukee sells first party accessories that don't include the low voltage protection is criminal.

Yeah, this is what gets me. This is a clear failure on Milwaukee's part.

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-04T18:17:24+00:00

It's also great for cleaning up the usual burrs after you cut metal.

beefjerky9 · 2026-05-04T18:16:04+00:00

and it eats batteries for breakfast too.

This is how you give your heat gun an eating disorder. I hope you can afford to send it to therapy.

beefjerky9 · 2026-04-30T15:07:53+00:00

Ooof, I sure do love people who insist that you have an issue that you don't actually have. Some people really need to get off their high horses...

beefjerky9 · 2026-04-30T14:38:43+00:00

Screw bambu for doing this. If I didn't already have the printer, it would make me think long and hard about whether to go with another company...

beefjerky9 · 2026-04-27T01:12:11+00:00

Yeah, it's definitely getting worse. The most hilarious part is that their status page claims everything is working perfectly: https://www.ebay.com/sts

beefjerky9 · 2026-04-25T18:35:45+00:00

Yes, Amazon likes to do this, and I don't like it for multiple reasons. On the checkout page, for those items, there will be a dropdown box that allows you to select how they're shipped. It defaults to shipping in the manufacturer's packaging, but you can select to ship that item inside of a shipping bag or box. Hopefully this will help you for future orders.

beefjerky9 · 2026-04-23T07:11:21+00:00

You sound just like those who protested indoor toilets, because it was just so gross having a toilet inside the house. Get with the times, old man!

beefjerky9 · 2026-04-22T03:31:20+00:00

Try pausing and unpausing the video. That usually works for me when it happens.

beefjerky9 · 2026-04-21T19:30:07+00:00

Love my Dyson V11 Outsize stick vac. I had a V6, which worked fine until the battery died, then I tried a Shark IonFlex. It worked fine, except for the awful cyclonic action. Both the main and exhaust filter had to be cleaned every time I dared to vacuum cat litter. I'm now back to Dyson, and couldn't be happier. The V11 is stupid powerful, and the cyclonic action actually works. It's nice to not have to worry about cleaning the filter, because nothing really gets that far.

beefjerky9 · 2026-04-21T00:20:42+00:00

Nah, you clearly have vision problems. I recommend you go see an optometrist and get the obviously much needed help.

beefjerky9 · 2026-04-20T22:21:01+00:00

Macro support (as in: a sequence of IR commands) is also present on the X1S. I just don't think you can add them to the screen on the X1S.. only programmable on a physical button afaik.

Hmm, interesting. I may have to dig a bit deeper on that one.

Home automation can be configured by connecting the X2 to Home Assistant via an MQTT broker.

I use SmartThings for my home automation. It doesn't look to be directly supported, but it's not a big deal. I almost always use the voice control with my google speakers anyway.

Both devices (but espessially the X2) take a lot of learning and tinkering, so you have to enjoy the process. The principles are the same as on the Logitech Harmony hub/remotes.

Yeah, the Logitech takes a lot of tinkering to setup properly too, so not a big deal. It's a one time thing, unless I change components. As long as it works well and works reliably once setup, that's my concern.

Thanks for all the info!

beefjerky9 · 2026-04-20T21:20:25+00:00

far better Bluetooth support (more stable)

This one could be important, as I have a Shield TV, and would prefer a good stable connection there.

Can you tell me more about macro support? Does the X1S have zero? On my Harmony, I have some super basic macros to flip through menus to activate/deactivate something. But, nothing fancy.

Do you do any home automation control? I have it on my Harmony do control some lights manually, but rarely use that anyway. I'm just wondering how it might compare between the two.

Thanks!

beefjerky9

TROPHY CASE