Controllers - LHAP 302

Slide 1 Controllers LHAP 302 - Irrigation Slide 2 Controllers the “brain” of the irrigation system activates the electric control valves telling them when to open or close different controllers are used in different locations depending on size and layout of the irrigation system depending on what type of programming is required Slide 3 Controllers Components include: cabinet indoor - transformer on end of plug outdoor - transformer in cabinet, lock on door, weatherproof 2. face plate- front, contains display used to operate the controller 3. transformer - run on under 30 volts AC need to step down from 120 (house voltage) 4. output board - terminal strip where valves are wired to the controller Slide 4 The Terminal Strip may contain all or some of the following MV = master valve normally closed used to turn on a pump, for vandalism control, for flow sensors VT = valve test always live used to test valves without wiring them up Slide 5 Terminal Strip cont. C or Com = common used for the common wire going to the valves Numbers = field or station wires going to the valves each valve has its own terminal which determines when it will be activated. SEN = sensor where the sensors are wired up. sensors may include flow sensor, rain sensor, rain-freeze sensor, soil moisture sensor, etc. Slide 6 Wiring the valves Wire copper wire underneath a PVC or HDPE jacket can be solid or stranded.Size of solid wire referred to as gauge. designated by AWG - American Wire Gauge number the larger the gauge #, the smaller the wire standard is white for common, colour for zone wiresstandard size for residential light commercial 12-18 gauge motocarr-tech Slide 7 Wire connection weakest part of any wire is the splice or connection when connecting 2 solid wires remove insulating jacket - use wire strippers braid the wire together cover all the exposed wire with a waterproof connector 3M DBYR3mcanada.ca Slide 8 Programming a Controller residential light commercial run on stacked programming one zone at a time, one after the other Set time Run time Set time Run time Program A 10:00 AM Program B 2:00 PM Zone 1 10 minutes 10:00 AM 0 minutes 2 :00 PM Zone 2 10 minutes 10:10 AM 15 minutes 2:00 PM Zone 3 10 minutes 10:20 AM 15 minutes 2:15 PM Zone 4 10 minutes 10:30 AM 10 minutes 2:30 PM Slide 9 Maintaining a Controller At the beginning of the season: Make sure the wiring is tight change the battery plug in the controller and reset the date and time check each zone by running it manually for 2 minutes fix any heads, nozzles that are not operating correctly Program the zones according to the scheduled run times. Slide 10 Smart Controllers will monitor growing conditions and automatically adjust the water application accordingly. use real time weather data (usually through a subscription service) or historical weather data are connected to weather stations that calculate evapotranspiration rates (ET) and/ or soil moisture sensors (SMS)