Hunter Irrigation Controllers
Pure Hydroponics supplies the well known international brand of Hunter Irrigation Controllers.
These rugged USA made units are not dosing controllers but are designed to activate an irrigation pump and open and close any solenoid control valves which are wired into them.
For example a grower might have a greenhouse with 2,000 plants and their pump or tank may not be large enough to irrigate them all at once, or the grower may want to irrigate some parts of a crop more than others.
Simply divide the growing area into separate zones (e.g. 4 zones), with the pipework in each zone isolated by an electric solenoid valve.
Each solenoid valve is then wired into a Hunter 4 station controller.
The irrigation pump is connected to a pump start relay box which also wires into the Hunter controller.
The grower pre-programs the times they want each zone to be irrigated, and for how long each zone is to be irrigated.
E.g. Pump starts every hour from 8am – 5pm
Zones 1-2 irrigate for 3 minutes, Zone 3 – 4 irrigate for 5 minutes.
When the start time commences the pump is activated and the solenoid valve to Zone 1 is automatically opened allowing water to be pumped to that zone. After 3 minutes the valve closes and the valve to Zone 2 opens up for 3 minutes etc. Once all zones are irrigated the pump stops and the controller goes on stand by.
If the grower prefers to dose a hydroponic nutrient solution to the crop instead of fresh water, they simply install a Bluelab Dosetronic dosing controller and a ball cock valve on their tank to ensure the correct EC and pH levels are maintained at all times. As the pump empties the tank the tank is automatically refilled with water via the ball cock valve. The Dosetronic detects the fresh incoming water and begins dosing until the pre-programmed EC and pH setpoints are reached. The control system then goes on stand by.
If the grower prefers to have the irrigation system solar activated, Pure Hydroponics can make a simple modification to the Hunter controller and supply a special Solar Integrator Controller to fit the Hunter controller. This means that the crop will be irrigated more frequently on clear, sunny days, and less frequently on overcast days. This saves valuable nutrients and prevents over watering or underwatering. (see separate page on Solar Integrator Controller)
An optional rain sensor can also be added for outdoor use to prevent irrigations during periods of rainfall.
The range of Hunter Controllers is available in an indoor or outdoor casing in the following sizes:
- 2 Zone
- 4 Zone
- 6 Zone
- 8 Zone
- Larger commercial controllers up to 48 zones are also available.
Please contact Pure Hydroponics to discuss your requirements further.
