Baseline Systems BaseStation 3200 - Manual (Page 54)

BaseStation 3200 Advanced Irrigation Controller Manual
Note: As you change the time in the field, the ratio percentage changes to indicate how the time is related to
the amount of time that the primary zone is scheduled to water. The example in the illustration shows that 45
minutes is 100% of the watering time scheduled for zone 2, so you know that zone 2 is also scheduled to water
for 45 minutes. In this example, if you were to reduce the time in the Water Time field to 22 minutes, the ratio
would change to 50% to indicate that 22 minutes is approximately half of the 45 minutes that zone 2 is
scheduled to water.
5. To adjust the water time tracking ratio for other zones, press the ENTR button to move to the next zone.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have adjusted the water time tracking ratio for all the zones in the group.
7. When you have finished making changes, turn the dial to the Auto Run position.
Using Soak Cycles
Because each type of soil has a different rate at which it can absorb water, you should set up the cycle time and
soak time (“soak cycles”) for your zones to ensure that water soaks into the soil instead of being wasted. For
example, if you are applying water at 0.4 inch per hour to an area of clay soil that can only absorb water at 0.2 inch
per hour, the water that does not soak into the soil will either run off or evaporate.
It is especially important to use appropriate soak cycles when you are watering a slope.
The BaseStation 3200 allows you to quickly configure soak-cycle times for your zones.
To enable the default soak-cycle settings
1. Turn the dial to the Soak Cycle position.
2. Press the + or – button to select the zone that you want to enable the default soak-cycle settings for.
Note: When you set the soak-cycle times for a primary zone, the soak cycles will also be set for all linked
zones. The cycle time for linked zones is calculated based on the tracking ratio of the primary zone cycle time.
The soak times will be the same as that of the primary zone.
3. Press the CLR button. If soak-cycle settings were already configured, pressing CLR will remove those settings.
Press CLR again to update the fields with the default soak-cycle settings. The controller automatically sets the
cycle time to one-third the zone run time and the soak time to twice the cycle time.
4. When you have finished making changes, turn the dial to the Auto Run position.
In this example, the settings are shown for a 60-minute zone run time.
Primary zone 2 waters for 20 minutes, and then allows that water to soak
in for 40 minutes. While zone 2 is soaking, other zones can run. After the
40 minutes soak time, zone 2 will be allowed to run another 20 minutes
after any zone that is currently running finishes.
With these settings, zone 2 completes its 1 hour of watering in three,
20-minute segments, with at least a 40 minute soak time between them.
When there are many zones in a program, zones will be cycled and soaked
until all have been completed. Zones that have completed their soak cycles
are prioritized higher that zones that are still waiting to water so the first zones to start watering will be the first to
complete.
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