15339 Hydrologic Soil Moisture Sensor

Worked well for 3 month then died.Update:Could happen to anything. Since, as a guy, I don't read instructions I failed to notice the 7 year warranty. Once I contacted Melnor they sent a replacement right away. I have changed to 5 stars because when it works it is great. No more going out in the rain to turn off the system, or forgetting to turn it back on. This does it for me, and the replacement is working fine.

I purchased this to go with the 4 zone controller. It has worked great. I have it set on the middle setting in heavy clay/rocky soil and it will go about 36 hours after a rain before it will come on again. Seems to sense the moisture very good in this soil.The cord is very long which gives many placement options. The connector that plugs into the back of the controller is not very tight and has fallen out a few times. This leads me to have concerns about the long term durability.The price seems high for what it is.

I bought 3 of these for a Melnor 53015, 53100 and 53280. The timers work great but the moisture sensors all failed.to work at all. One of them indicated soil was always moist and timer would always delay not matter what I set the sensor to, how dry the soil was or where I placed the sensor. Another sensor always indicated the soil was too dry and would never delay not matter how moist the soil was, what moisture setting was on or where the sensor was placed. The third sensor would not register that it was plugged in. I would avoid buying these. Concept is great performance is pitiful. The timers are a 4 star. I have had two failures on the 53015. Amazon replaced the first failure, display worked, but could not program. Working with Melnor for second replacement under 7 year warranty. Timer works, but display is flakey. The 531200 and 53280 have worked flawlessly for the first season.

works great, as advertised. I left the timers for two weeks and I'm told that when it rained the sprinklers didn't turn on.

I was hoping the cable connection issue had been resolved but it has not. The cable literally falls off if you bump it or move the timer. I had to use silicone to keep it connected to the timer. Instructions are minimal. Would be nice to know how deep to insert the sensor in the soil. When you connect it to the timer a symbol appears for the sensor. It started flashing so it either means the sensor is broken or it is preventing the timer from running because the soil is at the trigger moisture level. I will post an update when I find out for sure. I have posted the included instructions.

Thing thing is great! Will pay for its self on water savings. Installed and tested the device shortly after a fairly heavy few days of rain. Settings performed well to to automatically turn off the water based on moisture level (though soil moisture does seem to subjective based on the user). Buying another one!

I can not figure this moisture meter out. It either withholds watering, despite the ground being dry, or it waters even though the ground is saturated. I decided to just take this out and let my timer go off every other day and manually delay when it rains. That way I don’t have to keep checking the ground every day. Disappointed.

I added this to my watering controller so it does not water after it rains (Cord is way too long)

Worked very well this last summer. Properly stopped water when wet. Ensure you have this away from any watering sources to prevent feedback. Some trial and error required on water sensitivity setting. Nice long cable for flexibility in location.

I have had this connected for 2 weeks now and so far it hasn’t worked at all. I have to hit the manual bypass on my timer to water my garden.

Works fine. It takes little while to get it set up in right place. Wish the wire was longer, like 20'.

manque instruction en français et même pas sur leur site web

Iv'e since gone to a fully integrated irrigation system, but if I recall correction, the unit either didn't detect rain, and let the Melnor timer water the grounds during the rain - or it wouldn't allow the water timer to run at all, no matter how dry the soil was. I tried different locations of soil. I tried various settings on the device, but, sigh. It's a good idea, but I just couldn't get it to work as advertised.