Installation Guide

81 | C y b e r - R a i n X C I S m a r t I r r i g a t i o n C o n t r o l l e r U s e r G u i d e
Write down the initial reading. Then perform a manual run on the first zone for 5 minutes (unless the zone is a drip system, in which case 20 minutes is
recommended). After the run is complete, write down the new water meter reading. Use the following instructions to calculate the zone’s flow rate (in gallons
per minute):
1. Subtract the initial meter reading from the final meter reading.
2. Multiply the result by 748 (1 CCF = 748 Gallons).
3. Divide the result by 5 (# of minutes).
4. Enter in the result into the Estimated GPM field on the Zone details panel.
5. Repeat for the next zone.
Cycle and Soak
Cyber-Rain controllers employ a water saving feature known as Cycle and Soak. Cycle and Soak pauses the zone for a programmable duration of time to allow for
the water to soak into the soil. This is especially useful for reducing the chances of water runoff on sloped ground or dense soil. This feature cycles the watering
schedule on and off for dense soil or a sloped landscape to reduce water runoff. Water runoff is the wasted water that flows off saturated soil. Cycle and Soak
divides the watering sessions on your schedule into alternating on (cycle) and off (soak) periods so that the soil has time to absorb the water. The zone’s cycle
time and soak time can be adjusted. The total watering time will not change, but will be divided into sessions, allowing time for the soil to absorb water in
between applications. The cycles will not be visually reflected on the schedule panels, but will be transmitted to your controller.
To manually change the Cycle and Soak settings, go to the Zone page, then select the controller and zone that you would like to adjust. The Cycle and Soak
settings can now be adjusted for that particular zone.
 Maximum Cycle: Refers to the maximum length of time that a zone should run for before it stops and allows time for water to be absorbed into the soil.
 Soak Time: Refers to the length of time that the controller should allow for the soil to absorb water before running the zone again.
When Cycle and Soak times are set, the controller will water the zone for the Maximum Cycle period, and then pause the zone watering for the scheduled Soak
Time. The controller will move on to the next scheduled zone’s watering interval in the meantime. Once the Soak Time has expired, the controller will again
water the zone for its Maximum Cycle time, and then pause again for the scheduled Soak Time. This process will repeat until the entire scheduled watering
interval is run for each zone that was scheduled. Typical Max Cycle times are in the range of 3-5 minutes, and typical Soak Times are in the range of 15-30
minutes. When the cycle and soak method is used with drip irrigation, the cycle time must be longer. The length of watering time varies depending on the type
of emitter type, plant type, and soil type.
The Cycle and Soak feature is automatically enabled when using the horticultural recommendations from Zone details panel on the Zone page. To disable
Cycle and Soak for a particular zone, select the zone on the Zone page, and set both the Maximum Cycle time and Soak Time to 0 minutes.