Question
Hello Josh,
My sprinkler controller is an Irritrol Rain Dial-1200. I went on vacation for 17 days and when I arrived home the sprinkler was on.
My neighbor said that while I was away we had a power outage. Is it possible that a power outage occurring while the sprinkler is on can cause the sprinkler to never shut off? That month my water bill went from an average of $190 to $700. Thank you for any any help. Sabrina

Answer
holy Toledo! ouch - let the water company know that you had a malfunction with your equipment - they MAY forgive a portion of your invoice. they can look at your bill historically and see the difference - its worth a try.

sounds like your controller needs to be reset. unplug it from the wall outlet and wait 5 minutes. also at this time remove the battery. plug it back in and hold the reset button in for about 5-10 seconds. this should allow you to reprogram your controller. you will need to input all the information again such as time of day, day on, day off, start time etc...

after reprogramming install a fresh backup battery.

let me know if that works or if we need to take another approach - good luck!