Home Automation and Sprinkler Controller (Wired)

Pros:1) Easy setup, both wiring and programming.2) Works just like advertised.3) Ultra fast shipping.4) Saved me money in the first 24 hours.5) Excellent customer service.6) Simplifies sprinkler maintenance (see below)Cons:1) None.First let me say that the shipping was freaky fast, ordered it on a Thursday, it arrived on Monday.Prior to using this controller I had two controllers in two different parts of my house. One controlled 6 zones and the other 3. Before the HydroFlash arrived, I pulled wires to get them all to terminate in the same location, so I was ready to go when it arrived. Wiring the HydroFlash was simple and straight forward, I chose the wired version because the new controller is close to my router in the basement. Mounting and wiring took me about 15 minutes.Next, came the initial configuration, again very easy, simply fill out a form, hit submit, and you are done. A note of caution here, I didn't notice the section for the local METAR Station at first and thought it would pull the data from my lat and lon settings. Once I corrected this the status showed the proper local weather data.Programming the watering cycles took a little figuring out, but only because there are way more options for controlling zone watering than I was accustomed to with my previous controller. I was able to figure this out in about 15 minutes. I only ended up using 2 of the 4 available programs, and only 3 of the available 8 start times for these 2 programs. There are a total of 16 possible start times, which I guess if you were using lighting you might need them.Operationally, it has worked like a charm. In the first 24 hours we received 0.8 inches of rain and it went into an automatic 24 hour rain delay, so I didn't need to scramble to turn my sprinklers off and then forget to turn the controller back on.Initially, this controller didn't have provisions for odd/even watering cycles. I included this as a drawback in my review. Within 24 hours I was contacted by HydroFlash Customer support and they sent me a beta version of the next firmware release which includes the odd /even watering provision. It has worked perfectly ever since.Since using the HydroFlash for about a month now I have found one more huge benefit. I have a fairly extensive drip system on two of my zones so I frequently make adjustments and add new drippers for new plants. in the past I would have to make all of my adjustments and then run down to the basement to turn the system on. Often this meant 10 or so trips to the basement. Now I can turn the zones on or off using my Android smart phone right from the yard.Bottom line, this thing is awesome, buy it, your return on investment will probably be less than 2 years, worth every penny. And, how cool is it to be able to turn your sprinklers on from your phone or tablet any where in the world.

I've been looking to replace our irrigation controller with one that can be remotely managed, and based on the research that I've done, it came down between the HydroFlash (a product I've never heard before) and another controller, with many more reviews. Feature-wise, the HydroFlash was everything that I was needed, as if it had been custom-developed for me personally. Skeptical as I usually am, of new products with just a couple of all-5-star reviews, I decided that Amazon's protection was a sufficient mitigating protection, enough to make me decide to give HydroFlash a try.First off, the shipping was lightning-fast; it went out on Monday (I had placed my order on Sunday), and got from CA to FL by Wed. or Thu. of the same week. It was appropriately packaged, and all parts made it unscathed - nothing was missing or broken, and everything was tightly held in place inside the box. There were simple to read printed instructions, but beyond scanning them for the user name / password for the web access, I didn't need them.Installation was simple, literally a drop-in replacement for my current old Hunter C-Pro wiring, except for power, which is supplied by a wall wart 24VAC unit. The web interface, while it won't win any design awards, is very neatly organized and inline descriptors made the programming easy. Everything worked on the first try, and I couldn't be happier.I use the iOS app to remotely manage the HydroFlash. A clever implementation is the ability to use either a direct connection (app connects to the IP address of the controller) or cloud-based (I would assume there's a server proxy involved so that router port forwarding won't have to be done, for remote access). I opted for direct connection, as I already have a VPN server set up on my home router which I use all the time, so no port forwarding was needed in my case.The only negative aspect is purely a mechanical one, and only encountered during installation - the serial port on the side of the unit, presumably for interfacing with Insteon (which I don't use) severely interferes with the mounting hole, so much so that a screw can only be driven at an angle. Again, not a dealbreaker, but a very curious oversight given that everything else is so well thought-out. A simple mould change to extend the mounting eye further away from the case could be in order.Notwithstanding the mounting annoyance described above, I wholeheartedly recommend the HydroFlash irrigation controller. I opted for the wired version, as it was simpler to implement in my particular setup, but there's also a wifi hardware version.