How to Reprogram Rainbird

Properly adjusting your Rainbird controller will give you a well watered lawn with greater efficiency.

Rainbird is one of the nation's leading companies for automatic lawn watering systems. When you first purchase the unit, you will need to set all functions including date, time and the watering schedule for your lawn. Many of the models allow you to divide your lawn into specific zones for added control of how much water is used on which portions of your lawn. If your watering needs change throughout the season, you can use the steps below to reprogram your Rainbird control unit.

Things You'll Need

• Rainbird model information
• Lawn zone map or list (optional)

Instructions

1. Select the program on your Rainbird controller that you need to reset. Most Rainbird control unit models offer three available programs which can be set to water different amounts on different days of the week. Depending on the model of controller you own, it will have either a dial that you will turn to the correct program or a lever that you will slide. On all models, the programs available are A, B, and C.

2. Turn the controller dial to the zone you wish to adjust if your system is set up with zones. If you are unsure of the zone assignments for your system, you can turn the dial and press the "water now" button. This will override the programming and start the sprinklers.

3. Turn the dial on your controller to "set water start time" to begin programming the times your system will water the lawn. To change the time, press the up and down arrows until the display shows the correct time.

4. Turn the dial to the run time position once you have set the start time to designate how long the sprinklers will run. On many models, use the up and down arrow buttons to change the amount of time to water. On the ESP models, turn the dial to the desired amount of time.

5. Adjust the seasonal percentage to change the amount of water used for certain times of the year. When the ground tends to experience drought, you can increase the percentage up to double the normal amount. Later in the year, when the lawn is entering dormancy for the winter, you can reduce the amount.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are concerned that your sprinkler system may not be working properly, you can test it by pressing the "water now" button at any time.

References

• Rainbird ESP Model Controller Manual
• Rainbird STPi Model Controller Manual
• Rainbird EC Model Controller Manual