Hydrawise Pro-HC 24-Station Outdoor Wi-Fi Irrigation Controller

This purchase is a direct replacement for my 20 year old Hunter ICCC which was having cognitive issues…I was able to install the Hydrawise Pro-24 with minimal effort (much less effort than anticipated) and had it in-service same day. The ability to operate, monitor and program this unit from anywhere with my smart phone is fantastic. I can walk around the service area turning on the various zones and instantly observe the sprinkler heads in operation and make adjustments in real time. The diagnostic function allows you to see the current draw for each zone valve to know when a zone solenoid has failed (now I’m trying to locate that buried valve box) I am totally happy with my new Hydrawise Pro-24 controller and highly recommend it to others.

Easy to install, just tedious connecting 20 wires to all my zones (avoiding $600 installation fee from my irrigation contractor). Set up via wifi link using my tablet was straight forward. It allowed me to authorize my irrigation system contractor to access the controller from their account.

24 station controller. 2 year warranty. Blank screen after 3 years. Flashes backlight once on power up and then blank. Changed 24v power supply but did not fix. Emailed tech support for advise on how to obtain and pay for out of warranty repair or assistance. No response. No phone number for contact on Hunter website. Only Email for which they don't respond

Built a house in 1999 and had a Rainbird ESP-16LX Plus installed. The system started having electronic glitches in terms of the LCD screen and operation. Read about all wifi access controllers. Rachio was tempting but the reviews on lack of service are concerning. Seems like they either work great or not so great. Hunter seems to outperform the Rainbird options. Decided to get the 20 station outdoor indoor model because of the ability to direct wire to a pigtail plug. Bought the wire numbering kit, methodically numbered all wires. Removed old controller and installed new one in about 30 minutes. The Hydrawise program is a little clunky in terms of options but once you figure it out, it is very easy to use. Signed up, found the controller. I did have the issue that the program only recognized 12 out of the 16 zones. Tried to search for solutions but could not find anything on the internet. Sent an email to service and the next day had a link to a lesson on how to add the last zones. Did it in 5 minutes. That is the kind of service I expect at a sub $400 price. It is almost exhilarating to walk around your yard with your cell phone turning zones on and off. I know this sounds crazy but it is the way things should work. This will save so much water because there is always one area that needs more attention. In a hot market, I could not find a company that would install a controller for under high $700s. If you are getting $1000 worth of work done, the controller prices drop but not if you just want a swap out. I understand the need to charge that. But I wanted to say, easy to install and excellent in terms of performance. Thank you Hunter.

The package had been opened and resealed. The keys are missing. So if it was located on outside that would a problem.

I have been a Hunter user for years. I purchased this controller to update an older Hunter controller. This version is the outdoor version that has the transformer inside the unit (as opposed to the 2400i which has an external power transomer that can be plugged into an outlet) and a locking access door. I hardwired the unit inside the garage. Once powered up and solenoid wires were connected, the unit connected to my WiFi without issue. The WiFi signal is very strong even at the far side of my garage. All programming can be done via the mobile app. I am running iOS on both my iPhone and iPad. Once a free account is created your controller is accessible by multiple devices. You can name each station. The best part is the flexibility of the programming. You can create any number of programs that will run all valves, or any combination of selected valves. You can have one program for your lawns for example, another for drip, another for trees, etc. You can select which valves are to be assigned to each program. You can even add the same valve station to multiple programs. The cycle and soak function is nice if you want to deep water an area but want to avoid run off. For example, you can set a lawn station to run for 20 mins and then specifiy the rest cycle to allow the water to soak in before completing the remainder of the cycle (say 5 mins on, 5 off, 5 on, 5 off, 5 on, 5 off, and 5 on = 20 mins). The mobile app can be accessed from anywhere. I can suspend the watering based on weather or physical sensors in the yard. This unit is very well designed. If there is a WiFi issue, all functions can be accessed via the touch screen just as a normal timer would.

Replaced an old controller with this wi-fi enabled unit. It's smaller than the old one. It has much more functionality. The accompanying app adds lots of convenience like mapping out each zone/station with images and other details. Flexible watering schedules based on the weather and more. Now I can monitor and adjust my sprinkler activity from anywhere. It was worth the money. Glad I have it.

Stopped working after 16 days. Hunter says I need to return the unit. No suggestions provided for troubleshooting. The installation of the 24 zone controller took several hours.Repeating this installation when there is no explanation of why it failed seems like a bad idea. It could just fail again.