Basic Programming

When it comes down to it, there are thousands of ways to program your controller and it all really depends on your property’s landscape watering needs and local climate.

When you first access your controller on SmartLink Network, you will be presented with a number of different ways to configure your irrigation schedule.

Controller Status

Near the top of the page, are your Controller Status settings.

Your controller has two key statuses you should always be aware of, the Run Status and Watering Mode.

Run Status
 
The Run Status of your controller will tell you if the unit is currently going to execute your programs or not. A status of “Run” means just that: everything will run according to your program schedule. A status of “System Off” or “Remote Off”, means that watering is suspended.

Watering Mode

The Watering Mode operates as either “Standard” or “Auto-Adjust”. Standard Mode is what you are probably most familiar with: whenever a Program is set to run, each zone is run for the number of minutes you define in your Zone Run Times settings. 

(Smart) Auto-Adjust Mode is a bit different. You still define a start time for each program, but the controller determines how long each zone ought to run, based on temperature and rainfall data retrieved from your weather station, in addition to the information you provide in the “Auto Adjust” program pane that defines each zone’s soil type, sprinkler type, slope, and other settings (more on that below).

Rain/Freeze Status

The Rain/Freeze Status setting enables you to use operate your controller with or without your SLW weather sensor.


Controller Programming

At the bottom half of the page, are your Controller Program features. 

All Weathermatic controllers operate around four optional programming schedules, or “Programs”. Programs are labeled A, B, C, and D initially, and you can customize the names for each if you wish to. Click on “Edit” for any of your programs to set the days of the week your programs will run, as well as what times of each selected day the program ought to start.




Zone Run Times
Expand the Zone Run Times pane to set up zone-specific run times.

Run times are required for all zones in use. They serve as a backup in the event of communication loss with your SLW. If you are using a SLW weather station for Auto Adjust (Smart Mode) watering, the controller will not use the zone run times for all zones in use.

Once your zone run times are set, make sure to save the changes. You can customize the names for each zone if you wish to as well.

Auto-Adjust Settings
The Auto-Adjust pane works in tangent with the SLW Onsite Weather Station.


This mode analyzes “onsite” weather data and automatically sets optimum watering run times for each zone. Within this pane you’re able to build a zone-by-zone profile by specifying each zone’s sprinkler type, plant material, soil type, slope, and more/less percentage.

This in-depth zone detail when used alongside onsite weather data, enable the controller to automatically adjust zone’s setting run and soak cycles - saving potentially thousands of gallons of water.