What if you could spy on an irrigation system without ever touching the controller?
Welcome to Irrivoyeurism.
In this quickie episode, Andy explores how a simple soil moisture sensor can reveal the hidden behavior of an irrigation system—from how often it waters and how long it runs to how quickly the soil dries down between irrigation events.
For decades, if you wanted to understand an irrigation schedule, you went to the controller.
Now you can go straight to the soil.
Because every irrigation event leaves a signature.
The soil becomes the diary of the irrigation system, recording what actually happened instead of what the controller says was supposed to happen.
Drop in a sensor. Watch the data. Follow the evidence.
The soil tells the story.
[00:00:00] You better ask somebody. Good morning boys and girls, nerds of all ages. I'm your substitute professor. My name is Mr. Sprinkler Nerd.
[00:00:25] Today's lesson is a little different. We're going to learn how to spy on irrigation systems without ever opening the controller. You over there in the hunter hat. How would you like to figure out when a system waters? I'd check the controller. That's a reasonable answer. You over there in them muddy boots. How would you like to know how long the irrigation runs? I'd ask the maintenance crew.
[00:00:54] Also reasonable. Anybody else? You. Way in the back. The one carrying the soil probe. I drop a soil sensor and let the dirt tell the story. Class? Now we're thinking like Sprinkler Nerds. Today's lesson? IrriVoyeurism.
[00:01:21] If you are an irrigation professional, old or new, who designs, installs, or maintains high-end residential, commercial, or municipal properties, and you want to use technology to improve your business, to get a leg up on your competition, even if you're an old school irrigator from the days of hydraulic systems, this show is for you. Hey, it's your friend Andy, the Sprinkler Nerd. And welcome to the The Sprinkler Nerd Show
[00:01:50] Today's topic? Irrigation voyeurism. According to the dictionary, voyeurism is the practice of gaining pleasure or satisfaction from observing something that is normally private. Now, before your mind goes somewhere strange, hear me out. I think we all need a new word. Not voyeurism. Eri-voyeurism.
[00:02:16] This is the art of understanding irrigation systems simply by observing its effects without ever touching the controller. For as long as irrigation has existed, there has been one problem. If you wanted to know what a sprinkler system was doing, you almost always needed to access the controller. How many days a week is it watering? How long are the run times?
[00:02:44] Did somebody change the schedule? Is the rain sensor actually working? Without the controller, you're mostly guessing. But I think we've entered a completely different era. It might not be totally here yet, but we are on the cusp of it. Because for the first time, you can understand almost everything about an irrigation system without ever touching the controller.
[00:03:12] This could be your neighbor's irrigation system. This could be an irrigation system down the street. Or this could be an irrigation system on the other side of the country. All you have to do... Can you guess? Anybody out there in podcast land want to take a guess? All you have to do is quietly... Is quietly drop a soil moisture sensor into the landscape. That's it. Think about that for a second.
[00:03:41] The soil becomes the diary of the irrigation system. Every irrigation event leaves a signature, a fingerprint. You can see exactly when the soil gets wet. You can estimate how long the irrigation ran. You can see how quickly the soil dries afterward.
[00:04:05] You can tell if the system waters every day, every other day, once a week, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. You can often spot a stuck valve or an overwatered area or a zone that's barely receiving enough water. Granted, to do that, you would need many soil moisture sensors. So it's not my goal here as a riff to say you need a million sensors.
[00:04:34] So you're going to collect and you're going to see the diary of wherever you put the sensor. So pick a zone that you think resembles the average pace of that system. Or if you don't know where the zone is, because you might not if it's not your system under management, stick it in the location that you think speaks for the average of that system.
[00:05:00] And this is great because you don't have to watch the controller. You're watching the results. And the results are what matter. Plants don't care what the controller says. Plants don't care when it runs. Well, that's not true. Plants might care when it runs and how long, but most props do not. They only experience what actually happens to the soil.
[00:05:29] That's why I find this fascinating. And maybe I'm the only one out there. So this could be just fascinating to me in my own world. But that's why I'm sharing it with you, because maybe at least one of you out there thinks this could be fascinating. And I know that we've spent decades obsessing over programming controllers. Speak to any water manager. And one of the places they spend a significant amount of time is programming the controller. I'm currently recording this from La Quinta, California.
[00:05:56] And I met with a professional golf course superintendent yesterday. And he spends a ton of time programming the course and reprogramming the course. So I know that this is a time consuming process. So now we can simply observe the reality. It's almost like you can become your own irrigation detective. The evidence is sitting right there.
[00:06:26] It's right out there. It's like walking out and seeing how the crop looks, walking out, sticking a screwdriver in the ground. Because the soil remembers every irrigation event. And that's a pretty amazing shift. Maybe that's what the next decade of irrigation looks like. Less programming, more observing. Less assumption, more measurement. So here's my challenge for all of you.
[00:06:54] The next time you're looking at an irrigation system, don't start by asking, what's the controller programmed to do? Instead, ask, what is the soil telling me actually happened? Because those are two different answers. And they aren't always the same. And if you're interested, send me a text. 208-908-3229. I'll hook you up with a wireless soil moisture sensor
[00:07:23] that you can start your eerie voyeurism detective work with. Again, send me a text. 208-908-3229. You can drop a sensor in your neighbor's property. You can drop a sensor at a commercial property across the street. And you can start voyeurizing them. Voyeurism. Voyeurizing them. Your next irrigation system. Thank you for listening. I'm Andy, your friend, the Sprinkler Nerd. Until next time, stay curious.
[00:07:53] I'm Andy, your friend, the Sprinkler Nerd. I'm Andy, your friend, the Sprinkler Nerd. I'm Andy, your friend, the Sprinkler Nerd. I'm Andy, your friend, the Sprinkler Nerd. I'm Andy, your friend, the Sprinkler Nerd. I'm Andy, your friend, the Sprinkler Nerd. I'm Andy, your friend, the Sprinkler Nerd. I'm Andy, your friend, the Sprinkler Nerd.