Want Yard of the Month? Hire Rainstat!

Not really.  We had very little to do with these nice folks getting yard of the month, but it does point out that beautiful landscapes like this don't happen without water.  The right amount at the right place at the right time. 

If your sprinkler system could use some fine tuning, we'd love to help.

Call Drew at 254.829.3800 to schedule a free system check.

It's Something Like a Traffic Accident

We had gotten off to a later start than intended so, when I saw the emergency lights ahead of us on I35, I groaned inside.  We were doing some work for a WalMart in Austin and we’re always conscious of the time because it takes a while to get there and get back. 

As it turned out, there was an accident but it was on the other side of the interstate.  A truck had completely blocked traffic and cars were backed up as far as we could see.  I was ashamed of myself for thinking I was glad it was “them” and not “us.”  We headed along our merry way for several minutes when I realized the traffic was still stopped.  It had been MILES.  Finally, we came to the end of the pack with new cars just now having to break to a halt.  

Because of my vantage point, I could see something they couldn’t.   Something inside me wanted to jump out of the car and yell, “Stop!  Get off the road!  Go eat, shop, ANYTHING!  You are going to be stopped here for HOURS if you don’t do something now!”

I didn’t, of course.

We continued down the road thinking about those poor travelers and how fortunate we were to not have been involved.  

It may seem to be an obtuse shift, but can we talk about water?  I believe we are in the same place as those unfortunate travelers.  By that, I mean there are already conditions in place that mask themselves now but will become imminently clear later.  

Think about it.  We have no less water now than we did on the day of Creation.  The issue is location, timing and purity.   This blog isn’t the forum to inform you on details, but I would hope you will be enlightened enough to start paying attention to how you use and waste water.  

We know a substantial portion of the water you use is outside (some say 70%).  So, if you are going to have a real impact on your water use, it probably isn’t going to be with a low-flow shower head--although that helps, too.  

That’s why we have a mission her at Rainstat Irrigation.  We want you to use all the water you need, and not a drop more.

We want to help you become a conservation hero while saving you money on your water bill.  Our Smart Controller for your sprinkler system saves anywhere from 20% to 50% on your water bill.  

Please call me.  My cell number is 254/744-1724.  You may be surprised at what you can do.  And if we all do our little part . . . 

The Well Went Dry

I think we paid $17,000 for our 16 acres.  It had a hand-dug well that all the local old-timers said had never run dry.  We had a house moved onto the land and got to work.  That was in June.  We were working on the house (a fixer upper), building fence, planting and loving it.  Our three kids were very young, and we all pitched in with everyone doing what they could.   It was great. 

August was hot.  Dry, too.  You know how Texas’ summers can get.   Anyway, the well went dry. 

I can remember the feeling of ruin when I realized that this wasn’t going to get better.  The well was dry, dry, dry.   We had a garden and some livestock.  We needed to take baths.  We needed to cook and drink.  We could do all of that, just not at home. 

Oh, and did I mention we couldn’t afford to get a new well dug? 

We had a relative that lived about a half mile away that agreed to let us use from her well.  We hauled water in opened-topped five gallon buckets, usually on the back of a Honda, Big Red three-wheeler.

One of the things we liked about this land was a wet-weather creek that ran through it.  The previous owner had pushed a tank on the creek for watering livestock.  We actually enjoyed fording the creek in wet times and the dry-times rumble tumble experience didn’t inconvenience any of us.  Until now. 

Our one toilet was one of those pre-efficient ones. It took five gallons of water to flush one time.  To put it another way, one flush demanded a one-mile round trip on a three-wheeler with a sloshing, overflowing, getting-you-wet, going-bouncy-through-the- creek bucket of water that sometimes didn’t have enough to do the deed by the time you got there.  Somehow the dictionary’s “a strong, unpleasant smell” doesn’t quite convey what is in my head when I say that often our house stunk. 

I may forget it someday, that Saturday morning, when Carmen, my wife’s college friend, just showed up at our house.   She and her family explained that they had lost our phone number, so they wrote us they were coming.  (We received her letter the following Monday.)  When you live on the back side of 16 acres that’s outside the city limits of a town with less than 400 souls, pop-ins are the exception to the norm.   It’s hard to remember, but I think we were about a month into the well-ran-dry period of our life.  We planned to work that day, which is to say none of us had made the effort to bathe, wash dishes or anything else requiring water.  We stunk, the house stunk and our “Oh, we’re so glad to see you” was, I’m sure, tainted by the mind-scream of  “Oh, I wish we had gotten your letter.”  We explained and they were very gracious, but that will forever be “my most uncomfortable moment.”  And water was the culprit. 

For all you “location, location, location” folks, I came up-close to the realization that land without water has a lower value than land with water.  How much less?  About 100%. 

I, again, don’t remember the details, but we gathered up enough coins to have Billy Harris come out and drill us a well.  It was a good well with cold, sweet water, and everyone lived happily ever after.   We have since sold that beautiful place and moved on.  We have city water now, and our house is clean and smells good.  We shower, brush our teeth, wash dishes, water the yard and flush the toilet without a thought.  

Could it happen again?  What’s your answer?   Could it? 

Here’s the take-home from this true story:  

--Yes, it could indeed.  Water could be unavailable–very easily.--

One way is quick.  If you lost electricity, you would be without water fast.  And there would be absolutely nothing you could do about it but say, “Go, man, go!” to the utility guys.   But, let’s say they went home because they couldn’t fix it.  The source, the generator, went down.  If you will let your mind consider your state, you will see you are in exactly the same position we were almost 30 years ago, with one huge exception.  You would have no place to haul water from.  (And, your car would have had its last tank of gasoline because there was no way to pump the fuel.)  Bottled water?  Sure, buy all you can, but watch out for that increasingly desperate mob that is trying to beat you to the punch.  Like everyone else, be sure and buy a lot because you have now discovered, how incredibly valuable water is. 

The other real possibility is one you won’t even consider and that is the loss of your water supply.  The fact is, this is where almost every US city is headed right now unless something happens.  What “something”?  Either new sources of water are going to have to be discovered or we are going to have to use less water.  Maybe a lot less water. 

That’s my call to you.  Start using less water.  Use just what you need, but no more. We have started a water catchment system at our house.  We are using “just enough water” to water our lawn.  We’ve installed a low-flow shower head, and our toilet uses a fraction of the old style.

It’s made a difference on our water bill even though we’re in the baby-steps stage.  But, if we all did what we could, when we could, the cumulative affect could be future-changing. 

You have choices now.  Please make wise ones.  

Comments?  Please let me hear. 

It's That Transition Time of Year

This is the hardest time of year to keep your sprinkler's controller up-to-date because the weather is changing. It's that time of year when a Rainstat Smart Controller does the most good and saves you the most money. Here's why:

During July and August it is HOT. Everyone knows it's going to be hot and your landscape is going to require a lot of water. Your water bill weighs a little more in your mail box during the summer and there's not a lot you can do about it. If it is 105º outside, there is going to be tremendous evaporation and your plants are going to be growing their fastest.

Likewise, when winter hits and we are dipping below the freeze mark every night, you don't need much water at all.

So, the time to install a Smart Controller in right now, during the transition time.

What is a Smart Controller, you say?

A Smart Controller replaces your present controller. The new controller "talks" to your on-site weather station so you water just enough each day. Never too little or too much. And you never have to touch it. It changes and "programs" itself daily.

We would be glad to show you one and give you an idea of what to expect. The new controller pays for itself in reducing the amount you are already spending on your water bill. And, your landscape will actually do better while saving you money.

Interested? Call me. My cell number is 254.744.1724.

Home Owners' Associations Wasting Water?

Home Owners' Associations may be wasting a lot of money on their water bill. Why? Because they are set up to be the perfect water wasting machine. Everyone in the Association pays into the the fund that pays the water bill.

The one that pays the water bill has nothing to compare to, so the bill gets paid as a "normal" expense. So the sprinkler system runs during the rain, (very bad for PR, but not that big an impact on the bill), waters the same amount whether it needs it or not, and has been shown to be watering up to 100% too much.

The HOA scenario is exactly the same as just about every sprinkler system around with one huge difference. Some Home Owners' Associations are paying tens of thousands of dollars in water bills.

A Rainstat Controller could be saving that Association from 20% to 50% of that expense. We're talking about some real money here that could be spent on other areas or used to reduce fees or offset future increases . . .

We are in the process of preparing proposals for some Waco HOAs with very aggressive pricing. We want to make a point that the old, dumb controllers need to go away. They require you to make decisions you aren't equipped to make.

Dumb controllers require you to convert your "inches of rain" thoughts into "days and minutes" actions. You have all the weather information you need--probably on your cell phone. But how on earth do you translate that into the language your dumb controller speaks?

If you do get it figured out, it goes out of date the next time the weather changes.

A Rainstat Smart Controller replaces just the water your plants use and reprograms itself every day! So it becomes impossible to waste water through over-watering or runoff.

Are you a member of a Home Owners' Association? Do you know of a Home Owners' Association that waters large areas of common area grass? Tell them to call us for a Value Proposal that reflects an actual Return on Investment. It's free.

Call Drew at 254.829.3800 or Doug at 254.744.1724 to schedule a site visit.

Is It Time to Update Your Technology?

Picture a chisel and a rock vs. a pencil.

Or, how about a more up-to-date comparison of a ledger book and a computer with accounting software. The old way still works but the new way is better (faster, cheaper . . . ).

That's the way the Rainstat controller is. Your old sprinkler controller still works, but it is obsolete. Throw it away. Quickly.

The new controller is the same forward step you took when you got a controller in the first place (instead of turning on manual valves).

Maybe I'm wrong. Let Rainstat Irrigation look at your sprinkler system. We will both know within 10 minutes if it is a good move for you.

Call now to talk to a real person (most of the time). 254.829.3800

Self-Serving Change In Tag Line

"The best way to repair or upgrade your sprinkler system without getting soaked." It's self-serving chest-thumping, I know. But in thinking about how we go about the relatively simple task of replacing a sprinkler head, we do it so you should NEVER have to address that head again!

Does it cost more? That depends on whether your looking at cost from the initial expense to get the job done or the cost over the life of your system. The answer is probably "yes" and "no." Yes, it probably will cost you more to have it done right as apposed to just unscrewing one head and screwing another in its place. No, when you consider that you should never ever have to address that head again.

It's the old "pay me now or pay me later" reply, but if that head has to be repaired again (because your riding lawn mower broke the riser again), you shot yourself in the foot by paying too little.

Here's the new tag line, "The best way to permanently repair or upgrade your sprinkler system without getting soaked."

Okay. I feel better now. What do you think?

Doug Saylor
Rainstat Irrigation
254.829.3800

A Practical Epiphany

The word "epiphany" might be a bit strong.

I've always looked for that special something that would incite our customers to love us. But I realize that our job is "get your head in the game, get this sprinkler system fixed as quickly and as inexpensively as possible, and get out of these people's lives."

As it is, we repair whatever the problem is, we do it for the price that was quoted in our Promise before the work started and we place our little sticker on the controller in the hope that you will call us again. Magic huh?


My realization, my epiphany, is that we are not in the Magic Business, Disney is. Anything we "do" is ultimately just what is expected.

And that creates a subtle but profound change here at Rainstat Irrigation. We will continue to give Promises before we obligate you to pay for any work we do. We will still fix the problem if you honor us with permission to do so. We will even continue to keep our trucks clean and our employees well identified.

But I see a need to tweak something–maybe just an attitude. In an attempt to look at ourselves from your perspective, I see that we are nothing more or less than a supplier that can potentially ease your pain. If we can do that in the most pain-free way possible, we've done our job.

As I said at the beginning, our attitude needs to be "get your head in the game, get this thing fixed as quickly and as inexpensively as possible, and get out of these people's lives." We'll keep leaving our little stickers on your controller in the hope that you will call us again but the magic will be that you are able to get on with your life without worrying about dead plants, shocking water bills or whether or not we will do what we Promised.

No magic. Just an attitude. And a commitment.

Autopilot vs. Throttle Lock

I'm no pilot. I know a few and they love Autopilot--especially on long trips. These sophisticated devices keep the plane on a strait and level path at a constant speed. The pilot can sit back and literally read a book with the confidence that the Autopilot is taking care of the plane at least as well as s/he could.

Now consider a simple throttle lock. All it does is keep the engine's speed constant. Sit back and read a book with a throttle lock and it will likely be your last. It will keep your engine speed (not necessarily your plane's speed) constant as it flies you right into the ground. That's precisely the difference between your present sprinkler controller and a Rainstat Controller.

So, in the parlance of Generation Twenty-Something, your *ancient* controller is dead on with the throttle lock. You set it and it repeats your last instruction from now until you intervene. It changeth not. It can't. And it wastes a lot of water because it cannot react to weather conditions. In the process, it "flies" your wallet right into the ground.

Not so with your Rainstat Controller. Like the Autopilot, it reacts to every subtle weather change and corrects itself so your landscape gets just enough to thrive. This used to cost tens of thousands of dollars. You can get one installed for $995.

A Rainstat Controller and Weather Station is the best way to put your sprinkler system on Autopilot.(sm) Please call 829.3800 now to scedule a free on-site analysis of your sprinkler system.

Thanks for reading.








Doug

September, The Foothills of Winter

September is when the weather breaks. Usually. It's a "transitional period" sprinkler-wise. And, it's one of the most water-wasting times for sprinkler system owners and managers because it is still summer and summer schedules seem to be sticky.

Here's the averages you need to start with: The average rainfall for Waco in September is 3". The need for water as expressed in the evapotranspiration (ET) rate is 5.7". So you need to replace 2.7 inches for the month. The reality of it though is the 2.7" needs to be weighted toward the first half of the month when, like today, Labor Day, it is supposed to be in the upper 90s.

So, if you don't yet have a Rainstat Controller (it makes your adjustments for exact water savings every day), please pay attention to your sprinkler's schedule and make the transitional adjustments.

Specifically, I'd stay with my August need of 5.7" until we start seeing some high temperatures in the mid 80s with cool nights. Then I'd drop the schedule to 25% of the August run-times.

Is all this Greek? Call me at 254.829.3800. It all has to do with conserving water (and saving you money) while keeping your landscape vibrant and healthy. The Rainstat Controller is a "Green" or "Smart" controller. It's like a thermostat for your yard.(sm)

Thanks for reading,
Doug

More help on our web site

The Rainstat Controller and Weather Station solves the problem of scheduling your sprinkler system for water savings and a beautiful landscape. But what if you don't want to spend $1k to avail yourself of this new device?

Answer: Program your controller to cooperate with the weather. You may have discovered that your weather man talks about "inches of rain" while your controller talks about "minutes of run-time." What we have here is a failure to communicate.

Please stay tuned. We are in the process of writing a free white paper on programing your controller correctly and continuously in conjunction with a redesign of our web site.

More later . . .

If you don't want to jump through these hoops, get a Rainstat Controller. It's like a thermostat for your yard.

How Long Should You Water In July and August?

Here's a rule of thumb: July and August call for 1.5 inches in addition to our normal rainfall (which is usually pretty-much nil) in the Waco area. But your sprinkler controller thinks in time not inches. So let's convert inches to time so you can better manage your sprinkler system and your water usage.

Rotors, the heads that shoot a stream of water and the head rotates, precipitate at about .5 inches per hour. That means it takes a whopping 3 hours a week to lay down 1.5 inches of precipitation! There always seems to be a trade-off between buying water and having a beautiful stand of grass. You will make you own decision on expenses, but 3 hours for rotors is the ticket to beautiful grass during our hot summers.

Sprays, the heads that shoot water in all directions at once, precipitate at 3 times as much as Rotors. They only need to run for an hour per week to get the same 1.5 inches of precipitation.

How often? The Waco area generally has very heavy clay soil. If you run your system for too long, it just creates runoff and wastes water. Try 3 times a week at 1 hour each for Rotors and 20 minutes for sprays. If you still have runoff, cut your time in half and double your days. For example set your controller for 30 minutes for rotors and 10 minutes for sprays and run it every day but, say, Sunday.

Your grass will thank you and your checking account will wonder what happened.

Remember to change it again when the weather breaks in September.

If you don't want to constantly tweak your sprinkler's controller but want green grass and as low a water bill as possible, consider our Rainstat Controller and Weather Station. It's not for everyone but you can check it out at our site. It's like a thermostat for your yard. You set it once and forget it.

Questions? Call any time. 829-3800.