Rainbird RZX6I-120V 6 Station Indoor Controller

The installation took longer than I expected. It was more tedious than anything else. Other than that the installation wasn't difficult. Setting the schedule and timer was a matter of going step by step. It's only been a few days and all is working well. I needed a controller that allowed me to set the time and not a preset of every six hours like the Rainbird SST that I had purchased previously. We can't water between 11am -7pm. Plus, we can only water on specific days in our area so this controller lets me set my days and hours the way I need to. It's smaller than I expected so the screen is also small. It's a little hard to read unless you are a foot away.

Let me start with this: This is the smartest controller I have ever seen so far. I owned few different controllers - different brands, types smart and dumb and this one if far most advanced than any other. Now for some details.I had perfectly good and working Orbit controller (6 sections) but with the latest watering restrictions applied in Sacramento area Orbit would either let my grass die or make me pay hefty fines. Why is that? Most popular "residential" controllers you can buy in local stores (Orbit, RainBird or Toro) use predefined watering logic. You can group zones (valves) into sections and then define the the watering cycles of each section (Orbit). Other can let you control each valve separately but then you have to use predefined watering intervals (RainBird SST600i). None of them would work if you take water from Sacramento County Water Agency and have different plants to water. Factory programmed logic in these controllers is not good enough.RainBird ESP-RZX incorporates very simple and basic logic: you can program each valve independently. For each valve you define what are the wattering days (days of week or days to skip), individual start times with 10 minutes resolution (up to 6 times a day) and of course the duration. It does not go "the whole nine yards" so you can't define the watering duration for each start time nor you can't define the start times for each day of the week - maybe someone in RainBird will make the model like that. Some day.So here is my example:I can water my grass only on Sunday (even house number) before 6am and after 8pm. So to be "legal" I can water my front yard grass (Zone 1 and 2) Sunday early morning and the second time late evening so I setup Zone 1 and Zone 2 four start times on Sunday only (two short watering durations lets the water soak in the soul not to run out on the street). On the front yard I have also shrubs with dripping system (Zone 3) so I can water them on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. That is my setting on Zone 3.The grass in my backyard is in shade (Zone 4 and 5), so it can take less water than the front yard. Because I would like to have my backyard "dry" on weekends so I setup in zone 4 6 times short watering cycles on Sunday late evening. Zone 5 is dripping system for flower pots. So to discourage snails and slugs to feast on them at night I set the starting time on Zone 5 just before 6am. And finally zone 6 is dripping system for my backyard trees and shrubs. It can be set to water late evening which also helps with cooling down this area.I couldn't setup this with my current Orbit timer nor any other "residential" timer I was looking for in local stores (I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars for commercial setup). With RainBird ESP-RZX I was able to accomplish my watering goals for the price of "normal residential" timers.This model has all other features, that are common in "residential" timers: rains sensor (not needed in Sacramento area, because it doesn't rain here in summer time at all), well pump (or master valve switch), watering percentage adjustment, manual watering etc...It is true that the screen is small and you need a decent light to see it, but really once I set it up for the season I don't look at it for the most of the year. Buttons have a solid feel (kind of "click"). Wire connectors are big enough to accommodate all kind of wires and they are easy accessible for the installation. So in my opinion this model is bigger "bang for bucks" than for example similarly priced SST600i (which I had to return to the sore as soon as I learned that the "No complex programming" means "You are stuck with limited factory options").

no drawing for install; website sucks for drawings

I have been using the Rainbird SST controller for the past several years. This controller is SO simple to program and its "idle" display is great, showing when the next watering cycle will begin. Unfortunately, the SST does not provide for custom settings for start times when more than one cycle per day is desired. For two cycles, the second cycle is fixed at 6 hours after the first; for three cycles, the 2nd and 3rd start times are fixed at 4 and 8 hours following the first. In converting my yard's sprinkler system to low volume watering and to simultaneously conform to Sacramento's allowed watering scheduling, the SST would not work. So, I just purchased the ESP-RZX controller which does provide for custom start times for multi-cycles. Oh, so unfortunate that the SST could not have been modified to provide custom instead of fixed multi-cycle start times. The ESP-RZX programming is so much more difficult than that of the SST. I went thru all the steps in the manual, which by the way is not correct in some aspects, but do not have a clue whether or not the controller is set up to water as per my intended schedule. And, its display does not show when the next cycle will begin as does the SST. I would advise that for anybody that can live with the fixed cycle separation start times, buy the SST.

A simple straight forward unit. Easy installation and uncomplicated operation. Not expensive. Saved a lot of money by not buying this from my sprinkler guy.

took the old one out and just put the wires back on this one and it ran like it should. Works better than the old unit I have.

I found it very difficult to program.

Timer works as advertised & was sued to replace a Rainbird's timer that was used for 2 decades. Lacks info regarding initial settings. Instructions would have been convenient. Set up is provided on the Internet at Rainbird's web site. I would have preferred a Rainbird SST model for changing from as it is probably simpler to change from scheduled settings to the manual override. Hope this timer is as durable as the timer it replaced. Owned & used for about a month & have had no difficulties.