Hi,
I am seriously considering selling my two working EZRains and switching to your HydroFlash controller for irrigation since it already has most all the irrigation features I'm interested in controllable through a web interface. Currently, I would have to program a more user friendly web ISY994i for my wife to be able to make manual changes.
HydroFLASH also comes with free mobile apps for Android and iPhone/iPad with cloud access so no port forwarding is necessary. Pair it with your device on your local network and you can then access from anywhere you have internet access. Control is easy and clear from the mobile app!
I have quite a few insteon devices that the ISY994i handles the linking and programming for already. I've looked over your manual section on Insteon and I don't see really a value to getting a PLM for the Hydroflash since I have the ISY994i for the non-irrigation side of insteon control, but perhaps you have some suggestions.
We are partial to having one app and device be able to control both Insteon devices and Irrigation. Keep in mind that you can still have HydroFLASH control your Insteon devices by simply linking them to the PLM plugged into HydroFLASH. Both the ISY and HF can be controllers however you obviously want to make sure you don't have schedule conflicts if you are trying to have both run programs to turn things on and off.
Is it correct that no communication between the HydroFlash and the ISY994i is really possible even with a second PLM? Perhaps this would even create problems since there would be two sets of linking tables for the insteon devices in the different PLMs?
This is correct regarding ISY to HF communications, but as stated above you can have two PLM's and the linking table is not an issue. It's like the light switch in the hall, who ever turns it on or off last will reflect what state it is in. If you turn it on with ISY, HF will know about its state within a minute or so. If your devices are reverse linked to HF then turning on on or off at the switch will inform HF immediately (we process these as events allowing you to do all kinds of fun stuff like running scenes or sending Push notifications to your mobile app). Great for rain delay notifications or when the mail comes....
Are you planning any Z-wave connectivity for your HydroFlash unit?
Yes are looking at integrating Z-Wave at some point in the future. HydroFLASH is a product that will continue improving via software updates.
Remember to purchase direct from our Webstore should you decide to move forward with HydroFLASH.
Thanks for your interest!