After a cloud/server mishap with my current irrigation controller that of course happened when i was out of town and had just overseeded my lawn which requires constant watering, I am trying to think of quick, cheap, low-config, local options to control my lawn irrigation.
I saw the Shelly i4 and was wondering if theres any reason I cant use this?
As far as I understand, the sprinkler controller just close as switch and connect voltage to the corresponding zones solenoid wire, right? So why cant I use a shelly to do that?
Shelly Plus i4 is an input reader device (it does not contain relays )
You can connect switches on those channels to control the Shelly — not the other way around. Look at something like the Sonoff CH4 Pro (the one with isolated relays) and flash it with Tasmota or ESPHome. ESPHome even has a sprinkler component.
I used the ESPHome docs as my starting point. This is a self-contained device that can run (almost completely) standalone. I just need a physical button to be able to trigger a full cycle, but my cycle’s automated from HA (the schedule for the starting time and watering days is on the HA side). I can trigger individual zones with physical buttons though. Good enough for me.