Orbit 21005 B-hyve Smart Hose Watering Timer

Originally got the wifi “kit” with the hub and valve to see if it was worth the extra cost for wifi. With the rain delay feature alone, it saves on eliminating wasted water versus the old digital timer that required manual adjustment for every rain delay so not very convenient and unable to control remotely. After a few weeks, the orbit system has proven to be reliable. So I ordered a 4 port XD model for the other parts of the lawn but had to return it since it is not backward compatible with gen 1 wifi hubs. This is ultra irritating since these gen 1 are only single port. But since I already had the gen 1 hub it didn’t make sense to start over with gen 2 which offer very little other than the multiport timers. If anything, I’d wait to see what gen 3 or 4 brings for features since it’s apparent that’s the way these tech products go these days, a new gen every yr or two. So to remain compatible with existing investment, I ordered this gen 1 valve timer and a hose splitter. It was pretty simple to connect to my existing gen 1 wifi hub and so far it’s working well. I plan to reconfigure the sprinklers so I can daisy chain a soaker hose using a pass through fitting so that the one splitter will suffice. We seem to have enough water capacity depending on type of sprinkler, impact types seem to need the most pressure to flip them from side to side, so I can daisy chain maybe one off the impact type - the oscillator and soaker hose seem fine to add on after the impact but two impact types don’t work well, could be the particular models. Anyway, for reasonable cost I’m able to cover the majority of the lawn with a variety of sprinklers we luckily inherited from former owners who left them behind. Benefit with city water is savings on water usage/cost. Time will tell but just a handful of rain delays each month should pay for the hub and 2 timer system within 1 season.

After tons of research on wifi timers, I finally settled on these devices. I've had lots of hose timers in the past for gardens and for my lawn, and I was finally ready for a connected device. The reviews were mixed, so I didn't know what to expect. The critiques of these devices are correct... I think Orbit intended for this software to be for a traditional sprinkler system, not a garden hose faucet system. So, a few of the software features are a bit confusing at first. Just remember that every timer operates independently. It has its own zone and program and once you realize this, the setup and usage is just fine. The connectivity has been perfect. Both the bluetooth and wifi connectivity options worked great for me... not a single problem with connectivity. I can now control my sprinklers from wherever I am in the world.. or just my sofa... by simply using the app. No more running out to the back yard at awkward times to start or stop a timer. I often pull out the app on my phone in the middle of the night and change the program based on the latest weather report. Very useful! The configuration of the app is a little confusing at first, but like I said, treat each device as its own entity which doesn't communicate to the other timers, and you are in the clear. It's actually quite easy to understand and use once you realize that you setup each timer independent of each other. Once configured the usage is very straight forward. I did a full lawn renovation and needed reliable and configurable watering schedules from my DIY underground sprinklers. I have four zones in the back yard that have varying watering needs and this did the job perfectly. I can add all sorts of of different times for sprinkler activation, I can check the watering history, I can start rain delays. Basically everything I wanted in a connected timer. In fact I'm about to buy a couple more for my front yard. Have patience, and these should serve you well.

I rarely, if ever, complain about a product. If something doesn't work the way I like, hardly ever return it. This is different. Bought the timer and the hub separately. Time worked great, but I can't always be literally either in sight range outside of the timer, or right next to it inside through my cinderblock walls. If I'm anywhere else, it can't connect. So I get the Wifi Hub. Great, set it up. Sets up great. Here is the problem(s): 1) No way to connect an already established Timer to the new Hub. While setting up the new hub, it DID ask what device I wanted to attach to the Hub. Great. I put the Timer back in pairing mode (remember - I already have it on my account so it wont even let me go "hey, I already have this one attached, let's just "move" it over to the Wifi Group." Nono, it has me set-up the timer AGAIN. No-can-do since it's already attached to my account. Okay... Remove Wifi and Timer (remember to do the Timer LAST or you CAN'T LOG INTO YOUR ACCOUNT WITHOUT SETTING UP A TIMER...). This leads me to the second problem. 2) After removing both of the devices from my account, I go to "set up" a new device. Choose the Timer+Hub. Cool, have me set-up the Hub first. Perfect. Judging from the previous experience, since the Timer isn't attached to the account yet, this should work great! It'll ask me what device to add to the Wifi group, I'll select the Timer. We'll be golden!... Nope. After setting up the Hub in "step 1 of 2" for the HUB+Timer device addition, it COMPLETELY skips that part. Doesn't ask me to add a device to a group. Cool... On to problem 3. 3) Now we're back to square 1. Timer and Hub are separate and not talking to each other so I can control the Timer anywhere via Wifi. Well great. Cue me searching through every setting possible on the app to see if there is a "groups" section to maybe Drag/Add the Timer to the ALREADY SET UP Wifi Hub. Nope, nothing. Can't remove the Timer from the account because then you just have to Re-add it and the app doesn't let you do anything AT ALL unless you have a Timer set-up. Can't "re-set" the Hub to make a group unless you disconnect it all together but then, AGAIN, back to problem 1 where you can't connect the Timer to the Hub since it's already on your devices. So that's useless. I'm just beyond frustrated. I shouldn't be. I get it, it's not worth it. But this SHOULD NOT be this hard. I genuinly don't see how others are NOT having an issue with this. Either my app skips the Hub+Timer set-up to connect the two into a group, or it just wont work at all. It's hot out, I'm mad, this is a waste of time and money. If you're fine with just using the Bluetooth for the the Timer: great. Have it it. We'll see how long it works judging by the other reviews. If you're looking to connect via Wifi w/ the Hub. Honestly, I don't know. Try it? I feel like I'm alone in this because I've looked up literally everything I could and it doesn't seem like anyone else is having this same exact issue. I'll try a few more times after I cool down, but I just spent 2 hours trying to reset both devices every way possible, multiple ways, and nothing worked. Honestly just a waste of time and money for me at this point.

I purchased this to replace the Orbit 58911 Complete Yard Watering Kits I was using at the time. I was going on an extended vacation and wanted to reduce the workload for my house sitter and control and monitor watering remotely. I started out with one unit for testing and quickly realized this was an ideal solution. Make sure you update all your devices to the most current software version. The hub which connects your Bluetooth valves to your wifi needs to be in relative proximity on the inside of your house to the exterior location of your valves. Signal connection between the two had no issues even through 2’ stone walls. The valves communicate with each other creating a mesh which increases stability. Figure out where your valves will be to calculate how many hubs you need for larger systems. I needed 8 more valves and 2 more hubs so I purchased 2 Orbit 21044 b-hyve Smart Hose Watering Timer 4-Packs each included a hub and a 4 way Hose Manifold. There are different b-hyve packages on Amazon so figure out the most economical way to get what you need. Although the b-hyve software isn’t great, (at times it can be downright frustrating) setup is easy. Download the app, add your hubs and valves (this part is a little frustrating as there are redundancies that could be avoided even with having an auto fill option). Regardless setup process is worth it, as this system gives you great flexibility and functionality with your watering schedules. I set up multiple watering schedules for each zone each day in order to supply water to each plant when they need it most while maintaining water pressure to the house for high usage times. You can setup your own watering schedules or use the WeatherSense® feature for watering based on live weather feeds through wifi connection. I was hesitant to try the smart watering feature while I was away but upon my return I found it was very useful and reliable. Overview I like being able to easily change schedules remotely especially useful when you are figuring out the water requirements for new situations. The app lets you attach a photo of the actual zone for easy reference of each zone. Smart watering saves water, as well as adjusting watering to specific soil and seasonal weather conditions preventing overwatering and allowing you to fine tune each zone to its specific needs. Overall this is by far the best system I have used.

For any Australian buyers this does have an NPT thread and needs a GHT (BSP) adapter. It does come with a quick connect fitting for the hose though. Runs well with the V2 hub and seems to have better bluetooth range than my XD (could be imagining it)

I love this product! set it up and forget it! no troubles at all during installations. features are limitless. I would say even too much., I end up using only basic on/off schedule. measuring feature is excellent indicator of usage. after a while I realised that I was over watering. for my application I needed no more than 5-10 min a day. One line has 20+ flowers in pots on the deck so Im doing 5 minutes but twice a day. Notification to skip watering due to coming rain is great. make sure but a good quality batteries - you do not want to miss watering.

The connection to the hub is unstable and drops off from time to rime. It can only be reset in person. Hopeless for a holiday house. Had to do a 6 hour round trip to reset during a drought.

Very simple to setup it works perfectly