Rachio Is My Favorite Smart Hose Timer

Smart hose timers make a lot of sense on paper—they allow you to turn anything attached to your hose spigot on and off from anywhere using your phone. And if it’s raining, the smart timer will recognize and turn off the stream for you. It will also keep track of how much water you use, allow you to set up automatic watering schedules, and turn on and off at the touch of a button—though these are promises that even dumb hose timers make. The problem with smart timers is that they often can’t be trusted: the Wi-Fi goes out, the batteries die or leak, and you’re out of luck. Having tried several smart hose offerings on the market, from the Hunter BTT to the Orbit B-Hyve, I tried the new Rachio earlier this summer and it beat them all – it’s the first timer that’s been predictable and consistent. Unfortunately, it also lacks some of the advanced features and flexibility of underperforming models.

The Rachio is actually two parts: a hose timer that attaches to your hose, and a Wi-Fi hub that will live inside your home. No matter how many timers you have, you only need one hub. You can buy the initial hub/timer combination for $99 and additional timers for $79.

What I liked about the Rachio Smart Hose Timer

Many hose timers look out of place, like a snake that ate a bicycle tire. This is because many manufacturers cram a lot of buttons and screens into the device that will attach to the hose. Rachio takes the opposite route, with a sleeker, simpler design that practically forces you to use the app for every interaction. Their timer is long, rectangular, without a screen and with only one button that turns it on and off. It takes up less space, but its color and shape blends into the background. It’s definitely modern.

The button responds tactilely, letting you know it has been pressed, something other timers don’t do. I like that the battery cover is held in place by a few small screws. Normally this would be a problem as changing the batteries requires a small screwdriver, but this has been an issue on other models such as the B-hyve. The battery compartment needs to stay dry even when it rains or if the hose leaks, and on other models the rubber rings designed to hold the batteries in place have failed, causing battery problems. The Rachio screws get the job done, although I wish the package included the screwdriver you need.

Speaking of batteries, since these hose timers are not connected to a power source like regular sprinkler timers, they burn out from the batteries. Dumb hose timers can have a battery life of years, but previous smart hose timers drained batteries in weeks. The Rachio’s battery has barely drained since I got it, which is a good sign.

The Rachio doesn’t leak, whereas all the other timers I’ve tried have leaked, and I was fussy about how it was positioned – if I tapped it even a little, water would start gushing out of them. Although I had to cover the faucet with plumber’s tape to secure the Rachio, this was expected and I had no problems.

What I like most about Rachio is that it works. He never missed a cycle or passed out for days. I wish that didn’t say too much, but it does.

Just to the point of error

Many people only need one timer for one hose, but some of us have multiple hoses going to different areas of the yard. Personally, I have sprinklers attached to one hose timer and a dripper to the other. Other brands, such as B-hyve, offer a dual-zone option. Rachio has decided to keep it simple and insists that you use single-zone timers—simple to a fault, at $70 apiece, for example, which can get expensive. This also means that you cannot create schedules with both timers, since they operate completely independently of each other in the application. You will have to program them separately.

What’s more annoying than annoying is that every time I open an app, there’s a delay where the app tells me that my device is disabled. It scared me the first time, but after a few seconds it goes away. I can’t imagine a hose emergency where five seconds would make a difference, but I’d like to see the bug corrected. Overall connectivity is great, but I recommend setting up a notification to alert you if your device goes offline.

What I don’t like about the Rachio Smart Hose Timer

Since I also have a Hunter Hydrawise smart timer in my yard – a full drip panel – and have tried other smart timers like the B-hyve, I know that a lot of the reason for getting a smart timer is the help they provide in answering to local weather information, and artificial intelligence that decides whether you need to water. Rachio, with its modern aesthetic and tech startup feel, should have left that part out, but instead they went very simplistic. Instead of using predictive watering to water more or less depending on the weather, Rachio seems to use a simpler “don’t water if it rains” setting with little customization options.

Additionally, the app can be difficult to navigate despite its simplicity. The reason I usually open it is to look at the watering report, which is difficult to access. However, this is just a nuisance as the app works.

The essence

Smart hose timers still have room for improvement. But of the existing models, Rachio wins as the most stable, with long battery life, a stable Wi-Fi connection and a convenient, if oversimplified, application. While I would have liked to see all the necessary installation tools in the box (including a micro-screwdriver and plumber’s tape), as well as more robust use of artificial intelligence to predict watering, none of these issues are dealbreakers, and the Rachio is a smart choice.