Get the most out of your Hunter sprinkler system

[jimbo2012]

The way the system was programmed by the builder is very basic this system is capable of a lot.

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There R 3 different systems within it to set 1 or more zones to totally different schedules.

Say you want the front to get 40 minutes

Set program A (front lawn) to 40 starting at 5 AM

U can set it to any days of the week U wish say Tuesday & Friday, or set it to Interval.

Interval is using any number of days in between the days to water rather than set days of the week.

So an interval of 2 is every two days 3 every third day.

There R also upto 4 start times, here's how that works, you want to water a zone 40 minutes, but U see some water not getting absorbed and starting to pool on the surface.

Simple set that zone to 20 minutes rater than 40 but start it at 5AM as above, then give it 2 hour to soak in and start it again 7:30, now U R still giving it 40 minutes of water but more time to get to the roots.

Program B can run the back lawn or side etc, depends on perhaps sun or U don't want your back yard wet in the morning when you want to relax with your coffee, so set that zone to start at 4AM

Program C can run all your plants on a separate schedule.

By the way most experts agree the watering should be done early in the morning, watering at night may result in fungus in your lawns and leaves it dry all day the blistering heat.

Start about 4-6 AM in this time of the year and about 7-8 in the winter.

One more setting (and don't run the system on bypass really looks silly to see it raining with the sprinklers on) there is a % setting which varies thru the year it is the percent of time the sprinklers actually run if set to 75% for example (the builders setting you think U R watering for 40 minutes? no only 30, in the summer this should be set to 95-100%.

There R Utube video's on these settings to.

Hunter X-Core Programming 1 of 2: Overview and Setting Up Program A - YouTube

Hunter PRO-C sprinkler controller - YouTube

Webbtraining1 - Hunter Pro C Irrigation Control Timer - YouTube

How To Program Your Irrigation Controller - YouTube

I'm sure others can add what I missed here, :shrug:



PS: most lawn maintenance guys don't know or care to take the time to do this stuff don't depend on them.

[DangeloInspections]

Excellent post....!

I know most folks here run their sprinkler systems in the dead of night, like 2am. The problem with that is if one of your sprinkler heads gets damaged by a landscaper, so that one head is now a geyser and the rest of the zone is now getting little if any water, how would you know?

I inspect homes all the time where I find this....one part of the lawn is lush from overwatering while the rest of the lawn that zone serves is almost dead.

One should run their systems more when they could easily be observed, or at least check each zone every so often. Do not assume each head is working properly and adjusted correctly.

Sprinkler systems demand constant maintenance for optimal performance and minimal waste.

Frank D'Angelo, ACI

[bonrich]

Also, if you have new landscaping and want to water everyday with a prescribed time for each area, you must get into the back of the control panel and pull a blue wire which turns off the solar sync, otherwise no matter how much time you set up per section, the solar sync will change it according to atmospheric conditions. I learned that after we had new landscaping put in, long story short, was not getting enough water as I had programmed.

[Houselover]

I test my sprinklers every 2 weeks for damaged heads, etc..This takes about 10 minutes to run all the zones by setting the seasonal adjustment setting to 10% and switching the timer to run..I then walk around the house checking the operation of all the sprinkler heads and flag any that are broken or not adjusted correctly. Make sure you set the seasonal adjustment back to 100 when done.
:gc:

[DangeloInspections]

Houselover,
Kudo's for checking your system regularly!

Another easy way to do this is to just move your dial two clicks to the left, (counterclockwise) from run, past off to Manual Run, then back to Run. This will automatically start your system running Zone 1. Then you just hit the right arrow to move it to each zone, checking each zone one at a time.
When you are done checking each zone, move the dial one click to the left to off, then back to Run to reset.

Frank D'Angelo, ACI

[asianthree]

thanks jimbo

[batman911]

I use one of the programs to run each zone for one minute each early Saturday morning when I am at home to watch the performance. I have 6 zones so it only takes 6 minutes to check the entire system performance.

[SemiMike]

Houselover,
Kudo's for checking your system regularly!

Another easy way to do this is to just move your dial two clicks to the left, (counterclockwise) from run, past off to Manual Run, then back to Run. This will automatically start your system running Zone 1. Then you just hit the right arrow to move it to each zone, checking each zone one at a time.
When you are done checking each zone, move the dial one click to the left to off, then back to Run to reset.

Frank D'Angelo, ACI


I tried this last evening - great suggestion for a simple way to do a system check. Thanks!

[Russ_Boston]

One note: When you get the system from the developer it may be set so Program B & C are not available. You just need to open the first door and hold in that Reset button while pressing the PRG button on the front. This allows full access to all functions.

great post!

[jimbo2012]

Another NOTE!!!!

Did U know they R too cheap to put a 9Volt battery for backup power in the unit.

Open the door behind it is spot to add one.

[JE Greenwood]

I had an eye opening experience yesterday. The water company called because we had used 4 or 5 times our normal amount. They checked the meter and it is running correctly.
I was told that a power surge could have caused the system to reprogram itself. Since we have our system run at night we had no clue it was running so much. We now have a huge water bill! We learned the hardway. We will set ours up to start at a time when we are up to see that its working.

[jimbo2012]

how many gallons was on your bill?

[downeaster]

Checking your system should include checking the controller. I have had one instance, and a neighbor two, where the controller has reset spontaneously. One was back to factory settings with a nearly new battery installed. Once was "days to water" were erased meaning no irrigation. The third was controller went dead, did not respond to any settings.

I have heard various reasons for these malfunctions but none seemed to apply to the above situations. Bottom line, it happens.

Also, be careful changing "start times". You can have numerous start times. A snowbird neighbor thought he was changing start times when, in fact, he was adding them. He ended up with three start times and a letter from the water company while he was still up North.

A previous poster said "PS: most lawn maintenance guys don't know or care to take the time to do this stuff don't depend on them." I agree wholeheartedly. I have found some irrigation guys are not very knowledgeable either.