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Rain bird LIMR receiver lightning strike. Can’t find a replacement.

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enorl76

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
As the title says, there’s basically no stock of LIMR receivers to be had.

Apparently a lightning strike destroyed the backplane of my LXME, which was easy to replace, and also seems to have scrambled the LIMR receiver that was basically always attached (within the controller box, lots of room in there!)

Question for the Rain Bird guys, what gives? Is LIMR discontinued? Is there a replacement coming?

I’m gonna have to consider a (used) I-Core just to get back to a remote on this 2 acre property... it’s a good long walk to cycle zones even when the controller is basically right in the center, I still have to walk around the house most of the time... lol
 
#2 ·
From what I have been told the LIMR is history and rainbird doesn't have any plans for budget remotes for the systems. The basic response I got A few years back was
"Talk the customer into controller upgrade so you can hook up WiFi link and use your phone as a remote, we don't have plans to replace LIMR"

Unfortunately using Rainbird WiFi repetitively on your phone for zone control is even more frustrating than using the LIMR. It becomes a mind numbing battle of error messages such as "controller is already in an active connection" or some other random message.

Hydrawise seems to be light years ahead of Rainbird in WiFi connectivity. There are a lot of aspects of hydrawise I don't care for, but the hydrawise is a lot less glitchy than the Rainbird WiFi when using phone as a remote.

Coincidentally, I always found Hunters $115.00 roam remote set up to be much more reliable and responsive than the $500.00 Rainbird LIMR. When I was a solo act, I lived and died by remotes on sites. I still remember well how much I loathed that LIMR remote
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
TBH I was afraid somebody would say this, and seems to futher cement my thoughts that Rain Bird keeps trying to push everybody into buying a controller for $600+, a module to connect to Wifi/Ethernet for $1200+, and an account for their online service for $1200/yr (dont quote any of those numbers)

Commercial space doesnt care about these features... they just want an irrigation system that keeps the grass green and bushes watered during less rain periods... they dont care for $3600 just for a controller.

Only golf, which relies entirely on the grass being best as possible, are willing to pay these prices.

High end large property residential, like what I'm dealing with, just wants a good system that doesn't waste water but is better than the big box store offerings.

Eh, I'll think about making a change, I dont have to atm.
 
#8 ·
enorl76 said:
As the title says, there's basically no stock of LIMR receivers to be had.

Apparently a lightning strike destroyed the backplane of my LXME, which was easy to replace, and also seems to have scrambled the LIMR receiver that was basically always attached (within the controller box, lots of room in there!)

Question for the Rain Bird guys, what gives? Is LIMR discontinued? Is there a replacement coming?

I'm gonna have to consider a (used) I-Core just to get back to a remote on this 2 acre property... it's a good long walk to cycle zones even when the controller is basically right in the center, I still have to walk around the house most of the time... lol
Click to expand...
If you are patient they do pop up on eBay from time to time...
 
#9 ·
I am having the same issue. We've been using Irritrol/Toro controllers forever and have been able to use the Irritrol/Toro remotes flawlessly for years. But the Irritrol/Toro controllers are not cutting it anymore so we are looking to transition to Hunter or Rain Bird. The lack of an available remote for Rain Bird has me wanting to shy away from Rain Bird in favor of Hunter. A good service remote is too valuable to not have one available. And a phone as a service remote is a joke, even without connectivity issues to consider.

I see RainMaster/Irritrol ProMax mentioned from time to time. But at $1500+ I can't see that being a realistic solution to put in every service truck.

Maybe Hunter is the way to go, but I've had X2s on backorder for well over a month so I've had to install ESP-Mes or miss out on the work. Controllers are just really starting to annoy me. /rant
 
#10 ·
benhargreaves said:
I see RainMaster/Irritrol ProMax mentioned from time to time. But at $1500+ I can't see that being a realistic solution to put in every service truck.
Click to expand...
I know $1500 is kind of a big pill to swallow but it has saved me so much time/trouble/everything. Like I said one of the best moves I've ever made. Good tools make you money. Are you running one or two guys for service?
 
#11 ·
ArTurf said:
I know $1500 is kind of a big pill to swallow but it has saved me so much time/trouble/everything. Like I said one of the best moves I've ever made. Good tools make you money. Are you running one or two guys for service?
Click to expand...
4 guys for service, including me. It's also the replacement cost that scares me. I think I'll punch a whole in the wall the first time a tech comes into my office and tells me they broke their $1500 remote.
 
#13 ·
benhargreaves said:
I am having the same issue. We've been using Irritrol/Toro controllers forever and have been able to use the Irritrol/Toro remotes flawlessly for years. But the Irritrol/Toro controllers are not cutting it anymore so we are looking to transition to Hunter or Rain Bird. The lack of an available remote for Rain Bird has me wanting to shy away from Rain Bird in favor of Hunter. A good service remote is too valuable to not have one available. And a phone as a service remote is a joke, even without connectivity issues to consider.

I see RainMaster/Irritrol ProMax mentioned from time to time. But at $1500+ I can't see that being a realistic solution to put in every service truck.

Maybe Hunter is the way to go, but I've had X2s on backorder for well over a month so I've had to install ESP-Mes or miss out on the work. Controllers are just really starting to annoy me. /rant
Click to expand...
We install Hunter controllers exclusively and every truck has a remote for a total of $1500 +/-. The hunter remotes aren't as fast as the rain master and obviously not universal but at a third the cost and since 90% of my market uses hunter it is a no brainer
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
I say this knowing the ESP-ME has the LNK system, but ESP-ME is too simple for our needs...

We run a 5HP pump off a lake that delivers 150+GPM at 55 PSI, I actually need somewhat intelligent zone structuring for the 2 acres, run as many 40 GPM zones as the controller can do. ESP-ME doesnt cut it running a single zone at a time, it would take 12 hours to complete a cycle.
 
#16 ·
ArTurf said:
I know $1500 is kind of a big pill to swallow but it has saved me so much time/trouble/everything. Like I said one of the best moves I've ever made. Good tools make you money. Are you running one or two guys for service?
Click to expand...
Don't you have to completely hard wire the rain master harness to every operational zone at every non rain master controller? So for instance, a 20 station system, doesn't the wiring harness for the rain master have to be physically connected to every terminal of all 20 zones? That was the deal breaker for me on the rain master. Great for sites where you are dedicating and leaving harnesses attached permanently, but for random one time service it seemed like a fair amount of leg work before you can even get started
 
#17 ·
enorl76 said:
Probably gonna pick up a Hunter I-Core and a Hunter Roam remote on ebay to test out at my dad's place (2 acres) and try them out

Shame Rain Bird isn't servicing this anymore. They could at least release the specs for how to communicate, let the free market fill that void.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't recommend the plain Roam, I have one and it's not that impressive and I doubt it would work on large sites. Maybe the Roam XL, I started a thread to ask about it a few years ago and got positive feedback
 
#18 ·
GreenLight said:
Don't you have to completely hard wire the rain master harness to every operational zone at every non rain master controller? So for instance, a 20 station system, doesn't the wiring harness for the rain master have to be physically connected to every terminal of all 20 zones? That was the deal breaker for me on the rain master. Great for sites where you are dedicating and leaving harnesses attached permanently, but for random one time service it seemed like a fair amount of leg work before you can even get started
Click to expand...
I have a pigtail setup with clips for 12 zones or less, I guess you could rig up one for more zones but the larger sites I work at I do have a permanent pigtail setup. On new customers sometimes I have to cleanup the wiring to make attaching the clips easier but the 10 minutes I spend doing it is worth it.
 
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