How to Program Rainbird Sprinklers

Program your Rainbird sprinklers to get the biggest benefit from your watering times.

Rainbird sprinklers are an efficient way to water your lawn without wasting water. With a Rainbird controller, you can set up separate watering zones in your yard for different plantings. Since different plants need varying amounts of water, you simply set the Rainbird program to the desired amount of water and the system does the rest. You can program Rainbird sprinklers to water daily, specific days of the month or however often you wish. You select the time of day to get the most efficient use of the water.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Program the date in the Rainbird controller. Turn the dial on the right side of the controller to "Set Current Date." Use the up and down arrows to set the appropriate month. When you finish, press the "Manual Start/Advance" button. Use the same process to set the day of the month and the year. Turn the dial back to "Auto" when you finish this step.

2. Set the time of day by turning the dial to "Set Current Time." Set the hour with the up and down arrows as you did previously. Make sure you set AM or PM appropriately. Press the "Manual Start/Advance" when you finish setting the hour. Now set the minutes in the same manner. Return the dial to "Auto" when you finish.

3. Select one of the three programs on the Rainbird controller by sliding the switch to "A," "B" or "C." You now see the selected program in the digital display window along with the time.

4. Turn the dial to "Set Watering Start Times." Each program can have up to four watering times set. Set the start times as you did the time by using the up and down arrows. Turn the dial back to "Auto" when you complete this step.

5. Choose the watering cycle you prefer. Select "Odd" to water on odd numbered days of the month, "Even" to water on the even days, "Cyclic" to water at intervals such as daily or "Custom" to set your own watering cycle. While the example is for "Odd," the process is the same for all. With the selected program selected, set the dial on "Advanced Cycles." Press the up or down button until the word "Odd" appears in the digital readout window. Return the dial to "Auto."

6. Choose how long you want the valves to water the lawn and garden. Pick the program and turn the dial to the appropriate valve number. You should see the program, the valve and the run time on the display window. Use the up and down keys to set the amount of time you want the first valve to run. Continue setting all the valves in this manner by rotating the dial to the appropriate dial number. When you finish, turn the dial back to "Auto."

References

• LawnSprinklersHQ: Rainbird ESP Modular Controller