hello, help to my previous questionS…
Do you not have enough pressure to run two zones at once? My Hunter Pro-C used 17 stations, but I combined two zones into one with no major issues with pressure loss in order to fit with the 16 zone Rachio.
Only issue would be if the controller is also running a pump. Power to control two zones plus a pump might be stretching it…
Hey @anderep-
I apologize for the delayed response, with your unique situation I had to talk to our wiring “master.” I want to clarify something before I dive in- do you have a master valve as well as a pump?
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I don’t have a master valve on my sprinkler system. I use my well for the house; therefore, I have a bladder and pressure switch. I’ve considered adding a relay to force the pump to come on with the sprinkler system to minimize the pump cycling, but with a 60 psi cutoff and adjusting nozzle size on zones it runs without cycling.
Great, thanks for clarifying! So that should work fine with both controllers, with the pump relay you will just have to use this support article to wire the relay to both controllers: http://support.rachio.com/article/145-how-do-i-wire-one-master-valve-to-two-controllers.
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You did not answer my question if I can bond the common terminals.
You do realize that the wiring HACK for a pump or master valve should not have to be done. Even in the supported configuration, more then one controller per account, the controller connected to the pump should enable the pump while the other controller is watering. I should be able to connect controller one to the pump and controller two to the master valve and the two controllers should talk and manage the outputs.
@anderep That was my bad, I got master in my head instead of common, I apologize! So you can connect one common to two controllers in a very similar manner, that support article is here: http://support.rachio.com/article/564-how-do-i-share-a-common-wire-between-two-controllers. In some systems there are two wire bundles each with a common, in this case you can just wire each common to each controller, however it doesn’t sound like this is your situation.
I do understand that this is a hack, and absolutely not ideal. Making two controllers work together more seamlessly is absolutely on our radar, like @franz stated earlier. For now, I hope this work around can help!
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+1 on integrating controllers
I have 2 16 zones and it is a challenge to manage them at the moment. I love my rachio but this limitation makes it a little more challenging than it should be.
Keeping my fingers crossed. Encouraging news above. Good luck and keep us posted
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+1 here too. programming multiple controllers independently, yet keeping them in sync is what I want to get out of doing!
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I’ve been waiting 2 years for this feature
+1: I am waiting to purchase until system is intuitively expandable without needing separate schedules. I like the reviews, the interface, IFTTT abilities and so many other things about this system as compared to others on the market… But I need more zones. Please let me know when it is available.
20 zones in use… But I want room to put more zones in for flower beds.
Am I safe to buy a second (and third) controller or will the fix you are developing for multiple controllers require new hardware?
Everything will be software based, so all hardware will work magically, but no dates or priority has been determined for these features.
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I really like what Rachio has to offer. But I have 20 zones on a Hunter I-CORE and couldn’t be bothered with a half solution. I will wait until Rachio supports more than 16 zones… I think the unit should be expandable.
@flythebluesky, can you elaborate on what “expandable” means to you? Are you looking for a hardware solution or software solution?
Hi @emil, thanks for asking.
My ideal setup would be modular hardware - perhaps design the units so that they can be strung together with wired connectors and presented to the cloud as 1 unified unit.
The reason I don’t want to install multiple separate units today is that the additional hardware required for common wire sharing drives up cost and complexity - and it just looks messy too. When I sell my home I want it to look right.
I think such an arrangement could open up a some commercial markets for you too.
Presumably, it should be fairly easy to refactor the software for additional zones.
Thanks!
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@flythebluesky, thanks for sharing. This will require some hardware changes to support.
Easier said than done, but always possible with software 
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Yes, I have been waiting for three years…