Which is the best control box?
As you can imagine that’s a tricky one to answer. The biggest names are probably Rainbird and Hunter and they have stood the test of time. But you get a 5 years warranty on a Holman 469 making them an excellent buy also.
I tend to find the best control boxes are the ones that you find simple to use. I recommend either the Hunter X Core or the Holman 469 for value, reliability and ease of use.
Is it better to pay more?
I don’t think so. To some degree you get what you pay for, but all of the lower priced control boxes have many of the same features of the more expensive ones.
Which is the easiest to use?
Again this is personal opinion. I find the Hunter X Cores the easiest.
Are you a licensed electrician?
I have completed a restricted electrical license which means I am fully licensed and qualified to replace control boxes, (but not perform other electrical work). If a control box requires hardwiring from scratch in a new installation then we would always use a licensed electrician.
What does the warranty cover?
If your control box fails for any reason within the warranty period then we will come to you, remove and replace either the panel (if possible) or the entire box. You won’t be charged a call out fee or be responsible for any costs.
How can I tell if the controller is faulty?
Firstly check and see if any of your RCD switches have tripped. These would cause the power to fail.
Remove a back up battery and see if you still have power. (A 24v controller will not run on 9v.)
Remove and replace the 24v wires and see if any power is restored. If you touch them together you may see small sparks indicating that power is getting to the controller.
If so it will likely be your display panel that is faulty.
Is my controller repairable?
Probably… but the cost of repair is usually so prohibitive that it makes better sense to throw it away and start over with a new warranty. Annoying I know…
You can read more here.
I have a large residential property with 22 irrigation stations. I installed a Hunter i core controller 12 months ago with expansion modules, and it has just failed, I think to do with the power controller. I have just fitted another one and that has failed as well. The technician is suggesting a Holman 1248 24 station and it has trialled perfectly. However, it does look less expensive in terms of the body and components, but it does have a 5 year warranty. Is a working Hunter better than a Holman?
Thanks.
Yes – I would choose a Hunter over a Holman every time
At our property station 3 works fine and switches on, however station one (front lawn) and station 2 don’t switch on. I replaced the 9volt battery and thought it would all just work as usual. I’ve looked at it several times to work out the exact problem but station 3 works and the others don’t. The system is a Pro (like pictured above). Can you make any suggestions? Thanks
Hi Annemarie – most likely a solenoid problem or broken wire to the solenoid, but we would need to test it to be suree
I have a broken dial on the Hunter XC controller and looking for a replacement is the Rainbird esp rzx directly swappable in regards to it’s output power to run the same existing retic in the field? Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.