Bluetooth Controller or Wi-Fi Module: Control Your Irrigation from Your Phone

Start watering from the sofa, push back a cycle when rain is on the way, check from a distance that everything is working: you can do all of this with a Bluetooth irrigation controller or a Wi-Fi module. Here is how to choose, and then how to get set up.

Bluetooth or Wi-Fi: the difference in a nutshell

• Bluetooth: your phone talks directly to the controller when you are nearby. No hub, no router: ideal for a valve box or a far corner of the garden with no power socket.
• Wi-Fi: the controller connects to your home internet router. You can control it from anywhere, with alerts and weather-based adjustments.

Battery-powered Bluetooth: watering where there is no power socket

These controllers sit close to the valve, often in a buried valve box, and are set up from an app.

• Hunter: the NODE-BT-100-VALVE-B (1 station, supplied fitted to a valve), the NODE-BT-200 (2 stations) and the NODE-BT-400 (4 stations), all with Bluetooth 5.0.
• Rain Bird: the ESP-BAT-BT range, from 1 station to 6 stations, with the Rain Bird 2.0 app. For example, the ESP-BAT-BT-2 runs on 4 AA batteries, offers 4 programmes with 8 start times each and an IP68 casing; battery life can reach 5 years depending on the watering schedule.
• Solem: the BL-IP and WooBee IP68, from 1 to 6 stations, programmed with the MySolem app.

These models operate latching (pulse) solenoid valves: each product page lists the compatible solenoid.

Wi-Fi: two ways to get connected

1. Choose a controller that is already Wi-Fi enabled. The Rain Bird RC2I4-230 (4 stations, indoor) is controlled with the Rain Bird app. From Solem, the SMART-IS (2 to 12 stations, with MySolem) and the Villa (built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, 4 to 12 stations) suit gardens of every size. From Hunter, the PHC-601E, PHC-1201E and PHC-2401E are controlled through the Hydrawise platform.

2. Add a Wi-Fi module to a compatible controller. This is the easiest way to upgrade an existing installation.

• The Rain Bird LNK2 Wi-Fi module slots into ESP-TM2 and ESP-ME3 controllers (as well as recent ESP-ME and RZXe models). It adds the Rain Bird 2.0 app, seasonal adjustment, rain delay when rain is forecast, and alerts. It works on a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network.
• The Hunter WAND Wi-Fi module connects Hunter X2, PHC and HPC controllers to the Hydrawise platform, with watering adjusted to local weather data.

Setting up the LNK2 in 6 steps

1. Download the Rain Bird app to your phone.
2. Check that the Wi-Fi signal reaches the spot where your controller is installed.
3. Open the front panel of the controller and insert the module into the accessory slot.
4. Check that the indicator light is flashing alternately red and green (if not, press the button on the module).
5. In the app, add a controller and follow the steps: your phone briefly connects to the Wi-Fi network whose name contains “Rain Bird”.
6. Run a test watering from the app.

To start again from scratch, hold down the button on the module for more than 5 seconds. Before ordering, look for the Wi-Fi symbol on the front of your controller: Rain Bird states that only models made after 2 November 2016 have it.

Which option for which garden?

• No power socket: a battery-powered Bluetooth controller (NODE-BT, ESP-BAT-BT or BL-IP).
• Power socket available and you want remote control: an RC2I4-230 or a SMART-IS.
• Already have an ESP-TM2 or ESP-ME3: simply add the LNK2.
• Plan to add more zones: the modular ESP-ME3 and its expansion modules.

To complete your system, add a rain sensor: watering stops by itself when it rains.

Questions about compatibility? Email info@arrosagepro.com with the model of your controller.

Official sources: LNK2 module guide · LNK2 user guide (Rain Bird PDF) · LNK module setup