Aiming to elevate the utilitarian garden hose into a smart watering system, the Rachio Smart Hose Timer soars by bringing intelligent convenience and automation to your landscape and garden without the need for an in-ground irrigation system. In our testing, we found the sub-$100 system can be used with hose-end sprinklers, drip irrigation setups, and similar watering accessories to bring elegant scheduling, weather-based automation, and on-demand watering to your home. Read on for our in-depth review.
Where to Buy
Out of the Box
As a leading maker of smart irrigation controllers, Rachio fills a gap in their consumer product line-up with the new Smart Hose Timer. It slots into the line alongside the company’s 4-, 8-, and 16-zone Rachio 3 controllers, and the $99.99 starter kit comes in at a price point $50 below the 4-zone Rachio 3.
The Rachio Smart Hose Timer is actually a self-contained watering system, and a basic $99.99 valve-and-hub kit includes one battery-powered valve unit, a Wi-Fi hub, and a power adapter for the hub. The pieces integrate with the required Rachio app on iOS and Android, and will co-exist perfectly in the app with any Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controllers you may already have. Rachio also sells the Smart Hose Timer valve units separately at $69.95.
Whereas an in-ground irrigation controller like the Rachio 3 can manage multiple zones, a Rachio Smart Hose Timer valve unit can only control a single hose-end accessory at a time (though theoretically you could connect a couple of hose-end sprinklers by using a hose splitter or manifold). Given that approach to zoning, you may find you need several valves to cover all the bases. A single Wi-Fi hub can support up to 8 valve units, and you can install multiple hubs on your network if you need more valves.
On the valve proper, a pair of AA batteries (not included in the kit) are used as the power source, so the valves can be used at any hose bib so long as they are within the roughly 200-foot range of the hub.
There’s a dash of déjà vu going on here. In 2019, we published a review of the Zilker Smart Water Timer, a product developed by entrepreneur John Hanna here in our hometown HQ of Austin, Texas. That device is out of production, but much of the technology has apparently been acquired by Rachio and incorporated into the new Smart Hose Timer. You will notice the valve unit is quite similar to the Zilker Valve, but has grown larger as it was redesigned to integrate with the Rachio system. The Zilker Bridge looks identical to the Rachio Wi-Fi hub, but the Rachio is designed to work with the Rachio network rather than the Zilker Cloud network. We loved the original Zilker system, and are happy to see Rachio bringing this tech back by incorporating it with their irrigation ecosystem.
Setting Up
Rachio claims initial setup of a valve-and-hub kit takes only 10 minutes, and we can testify that’s just about right. For existing Rachio users, the Smart Hose Timer system installs easily alongside other Rachio products through the Rachio app. Users new to the Rachio system will need to first create a Rachio account and set up a new Home location through the app. In either case, tapping Add Device in the app will walk you through installing and pairing the Wi-Fi hub, installing the batteries in the valve and connecting it.
Each valve has a Detect Flow setting that can be switched on or off. When this feature is on, the valve checks to be sure there is water flowing through the valve when it is activated either manually or via a schedule. If no flow is detected, the valve will close and an alert will be raised in the app and logged on the Events tab. This can indicate you forgot to open the hose bib (yes, we’ve been there), or the possibility of another issue somewhere in your broader plumbing system or mainline.
Following installation and setup, the Smart Hose Timer valve will appear on the Rachio home screen, and then becomes immediately controllable like any other Rachio device.
In order to start intelligently watering with your new system, two tasks remain. First, you’ll need to connect the valve to an exterior hose bib, attach a garden hose to the exit side of the valve, and then add a sprinkler or other accessory at the other end of the hose. Do keep in mind the hose bib must remain open at all times for the valve to function on a schedule.
Secondly, if you want to take advantage of weather-based automation, you’ll want to add a Weather Source to the profile. This includes selecting a local weather station through the app, and the closer to your location the better. Now you’re in business.
Watering and Weather Automation Via Schedules
Once the Smart Hose Timer system is ready for use, one can manually activate a valve by simply pressing the blue on/off button on the front of the valve. This will activate the valve for the Quick Run default time as set for through the app. A second press at any time will cancel the Quick Run session. The initial default is 10 minutes of run time.
Certainly, you’ll want to create one or more Schedules (smart timers) for your valves to take advantage of the automation features. Each Rachio Smart Hose Timer valve can have one or more Schedules set up, and these can be configured by day of the week (for example, run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) or on a daily interval (ranging from every day to every 21 days). Furthermore, multiple runs per day can be set for each valve’s Schedule, so you could have a morning run, afternoon run, and evening run on the same Schedule if desired. All runs require choosing a start time, duration, start date, and end date.
For each Schedule, the Weather Intelligence features can be activated. This includes Rain Skip, whereby the schedule will be skipped if rain is occurring or expected via the forecast. Rain skip weather thresholds can also be set, by either leaving the default 1/8-in. or adjusting it to another amount. Of course, if you are watering plants under the cover of a patio, you’ll want to switch Rain Skip off for that schedule. Once your Schedules have been set, they will appear on the Schedules tab and can be edited from there.
Events and Notifications
The Events tab is the place to go to find the full history of what’s going on with your Smart Hose Timer valves. This feature will display all past and upcoming Schedule runs and manual Quick Runs, sorted by date and time. For all upcoming Schedules, you can elect to skip any future run by tapping on the SKIP RUN text, and if things don’t look right you can edit the Schedule from there. For past Schedules or Quick Runs, you can also see if there was a flow error detected. And if a Rain Skip was applied the Events tab will keep track of that for you.
You may also want to be notified through OS-level notifications for specific events and statuses. These can be set globally for all Smart Hose Timer valves through a Notifications panel. Here, you can elect to be notified when schedule start, rain skip, battery low, and flow events occur.
Performance, Longevity, and Integration
We’ve been using the Rachio Smart Hose Timer system since it was first released in April 2023, and have been very impressed with its stability and ultra-smooth integration with the Rachio app. Battery life seems quite good as well, and we have only had to replace the batteries once after nearly 10 months of use. The valves also seem to be weathering the elements quite well.
One caveat, however, if you live in a locale where temperatures can drop below the freezing mark: Be sure to bring your Smart Hose Timer valves inside and fully drain them if cold weather is expected. Their mechanical internals can be compromised if allowed to freeze with water trapped inside.
The fact the Smart Hose Timer uses the existing Rachio app is a positive, since the app front-ends one of the most solid smart home platforms out there. And since the Smart Hose Timers appear on the Rachio home screen along with Rachio sprinkler controllers, it’s a simple matter to do an ad hoc “quick run” for your entire irrigation setup with a few taps.
Summary
If you are looking to automate watering for the areas of your landscape, garden, and raised beds that are not suitable for a complex in-ground irrigation system, you should look no further than the Rachio Smart Hose Timer. It’s a highly-intelligent, smooth-working, and eminently flexible system that can help free you up from myriad manual watering tasks. We highly recommend it.
