How to set your sprinkler timer

The 6 settings, in the order you set them

Orbit, B-hyve, Hunter and other brands lay out their screens differently, but they all program the same way: Auto is how you leave it, the clock with time and date, programs and start times, a run time per station, the days of the week, and Off.

1. 1

   Auto

   Where the dial lives. Leave it here every time you walk away, or nothing runs on its own.

2. 2

   Clock

   The right time and date, AM or PM. If the clock is wrong, every other setting is wrong too.

3. 3

   Program A

   A program is one watering plan. Use Program A. B and C are for special cases.

4. 4

   Start times

   How many times a day the program runs. Two is plenty. Every station runs one after another from each start time.

5. 5

   Run times

   How many minutes each station runs. Lawn and flower beds get different minutes.

6. 6

   Watering days

   Which days of the week it runs. Set them to your city's schedule for your address.

Step by step

1. Step 1

   Start with the dial on Auto

   Auto is where your timer should be whenever you stop touching it and walk away. That is what lets the cycles run on their own. You will come back to Auto at the end, too.

2. Step 2

   Set the clock: time and date

   Turn to the clock or "Current time" setting and enter the correct time and date. This is the step people skip, and it is the one that matters most: if the clock is off, every start time you set runs at the wrong hour.

   • Check AM and PM
   • Set the date too, so the days of the week line up

3. Step 3

   Use Program A

   Most timers have Program A and Program B, and some have C. A program is one complete watering plan: its own start times, run times and days. Stick to Program A.

   Crew tip: B and C are for advanced setups: special zones, newly seeded areas, or a schedule that is not the regular one. If you do not have one of those, you only need A.

4. Step 4

   Set two start times

   Start times decide how many times a day the timer goes off. Set two, for example 7 AM and 7 PM. Use the forward and back arrows (or Next) to move through Start 1, Start 2 and the rest.

   • Only two start times: every other start should read Off
   • A start time runs ALL the stations, one after another. It is not a separate time for each station
   • Keep them outside 10 AM to 6 PM, the hours nobody may water

5. Step 5

   Make sure Program B is empty

   Press the program button to switch to Program B and look at its start times. They should all be empty. If one has a time, scroll it to the 12 o'clock hour, where you will find the Off option, and set it to Off.

   Crew tip: A forgotten time on Program B is how a yard keeps watering on the wrong days without anyone knowing.

6. Step 6

   Set the run time for each station

   Go station by station (each one is a valve, or zone) and set how many minutes it runs. A good starting point:

   • Summer: 12 minutes for lawn, 8 minutes for flower beds
   • Winter: 10 minutes for lawn, 6 minutes for flower beds
   LawnFlower beds

   Summer12 min8 min

   Winter10 min6 min

   Crew tip: Then adjust from there: more for a spot that dries out, less for one that stays soggy.

7. Step 7

   Pick the watering days

   Choose how often it runs: the days of the week. Base it on your city's watering schedule for your address, select those days, and clear the rest. That is the last setting.

   Which days are yours? Tap odd or even on Can I water today? →

8. Step 8

   Turn it back to Auto

   Return the dial to Auto and walk away. From Auto you can still use Manual run any time to water a station for as many minutes as you want.