Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2020
I will start with a quick "what to know before you buy", then I will walk you through how to get the best, most efficient, results using Smart Watering. I now have seven of these hose timers connected to one Wi-Fi hub. They water four grass zones and three drip line zones. I have configured and reconfigured the Smart Watering **extensively** and think I can help a lot of owners and buyers with this.
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU BUY:
PROS:
- This is a reliable Bluetooth enabled hose timer straight out of the box. With nothing more than basic setup, it outperforms nearly everything in its class, particularly in ease of use.
- The build quality is better than some of it's major competitors, particularly the plastic threads, which are solid enough to avoid stripping when connecting brass or other metal hose connectors.
- The wifi hub takes this product a little farther, enabling you to access Smart Watering and control many timers from anywhere in the world you have internet access. Once set up, this can be done via the app on your phone/tablet, or using the webpage. In theory, the hub also creates a bluetooth mesh network that effectively increases the BT range of each timer to anywhere within range of ANY timer on the network. However, with the wifi capability of the hub, it's unlikely you'll be using bluetooth to control the hubs since the wifi connection is already there. So, this feature, if it even exists, is a bit pointless.
- The scheduling options are as robust and user-friendly as anything else I've seen. If you want to control your watering schedule, you have all the options I know of at your disposal here.
- The wifi enabled Smart Watering is decent with minimal to no set up, and very good with moderate set up (as shown on the Orbit website). It uses local rainfall (predicted and actual historic), humidity, and temperature, combined with your programmed soil type, to calculate evaporation over time, and it adjusts the frequency and amount of watering to provide enough water ONLY when needed. It truly shines though, **when properly configured**. It takes some knowledge and time to configure truly well, and there is nothing available to really show you how to do this. Read to the end for my deep dive on how to set up Smart Watering for the best, most efficient, results.
- The battery life is good compared to other "connected" timers. It can't compete with timers you have to program by hand using the buttons on the device, because it needs to power a bluetooth transceiver. The battery life is not nearly as good as advertised either. Orbit says one year. You will more likely get 3-4 months, if you use rechargeable batteries (make sure they are freshly charged when installing or you may not even be able to start the device).
- There is a "secret" support website that allows for total settings control of your devices within your web browser. You'll need to search for it, as Amazon won't allow an external link in this review.
CONS
- Despite some of the advertising (including here on this Amazon listing), these timers CANNOT in any way "talk to each other" using the hub to prevent simultaneous watering. You will need to manually program them or, if you want to use Smart Watering, you will need to program restricted time windows for each timer, or they will all water at the same time of day, and if they water on the same day, this will lead to under-watering if you have more than a couple timers hooked up. For information on how to create restricted watering windows, see the Smart Watering deep dive below.
[Reading support forums on Orbit's website, the network meshing feature was planned 2 years ago, and would have allowed the timers to automatically communicate with each other to avoid simultaneous watering. As of one year ago, this was still Orbit's "highest priority feature enhancement". Soon after, Orbit stopped replying to forum threads on this matter. A month ago, they stopped allowing new comments on these threads. It appears they have abandoned this project, which is unfortunate, as it is quite feasible and would make these timers impossible to beat].
- Along the same lines, there is no way to see a master watering calendar or view/control more than one timer at a time within the app or on the web page. You must switch back and forth between timers to get information or take any action. The hub appears as a device, but you cannot control the hub in any way. If you have one or two or three timers, this is manageable. Once your network gets larger than that (I currently have seven) it gets very confusing.
- As mentioned above, Orbit appears to have mostly abandoned significant app improvements, so don't expect these timers to get much better over time. I sincerely hope that this changes, or that it is because they are devoting those resources to creating the next generation of hardware.
**SMART WATERING CONFIGURATION FOR BEST RESULTS (WIFI HUB REQUIRED)***
The Smart Watering feature, when properly configured, is outstanding as a "set and forget" weather adaptive intelligent watering manager. I have explored various configurations and options and genuinely believe I have the best way to get as close to perfect results as possible. The basic steps are: fully tell it about your soil, plants, and irrigation hardware (sprinkler configuration, drip line, etc.), ACCURATELY enter your water Application Rate (this is the hard part, but the most important, and I list three methods below), and set time windows to prevent simultaneous watering. Each of these is detailed below:
1. In ZONES (bottom bar on app), click Smart Details. Turn on Smart Watering if it isn't already.
2. Enter accurate information for ALL of the first seven items (everything above Catch Cups). Research on the internet where needed ("what soil type for my zip code"). For "Sprinkler Shape", if you have multiple sprinklers configured differently, average out the results (2 rotors covering 90 degrees and 1 covering 180 degrees = 360 degrees / 3 rotors = 120 degrees). For Sun/Shade, use "Partial Sun" unless the area is densely shaded or completely exposed all day long.
3. DO NOT use "Watering Schedule Adjustments" yet. This can be used after a few weeks if you are not happy with results. It's a quick/easy fix that makes global shifts. However, if you are going for best results that will adapt to changing weather in the best way possible, I'd advise against using it at all. Instead, you should see if you can figure out what configuration is inaccurate and change only that setting. If you think everything is fully correct and it is still under- or over-watering, then I'd advise you to come to this setting make an adjustment.
4. MUST DO!!! Set your Application Rate (AR). See below for three ways to figure out your application rate. Orbit sets a default AR depending on what basic type of irrigation device you tell it you have, but your actual AR may vary considerably from this (my low-flow rotors put out water less than half as fast as Orbit's default rotor AR, but because of the configuration, the application rate is somewhat different between zones even for the same rotor heads). You will find Application Rate in Advanced Details at the top of the list. NOTE: Do not edit ANYTHING other than Application Rate in Advanced Details unless you are highly knowledgeable.
5. MUST DO (if you have more than a couple timers)!!! Create time windows for each timer using Smart Watering restrictions. First, create a schedule that assumes every timer will water on the same day and set individual windows for each timer. I recommend 10:00 am as the latest "all done" time, and work backwards. 1. Determine how long B-hyve thinks is normal watering for each device (from the home page, click Zones at the bottom, and see what duration is listed under "Scheduled Water Times", then go back to Home, select the next device and do it again. Write down the durations for every timer. NOTE: You must set your accurate application rate PRIOR to this step or the duration will change which could lead to a time window being too short (see below for best methods to set the AR). 2. Create a schedule that gives each timer a window equal to its planned duration PLUS an extra 15-30 minutes to avoid overlap and give the system some room to adjust to conditions. Once you have your schedule written out, go back to the home page on the app, and click My B-hyve at the bottom right. Then click Devices. For each device: 1. Click on the device to open its control page. 2. Click Smart Watering Restrictions. 3. Adjust the times. The left time block is for the end of your scheduled watering window and the right time block is for the start of your scheduled window. If you want the timer to water between 7:00 am and 9:00 am, it should read DO NOT WATER BETWEEN 09:00 AND 07:00.
NOTE: You can adjust watering days, but I advise against this unless your local laws restrict what days you can and cannot water. If the days are restricted, the timer WILL water on all the days allowed if any water is needed, and adjust the duration of watering down to adjust for weather. This does get the job done, but usually will result in more frequent shallower watering which is not ideal for promoting strong root growth (watering too frequently trains roots to look for water at the surface, leading to shallow root systems).
**THREE WAYS TO SET YOUR APPLICATION RATE (from worst to best):
METHOD 1. (least accurate - OK for single sprinklers) - consult the specs for your sprinkler (available on the manufacturer website), and input application rate (inches per hour) into the Advanced Details (use the EDIT button hidden at the top right of the page). This is better than using Orbit's default setting (assuming it's different), however it is only a ballpark figure as it ignores square footage covered, and if you have multiple sprinklers connected it ignores consistency of application across the area. Both of these are pretty important for best results. Keep reading to find out how different your accurate AR may be...
METHOD 2. (better - great for single sprinklers, OK for multiple sprinklers) - Use the formula below to determine your actual total application rate across the square footage covered. Use total square footage covered and total flow rate of all sprinklers connected for that timer. For example, my front lawn is watered by seven rotors split into two zones controlled by two timers. I calculated the two zones separately and got pretty different application rates for those two timers, both of which were different from the manufacturer's specified AR. Using this method yielded MUCH more consistent results for my grass across the total lawn, AND reduced my water usage by about 30%!!
FORMULA: 96.25 x (sum of flow rate for all sprinklers in gallons per minute or GPM) / total square footage of zone = the application rate (equivalent to inches of rainfall per hour)
**You can (and should) find the GPM flow rate at your manufacturer's website. There should be a chart, because the GPM flow rate will vary depending on water pressure and settings on your sprinkler, so take these into account as accurately as you can. Alternatively, you can use the flow rate meter built in to the B-hyve timer, but I find it's accuracy is limited.
To show you how this works: For my front lawn, one zone has three rotors all on 40 PSI regulated bases. 2 rotors are set with long throw heads that have a 1.28 GPM flow rate at 40 PSI at 90 degree coverage and the third has a medium throw head with 1.82 GPM at 40 PSI and it's wider 180 degree setting. They cover an area of 680 square feet. The other zone has four short throw heads, three at 90 degrees for 0.43 GPM, and one at 180 degrees for 0.77 GPM (all at 40 PSI), and the zone is 420 square feet.
ZONE 1: 96.25 x (1.28+1.28+1.82) = 421.575 / 680 = 0.61 inches of rainfall per hour (50% more than spec!)
ZONE 2: 96.25 x (0.43+0.43+0.43+0.77) = 198.275 / 420 = 0.47 inches of rainfall per hour (23% more than spec!)
By doing the math, not only can the Smart Watering avoid giving my grass more water than it needs, but it can tailor the zones to provide very uniform results across the lawn.
This method is far better than just inputting your manufacturer spec application rate. However, it still assumes that the application rate is completely even across the entire area (if you have multiple sprinklers connected, trust me, it isn't). So, you may wish to advance to...
3. (best - great results for all setups) - Use a set of catch cups. Make sure you use the correct catch cups!!! These are very specific and measure in milliliters over a very specific area. They are hard to find (Orbit is out of stock normally), but they are not expensive. Set up the catch cups so that there is one 2 feet from each sprinkler, one half way on a straight line between any two sprinklers, and then set one up in any area you think might be over- or under-watered. Then go to the app home page / Zones / Smart Details and click Catch Cups. Click the green check mark at bottom right. Run the test (10 minutes is default - leave it alone, the app does not adjust well if you change this). Then you'll enter in the measurement from each catch cup separately. The app will calculate your application rate overall as well as the efficiency (uniformity) of the application. It will then calculate optimum run time to provide adequate water overall avoid overwatering any patches.
I hope this helps, and wish you all the best. These timers could definitely stand some user interface improvements and a few feature improvements. But, if you put in the time to maximize the smart watering system's potential, they really do a very good job at keeping your lawn/garden well irrigated with the minimal water usage. The only better way to do it, in my opinion, is to install a valve box controlled by single device. However, that really only saves time/confusion/frustration setting up the app, which instead is turned into time/frustration/labor installing the valve box. The end result for the grass is very similar if you follow the steps above.
