tRegistered trademark of Rain Bird Corporation
2019 Rain Bird Corporation
Rain Bird Corporation
6991 East Southpoint Road
Tucson, AZ 85756
Phone: (520) 741-6100
Fax: (520) 741-6522
Rain Bird Technical Services
(800) RAINBIRD (1-800-724-6247)
(U.S. and Canada)
Rain Bird Corporation
970 West Sierra Madre Ave.
Azusa, CA 91702
Phone: (626) 812-3400
Fax: (626) 812-3411
Specification Hotline
1-800-458-3005 (U.S. and Canada)
Rain Bird International, Inc.
1000 West Sierra Madre Ave.
Azusa, CA 91702
Phone: (626) 963-9311
Fax: (626) 852-7343
The Intelligent Use of Water TM
www.rainbird.com
Specifications
The ESP-Me Controller shall be capable of fully
automatic or manual operation. The controller
shall be housed in a wall-mountable, weather
resistant plastic cabinet with a key-locking
cabinet door (outdoor models only) suitable for
either outdoor or indoor installation.
The controller shall include a base unit module
with 4 stations as well as three expansion
slots capable of receiving expansion station
modules of either three or six stations to achieve
total station capacity of up to 22 stations.
The controller shall accept the modules in
any configuration and shall not require the
installation of a three station module in order to
install a 6 station module.
Station run times shall range from 1 minute to 6
hours. The controller shall be set with a factory
default start time of 8 AM and default run time
of 10 minutes for the first 4 stations for Program
A only.
The controller shall have a Seasonal Adjust
feature to adjust the run time for all stations
from 5% to +200% in 5% increments. Seasonal
Adjust can be applied to all programs
simultaneously or individually.
The controller shall have 4 independent
programs that can have 6 different start times.
The controller shall stack multiple start times
in sequence to prevent hydraulic overload. All
programs run consecutively.
The controller shall be capable of operating two
24VAC solenoid valves per station plus a master
valve or remote pump start relay. The controller
shall operate on 120VAC± 10% at 60Hz (230VAC
± 10% at 50Hz for international models). A
master valve or pump start relay shall operate
on 24VAC at 50/60Hz, Max Coil Inrush of 11VA
and Max Coil Holding of 5VA.
Watering day cycles shall be: By Day of the week,
Odd, Even and Cyclic (Every # day). Odd, Even,
and Cyclic shall support permanent days off. A
day set to “Permanent Off” shall override the
normal repeating schedule and when the dial
is turned to the day of the week position, the
display shall display the program type (odd,
even, or cyclic) and the water drop below the
day will show with a line through the droplet.
The controller shall have an electronic diagnostic
circuit breaker that shall sense a station with
an electrical overload or short circuit and shall
bypass that station and continue to operate
all other stations. When an electrical condition
exists that is preventing normal operation the
red LED shall illuminate continuously and scroll a
message across the LCD as to what the problem
is. When an alert condition is present that is
related to programming errors the red LED shall
continuously blink and scroll a message.
The controller shall have a 12-hour AM/PM or
24 hour military (for 50Hz models) clock with
a midnight day change over. The clock shall
default to the time format based upon the
power detected. The controller shall have a
365-day calendar backed up against power
interruptions by an internal lithium battery that
will maintain date and time for approximately
10 years.
The controller shall provide the user the ability
to bypass the Rain Sensor for each station
independently.
The controller shall be equipped with a variety
of Special Features (SF) that can be accessed
by turning to the appropriate dial position
and pressing and holding the two arrow keys
simultaneously for 3 seconds.
Special Features include:
• Rain Sensor Bypass by Station
• Permanent Days Off (Odd, Even, Cyclic only)
• Store/Restore Saved Programs
• Reset to Factory Defaults
• Set Inter-station Delay timing
• Set Master Valve operation by Station
• Total Run Time Calculator by program
The features above will be included on a Special
Features Card included with every controller.
The controller shall offer manual watering of ALL
stations or ONE station at a time. When manual
watering is triggered, the unit shall ignore the
status of the weather sensor (if connected) and
re-enable the sensor when manual watering is
completed.
The controller shall display on the LCD the
message NO AC to indicate to the user when
AC Power is not present (only if 9 volt battery is
present).
The controller shall be compatible with Rain
Bird’s LNK WiFi Module, allowing wireless
connectivity to the controller.
The controller shall be compatible with
Rain Bird’s LIMR (Landscape Irrigation
Maintenance Remote) and have a mechanism to
communicate with future expansion accessories.
The controller shall provide a method for the
installer to save the irrigation schedule into non-
volatile memory for easy recall later if unwanted
schedule changes are made.
The controller shall provide a method for the
installer to restore the schedule to the factory
fresh condition in order to start programming
from a “blank” state.
The controller shall provide a method to wire
the controller through a ½”, ¾” and 1” wire
conduit fitting to allow for a more professional
installation.
The controller shall have a reset button to reset
the controller in the case of micro-controller
“lock-up” due to power surges or frequent
interruption of power to the power supply.
The controller shall be upgradable to an EPA
WaterSense approved smart controller without
having to replace the cabinet, nor disconnect
station modules.
Suggested accessories for use with this
controller:
• LNK WiFi Module (wireless connectivity)
• RSD Series Wired Rain Sensors
• WR2 Series Wireless Rain Sensors
• LIMR Series Wireless Remote (Available in
USA/Canada Only)
• All Rain Bird rotors, valves, nozzles, sprays and
drip products
The controller shall be manufactured by Rain
Bird Corporation in a NAFTA member country.
D50016 03JA19
