Rain BirdESP-ME3 4 Station WiFi Ready Indoor/Outdoor Controller | ESP-ME3-A1

Works great. I have this panel, wifi module and rain sensor installed. Very easy installation, the build quality is very good. The Rainbird app is OK. This panel does not have the huge power adapter which is a big plus for use outside, the power module is embedded in this panel box. I hope they enhance the Rainbird app to match competitors. For the controller itself it is solid and stable, better than competitors. I believe it will run free of problem for many years.

great product ready to install and easy set up

Reliable irrigation for the two zones ate our house, even adjusting for seasonal differences here in Tucson, AZ, where irrigation is essential. Old irrigation unit that came with the house was battery powered and would stop working without me noticing. This one keeps working, and can verify with the Android app. Easy to set up and just keeps working.

I bought this controller, and I bought loose: three 6-channel stations, one rain sensor, one flow sensor, and one WiFi module. Thus, I have room for 22 stations, and I use 18 of them. I have about 45 K2 45-360° 18-48' distance sprinklers in my yard. I earlier this year bought the Orbit B-hyve 12-Zone Smart Indoor/Outdoor Sprinkler Controller to replace my 2006 12-zone Orbit that broke. However, I was very unhappy with his B-hyve and bought the ESP-ME3 to replace it. The LCD of the B-hyve was very slow to update. The clock sometimes lost its memory. I often turned the rotary knob or pressed it to soon before the LCD updated causing incorrect programming. I could never get the manual station working and not also the WiFi. I used it for three months before I tossed it. Only advantage was its price. Practically, without reading the ESP-ME3 manual I could easily do all the programming. The manual station is also easy to use. WiFi works fine although I only set it up to work locally from my phone and not over the entire Web. Makes it harder to hack in to. Flow sensor is useful to see if you have broken sprinklers or valves using more or less water than expected/base-line. Also, get a good understanding how much water you're actually sprinklering per zone.

Replaced ESP-ME to the new ESP-ME3. It was very easy to swap out the controllers. I made sure to take a few photos of the zone wiring to the controller and also labelled each zone wire. Shut of the main irrigation water valve, disconnected the controller's power, opened the main door and the controller module (door), loosened each terminal screw, removed the lower 2 mounting screws, lifted the controller box to clear the top center screw (hangs on it) and the old unit was off. Did the reverse with the ME3 controller. Installed each terminal per the numbers/colors in the photo and labels, turned on the main water irrigation valve, powered the system and proceeded to program the controller; date, time, zone start time, and each zone run times. I thought that ME3 is simpler and quicker to program than the old ME. I would not upgrade for that reason only. It is a 5-start unit but I withheld 1-star to 4 because it does not already include the WiFi module. That module, the LNK2, costs about $105 by itself. Overall a very nice system. I would recommend to a friend.

Device works great and the SOAK option is super.

Installation is easy and takes less time. Easy to program as well, I’m glad I got rid of the old one. I added LNK2 and it was easy to connect to WiFi and program.

Our sprinkler guy referred to our old controller as “the first digital watch”. It was difficult to use with limited capabilities. I thought it would be a huge endeavor to upgrade, but it wasn’t. Our sprinkler guy recommended RainBird, and this model in particular. This RainBird is very easy to hook up and to use. Love that I can pause for x days from my smartphone if rain is in the forecast. Our sprinkler guy said other brands (models?) must have the owner next to him with their smart phone in order for him to do spring/fall open/close tasks. This RainBird can be maintained with our without a smartphone, home owner’s smartphone doesn’t need to be nearby when maintenance is being done.