Irritrol ( owned by Toro ) had a solar controlled timer a few years back. It may atill be available but I will find out for sure today with a price for you.

That was interesting,I will be using the computer to look up things in my free time too. I have tons of books but they've been reread too much as it is. It sucks that these bugs and pathogens can wipe out a country full of a particular tree. If oak wilt gets big like that I'll have a nearly empty yard.Maybe the white oaks will be okay. One thing though, I can see fertilizing to help vigor but wouldn't that make the foliage more attractive to leaf eaters?You hear alot of conflicting things about fertilizing. I bought a big sack of powdered seaweed, it's supposed to have trace minerals and good for all plants. I read the " nutrients" and it has 9% sodium.Sorry for dragging on, I'm gonna see what the soil, mulch forum think of the seaweed, there is some interesting stuff on there, too. poaky1

Answering darb427: The MyQ is very good for what it can do. I have 2 Liftmaster gate openers and a Liftmaster garage opener - all controlled my MyQ. It is convenient to be able to open any of the 3 from my phone and not need the handheld remote. However it is disappointing that so far, MyQ does not have any capability to interface with home automation systems. So the relevant light switches that I would want to go on when the garage door or a gate opens are already Insteon so i have zero interest in using the MyQ light switch and would advise anyone who ever wants to have real home automation to not buy those MyQ switches.

With some extremely rare exceptions generally the water companies DO NOT supply PRV's Whenever we apply for a new water service we have to submit a rough site plan for the building lot. The water company will then determine where they intend to make the tap into the municipal main and they will give us the location where they will put the curb stop valve. They will also inform us where they want the meter installed and the "Fitting Allowance" & type of fittings for the meter. The property owner is then responsible for installing all pipe from the curb stop to the structure. At the meter location we leave a section of the pipe out equal to the length of the fitting allowance specified by the water supplier, and we attach the proper fitting on both ends of the line at the open section. Some require MIP while others may require FIP or Meter couplings on the ends of the property owners line. In warmer climates they may want the meter to be put in a ground vault, while in colder climates the meters must be placed inside the climate controlled portion of the structure. After the property owner has installed the water supply line the municipal water supplier will send an installation crew to make final connection. They will install a saddle valve on the municipal main and tap the main, then they install a short length of pipe from the tap to the curb stop location, install the curb stop and connect it to the open end of the property owners supply line. They will then go to the meter location and install the meter. (That is the total of thier obligation) In the past when the meter was installed inside the structure the property owner had to allow a meter reader to come in once a month and read the meter, but today nearly all meters have a sending unit attached to the meter so it can be read from a remote location. Some have a small round device on the exterior of the building where the meter reader touches his hand held reader to the remote and it reads automatically. Some, such as here where I live, they install a small wireless RF unit on the exterior of the house and the meter reader simply drives by in a pickup at about 10-15mph and their computer wirelessly reads the meters, while in some newer locations they have a sending device which is attached to the house telephone wires and they read the meters from a computer at the water companies billing office. If you need a PRV or boost pump, generally that is the property owners responsibility to install and maintain it.