Introduction
The Tipping Rain Bucket is a rainfall sensor that connects to your two-wire irrigation system.
Inside the device is a small bucket that collects rainfall. When full, the bucket tips over, emptying accumulated rainfall. The bucket automatically turns upright again, so more rainfall can be measured. This process triggers a notification to your irrigation controller to adjust or stop irrigation.
The Tipping Rain Bucket is compatible with the BaseStation 3200 and the SubStation.
Highlighted Features
Start, Stop, Pause: A BaseStation 3200 can now start, stop, or pause programmed irrigation based on rain data from the tipping rain bucket.
Actionable Rain Data: A BaseStation 3200 will track each and every “tip” of the tipping rain bucket so it can measure how much it rained, how fast it rained, and how long the rainfall lasted.
Rain Data Reports: The Analytics platform in AppManager will allow you to generate reports showing the diagnostic information for the tipping rain bucket decoder such as 2-wire drop and amperage. You will be able to see total rain accumulation within the last 60 minutes. You can see historical rainfall data viewable in year, month, week, day, hour, or minute resolution. The rainfall data includes total accumulation, duration, and rate. If you have a Baseline soil moisture sensor you can also generate a report that shows the total rainfall compared against soil moisture and soil temperature on a single graph.
Pair with Moisture Sensors: When you pair a tipping rain bucket with one of Baseline’s highly accurate soil moisture sensors you can correlate rainfall information to soil moisture data and track the effective rainfall at your site.
Use Case Scenarios
- Stop a Program: You manage a park right outside the Mayor’s office and they hate it when they see the sprinklers running when it’s raining. With your new tipping rain bucket you can program your 3200 to stop irrigating as soon as it starts raining.
- Start a Program: You’re a water manager for an HOA and you have multiple rain catchment tanks around the property. If the tanks get too full they will overflow which washes out the sandy area around the tanks which pisses off the residents. With the tipping rain bucket you can start a program to run a pump that will drain the catchment tanks during a big rain event to avoid spillage.
- Pause a Program: You’re a property manager for a big corporate headquarters. You know you can stop irrigation during a rain event with a rain switch. The problem with a rain switch is that it can rain right at the start of a program causing the controller to stop irrigating, and then, the rain stops minutes later leaving your site dry with a wasted water window. With the tipping rain bucket you can set thresholds for your 3200 so that it knows to pause irrigation during the rain event and then start again once the rain event is complete. This is the best of both worlds. You aren’t irrigating during the rain and you know that no matter what your site will get the water it needs.
Product Information
Requirements
- BaseStation 3200 irrigation controller
- BaseStation 3200 with firmware of 17.14 or higher
- If connected to a SubStation, the SubStation requires version 2.6 or higher
Part numbers
- Tipping Rain Bucket (bucket only; no decoder): BL-RB400
- Tipping Rain Bucket Decoder (decoder only): BL-5407
- Tipping Rain Bucket Kit (includes Tipping Rain Bucket, Tipping Rain Bucket Decoder, DBR/Y Wire-Connectors): BL-5407-KIT
- Tipping Rain Bucket Kit Pro (includes Tipping Rain Bucket, Tipping Rain Bucket Decoder, BL-5311 Moisture Sensor, DBR/Y Wire-Connectors): BL-5407-KIT-PRO
Tech Spec sheet (link)
User manual and install guide (link)
Warranty Info
Troubleshooting
How to tell when the unit has failed
Alerts and notifications
Replacement parts and RMA procedure
RMA Process
FAQ
Will the tipping rain bucket decoder work with any tipping rain bucket?
No. There are specific output requirements with each and every tipping rain bucket. The tipping rain bucket Baseline has sourced is the only approved, tested, and validated tipping rain bucket.
Will the tipping rain bucket work with the BaseStation 1000?
No. The tipping rain bucket technology will only work with the BaseStation 3200.
Can I connect the tipping rain bucket decoder to a SubStation?
Yes. The SubStation can communicate with the tipping rain bucket decoder which allows the BaseStation 3200 to see it and manage it.
Do I need to update my BaseStation 3200 firmware?
Yes. It will require version 17.14 or higher. If you’re using a SubStation it will need to be updated to version 2.6 or higher.
Is there any data I can see at the BaseStation 3200 display?
Yes. The BaseStation 3200 will show you 2-wire diagnostic information for the tipping rain bucket decoder plus the total rain accumulation measured by that decoder and if the decoder is measuring any rain at that moment in time.
Will this work in BaseManager and AppManager too?
Yep. The tipping rain bucket and all start, stop, pause conditions can be configured remotely in BaseManager. You can see real-time data in Quickview and you can place the location of the tipping rain bucket on your site’s map in BaseManager. The Analytics tool in AppManager will generate detailed reports for 2-wire diagnostic information, real-time rainfall, and historical rainfall.