Rain Bird PC-204, PC-206, PC-204-PS, PC-206-PS Owners Manual / Operating Manual / Installation Manual
Dual Program
Sprinkler Timer
Owners Manual / Operating Guide / Installation Guide
For Model Numbers:
PC-204 4 Station
PC-206 6 Station
PC-204-PS 4 Station with Pump Start
PC-206-PS 6 Station with Pump Start
Rain Bird National Sales Corporation
Customer Support Center
6991 E. Southpoint Rd., Bldg. #1
Tucson, AZ 85706
1-800-RAIN-BIRD
1
Introduction
Congratulations! Your new dual program Rain Bird sprinkler system timer makes
automated watering a reality for you. The state-of-the-art features will enable you to
precisely program how you want your sprinkler system to operate.
The Rain Bird PC-200 series timer allows you to match your landscapes watering
needs in four ways:
Dual programs
You may require different frequencies of watering in different parts of your yard. For
example, your lawn may require watering three times per week but your garden may
only need water twice per week. This water-conserving feature is called "Dual Programs" and it allows you to assign any station to either the “A” program or the “C” program or both programs. Each program can have its own watering day schedule, its
own daily start times, and each station can have different run times on each program.
Flexible watering days
In this era of water restrictions, you may have to water every other day and other times
you may have to water only on certain days. Fortunately, Rain Bird PC-200 series
timers have a built-in program called “Flexible Watering Days” which allows you to
switch from cycling (i.e. every third day) to day of the week watering (i.e. Mon-WedFri). The “A” and “C” programs can have different watering cycles or watering days.
Watering run time per station
Since different types of landscapes -lawns, shrubs, flowers, ground cover, etc.- require different amounts of water, Rain Bird timers are designed to allow each station to
water its own length of time, from 0 minutes to 99 minutes in one minute increments. A
“station” is made up of one valve plus the sprinklers that the valve operates. If you
want to assign a station to run on both the “A” program and on the “C” program, you
can assign different amounts of run time for the same station.
Daily start times per program
The PC-200 timer can start watering the "A" or "C" programs once, twice or three
times per day, at any hour you select. The "A" start times can be different from the "C"
start times. For example, the "A" program could start once per day at 8:00 am and the
"C" program three times a day at 7:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., and 7:00 p.m. The timer keeps
track of the particular start times for each day.
Special features
§ Solid state design for digital accuracy,
§ A 9-Volt battery (not included) holds programs for up to 24 hours and remembers
time during a power outage,
§ A built-in emergency program of 10 minutes per day, every day for each station automatically starts if the power is out and the battery is dead,
§ A System Off button to shutdown the system in the event of rain.
Important: The PC-204 and PC-206 are designed for use with standard 24 volt AC
electric valves regardless of brand. However, some older brass valves and commercial
duty valves have power requirements higher than this timers capability (1/2 amp for
PC-204 and PC-206 and 3/4 amp for PC-204-PS and PC-206-PS) and should not be
2
KEYPAD FUNCTIONS
Press to set
the current time
and to select program A or C
Press to set
the watering
duration for each
station
Use to set the
days to water
SET
CLOCK &
PROGRAM
STATION
TIMING
Press to operate
system manually
DAYS TO
MANUAL
START &
ADVANCE
WHICH
WATER
Use to set the
daily start times
TIME OF
DAY TO
WATER
SYSTEM
OFF
/
AUTO
Press to put timer in
rain shutdown mode
PGM A/
Press to adjust
time up, days to
on, and change
C
program A to C
Press to adjust
time down and
days to off
If you're already familiar with this Rain Bird timer, here's a quick guide to what each
key does when programming the PC-200 series. For step by step explanations, turn to
the following pages. Note: use the ARROW keys to adjust any of the following func-
Quick Programming Guide
SET
CLOCK &
PROGRAM
Sets current time and program
£ Press once to set current day
£ Press again to set hours
£ Press again to set minutes
£ Press again to select program
WHICH
DAYS TO
WATER
Sets the day watering schedule
£ Press once to set Sunday
£ Press again to set Monday
£ Press again to set Tuesday
£ And repeat this for other days
£ To water on a variable day cycle (like
every 3rd day), press the down arrow
and hold.
TIME OF
DAY TO
WATER
Sets up to three start times per
£ Press once to set 1st start time
£ Press again to set 2nd start time
£ Press again to set 3rd start time
3
STATION
TIMING
Sets run time per station from 1 to 99 minutes
£ Press once to set station 1
£ Press again to set station 2
£ Repeat for other stations
£ To remove a station from watering on a
program, set time to "00"
MANUAL
START &
ADVANCE
Allows watering cycle or station to be manually started
£ Press once to set station 1
£ Press again to advance
SYSTEM
OFF
/
AUTO
Cancels any in-process operation and turns system off during rain
(Last digit flashes)
Mounting Instructions
Location
Select an indoor location within six feet of
a grounded electrical outlet.
CAUTION! This is not an outdoor timer.
Do not mount it where it is exposed to water, moisture or direct sunlight, as
failure may occur.
Tip! To avoid power fluctuations, do not
put the timer on a circuit controlled by a
switch, or on a circuit supplying high
power equipment.
Cover Removal
Remove the front cover by depressing the
bottom tab and lifting as shown in
figure 1.
Mounting
Mount the timer to a wall using two #10 screws installed at centers 3 13/16" apart at eye
level. Use plastic anchors to secure screws if the wall is plastic or masonry. Leave the
screw heads extended ¼" and hang the Rain Clock using the keyhole slots on the
back. Install a third screw through the mounting hole (located below the battery area)
FIGURE 1
Lift
Press Here
4
Wiring Instructions
Running the sprinkler wire (wire not included)
For runs of less than 800 feet long, use 18-gauge plastic jacketed "thermostat" or
"direct burial" control wire, installed alongside your piping runs. Thermostat wire uses
a PVC jacket and is suitable for most indoor and underground installations. Direct
burial wire is similar to thermostat wire, except the jacket is made of a UV resistant
material, and it is suitable for any indoor or outdoor installation, including sunlight exposure.
Note: Some areas require by code, the use of UL approved cable. Most "direct burial"
wires have this approval. Most thermostat wires do not.
Your dealer can provide this wire in 2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8-wire color-coded strands. The
number of valves plus one extra wire for the common wire determines the number of
strands. For example, in a three valve installation, a four strand wire is needed.
Tip! Some thermostat wire referred to as "sprinkler wire" may be smaller than the 18gauge wire we recommend. This wire will not have a UL listing, nor the capacity to run
long distances. In addition, it is more likely to weaken. Be aware of its shortcomings if
this is your choice.
All outdoor wiring connections must be sealed with a water-tight connector. Wire run
FIGURE 2: WIRING CONNECTIONS
FUSE
1
/2 A 250V 3AG
OR
FUSE
3
/4 A 250V 3AG
AS INDICATED ON
THE UNIT
Plug Transformer
into 120 volt AC
electrical outlet
!
YELLOW
RED
BLUE
COM
Mounting Hole
ATTENTION
Battery must be installed to
ensure proper operation
Mounting Holes
Terminals
Key Pad
9 Volt Battery
Station
Output
1
2
3
4
Control
Valve
MV
5
6
To
ONLY ON SIX
STATION MODELS
ONLY ON PUMP START
MASTER VALVE MOD-
5
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