We had a storm come through recently with a lot of lightning and there was a major voltage dip or surge that fried a lot of our flush mount LED lights, and I assume it also fried our sprinkler controller. There is power to the outlet it uses, but the lcd screen doesn't turn on anymore, and hitting the reset button doesn't work. It is one of these Rainbird ESP-TM2's:

https://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/rain-bird-esp-tm2-6-station-wifi-ready-indoor-outdoor-controller-tm2-6

Should I replace it with the same one on sale for about $100, or are there better ones y'all recommend that would be a noticeable upgrade which would be more reliable?

I replaced my Rainbird controller a few years ago w/ an Orbit B-Hyve and it's been great. You control everything from an app.

Been using a rachio and very happy with it

I've had one for years. They are cheap on eBay.

I switched to Rachio 6 months ago and I love it!

I've had both B-hyve and Rachio. Both were good. Don't feel like one was materially better than the other.

Have that bhyve 8. It's been great.

I had that Rainbird controller and hated it. Slow as molasses, constantly lost wifi signal. I replaced it with a Rachio which works like a dream

rachio all the way. their weather skip is prett good too on when it chooses to and not.

I've been looking into Rachio given all the replies, but there are some reviews of it that say it has some annoying issues. The people hating on Rachio say that a Hunter hydrawise pro is better. So I think I am between the Rachio and this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Residential-Professional-Controller-Hydrawise-Web-based/dp/B06XQ5PTZP/

Anyone have experience with the Hunter brand?

I like the one with physical buttons so you have the option of manually or on the app

El_duderino said:

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I like the one with physical buttons so you have the option of manually or on the app

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It's hard to beat the price of the Orbit's. Is this the one? Any notable issues with it?

https://www.amazon.com/Orbit-57946-6-Station-Sprinkler-Controller/dp/B01D15HOIQ

RoyVal said:

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Thunderstruck xx said:

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I've been looking into Rachio given all the replies, but there are some reviews of it that say it has some annoying issues. The people hating on Rachio say that a Hunter hydrawise pro is better. So I think I am between the Rachio and this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Residential-Professional-Controller-Hydrawise-Web-based/dp/B06XQ5PTZP/

Anyone have experience with the Hunter brand?

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I switched from Hunter to Rachio. Hunter is junk. Rachio has had zero issues since I've owned it. The app works very well from setting up zones, times, custom times to water, etc. What I really like about the app is sometimes I want to just water my flowerbeds on an off day or whatever, and the app makes it very easy to do so.

What annoying issues are people saying?

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Just some reddit comments that gave me pause. Are there any wifi connectivity issues? My controllers is in my garage which is the opposite corner of my house from where my router is located.

I turned off most the "smart" features of the b-hyve and just have a manual schedule. I only let it skip the schedule if it's going to rain.

Yes I had connectivity issues in my garage. I put an Alexa pod with eero WiFi built in to extend the signal. Helped with security cameras on garage as well.

I have had the Hunter Hydrawise for about two years. Works very well. Control from the app is great. My only comment would be setting up the app the first time seemed daunting at first, but I was able to master it pretty quickly. If you're fairly tech-savvy, you will love it. If you hate such things and like simple on/off switches (like my 85 yo FIL), you'll hate it. The app has lots of options... I really like the various ways it can sync with current weather and the weather forecast to prevent over-watering.

I have installed Rachios at 2 different homes.

They work great. I have not had wifi issues. I also have Ring cameras that are further from the router than the Rachio.

The ease of installation and the ease of usage are the reasons that I keep installing them. The app is solid. It takes a few minutes to dial in your soil type and tinker with how long you want to water.

After that, the app takes care of most of it.