Orbit 57896 6-Station Outdoor Swing Panel Sprinkler System Timer

I took a chance and I bought this irrigation timer from Amazon to fix a timer issue that I had with my irrigation system.I sought advice from Chuck on the Orbit Support team as to whether this Orbit 4 station timer model 57894-20 can replace a faulty mechanical Intermatic timer on my existing single indexing valve, 3 zone lawn sprinkler system and the logic to use when setting it up. I emailed their support and received a reply in 1 day -- I also called with a follow[on question and Chuck picked up the phone on the 2nd ring! He was very informative and willing to help get me going! Great customer service experience!.It's programming is simple yet effective and does all that I need a 4 zone timer to do (In my case I actually only needed to set up 3 zones --> hint: you just don't set up the 4th zone and the timer skips it).Pro:- Seems well made and of good quality- easy set up - the panel swings out of the way to access the wiring- Plug n go -- I ran a 2 conductor, 18 Gauge thermostat wire through the cinderblock and mounted the unit in the garage away from the elements and simply plugged it into a 110V outlet (you could also wire it for ourdoor use if so desired)- operation- helpful and timely customer support- Fair price for what you getCon:- A slight negative is that you have to hold down the up or down arrow to get to the start time that you want (the clock time change starts slow and while it does speed up, it still takes a while to get from the default 12pm to the start time you want. If you set the start time for 4 zones your finger will get tired -- luckily you only have to do this process when initially setting up the timer. Not a show stopper but an area for improvement.- Uses a CR2032 battery to hold memory -- would be nice if there was circuity built in to remember the time in a power outage scenario- You get a fold out paper with quick start info -- good enough for most straight forward installs, but there was not a lot for one off kinds of situations like mine -- The manual is online in .pdf format but again, did not answer my unique question.If it helps others, here are my existing components, irrigation system operation (from a non technical layman's perspective :-} and question to Orbit:Single Hydrotex 4000 Indexing Valve (covers 4 pipes)What looks like an Irritrol 205 Series Valve with flow control knob (shows " richdel " on the valve relay, but label is worn away)Original intermatic mechanical timer model T8845PV 24 hr, 1r day skipper and transformer with bad timer unit (sprinkler system works when timer is operated manually) but wanting to replace with an Orbit 4 station timer model 57894-20 rCupc 046878578944 that i purchasedOperation:Using the mechanical timer - fully operational if manually turned on and off - Timer is bad* when the mechanical timer switches on, the relay triggers the valve to open and the flow of water rushes into the 4 chamber Hydrotex 4000 Indexing Valve, flowing through an opening in the round rubber washer and the water flows to that zone.* When the timer turns off, the valve blocks the flow of water and the water drains out of the Hydrotex 4000 Indexing Valve.* When the timer switches back on the rush of water seems to pop a springed plunger in the Hydrotex 4000 Indexing Valve and the rubber stopper ratchets over and positions the hole over the next pipe zone.* When the timer turns off the water drains out and the cycle continues on the third and fourth pipe (zone)My question was: Can you wire this Orbit timer to control a single relay/valve that controls the Hydrotex 4000 Indexing Valve? If yes, how is it wired?The answer was simple and worked flawlessly:[email protected]"Our timer can be used with your indexing valve. You connect one wire from your valve to "common" and the other wire to "sta 1".You only put minutes on (aka program) station 1 of our timer. You use 4 start times with at least one minute between the time one turns off and the other one starts.If you need further help, please call us at 1-800-488-6156, option 1 then option 4 (7am-5pm MDT/Mon-Fri).Thank you,ChuckTechnical SupportOrbit Irrigation Products, Inc."

I purchased a home that had an irrigation system that was not working. I called the company that had previously maintained the lawn and system and they wanted $300 to replace the timer before they would even inspect the rest of the system. I purchased this on daily deal for $35. Arrived the next day, took about 15 minutes to install and program and everything worked as designed. This would have been a great deal even if it weren't on sale.

this product works perfectly and is very easy to set up and use.

First let me say that the build quality is very good, and you can feel it is well made.I live outside of the US where we use 220v and opening the device and replacing the power supply in it was very easy. no weird pressure fittings or anything like that, just open the screws and you get access. replaced with a 220vac to 24vac PSU and it works.I don't understand people saying the device burnt when they plugged it to 220v without doing any change ang giving it 1 star, what did you expect? this is built for 110V input. (and you probably only burnt the PSU, replace it and it will work)Now for the software, What I didn't realize is that you can't program each station individually, you can just set how long each station will run and that's it. the watering start times, watering intervals and all that are program related, and you only have 3 programs (A,B,C). only thing you can control per station is how long it will run for.so while you can plug 9 stations or whatever to it, you are very limited to only 3 programs.I have no idea what kind of software design this is, why not just allow me to program each station individually? lets say station 1 will run every 3 days at 6am, 12pm for 15 minutes long, station 2 will run every Sunday for 20 minutes at 5am and so on...

Easy to install, easy to program, good price especially for a large amount of stations.