Hunter X-Core control computer for garden irrigation program yourself
Table of Content
In one of my last blog posts, I described the installation and connection of the Hunter X-Core irrigation computer. I have explained how to connect the solenoid valves to the irrigation computer. However, I only briefly touched on the programming of the Hunter X-Core.
Introduction
In this post I will now focus on the programming of the Hunter X-Core. Basically, you usually do this only once, then the device runs completely autonomously. On my Youtube channel you can find many more videos about garden irrigation and especially about the Hunter X-Core.
Especially for programming I have included a 14 minute video further down in this post. Here on the blog I offer you the transcription of the video. That means you can read what I said in the video here.
Some things I left out for the blog and others I added for better comprehensibility. However, all statements refer to the instructions in the video.
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Hunter X-Core Lawn Watering Computer
The Hunter X-Core basically consists of the display, the cursor unit and the rotary wheel where the individual programming is done.
When the device is active and programming is in progress, the display shows the working day and time. Saturday 4 o’clock 23 pm that is the English expression for the afternoon time so we have as 4 o’clock 23.
Program time and date
If I now want to program the device to the correct day and time, I start by turning the switch one step to the right.
The year 2018 has already been pre-populated by me. With the minus key I can select correspondingly smaller year numbers and with the plus key larger ones. Clicking to the right brings us to the Month and Day menu. Month recognizable by the proposal 1-12.
In my case, 9 is already flashing, September, can be changed to August, or October, or your current month.
Clicking again to the right displays the menu for the day: 1 to 31. In my case the first of September, a Saturday, is automatically displayed. Another click to the right indicates “pm”. PM stands for afternoon. If I want to have morning, I press the minus button and if I want to have afternoon, I press the plus button.
A click to the right brings up the time. In this case, four o’clock 28 in the afternoon. The plus key changes the hour upwards and the minus key changes it downwards accordingly. A final click on the right button switches to the minutes menu 4 o’clock 28. I can turn back the minutes here or fast forward the minutes again.
Another click to the right brings us back to the year.
Zuletzt aktualisiert am 9. December 2023 um 19:45 . Ich weise darauf hin, dass sich hier angezeigte Preise inzwischen geändert haben können. Alle Angaben ohne Gewähr. (*) Bei den verwendeten Produktlinks handelt es sich um Affiliate Links. Ich bin nicht der Verkäufer des Produktes. Durch einen Kauf über den Link werde ich am Umsatz beteiligt. Der Preis ändert sich für dich jedoch nicht.
Program start times
Now it’s time to program the start times for my three circuits. I have a total of only one program that wants to use. This means that all three irrigation circuits for my lawn are switched in sequence.
I only have to enter the start time of the first irrigation system or irrigation circuit and the duration in the Hunter X-Core control computer. Afterwards, the second surface will start automatically and when it is completed, the third surface will start.
Now let’s start with the setting of the cycle start. To do this, set the switch accordingly and we see on the display already at six in the morning should start my sprinkler system.
With the minus key or the plus key I can increase or decrease the start times in 15 minute intervals to the start time I want. Since I only want to use one program, that is, one rhythm, we are already done at this point.
Program watering duration
So let’s switch to the setting of the irrigation time. In this menu I will program in the desired irrigation duration for all three irrigation areas.
You see in circle 1 a time of seven minutes is already given. This means that when the program starts at six o’clock in the morning, the first lawn area is watered for seven minutes before the second lawn area is also watered afterwards.
If seven minutes are too long or too short, I can vary them accordingly using the plus and minus keys. With a click on the right button I switch to the second circle. This should also be irrigated for seven minutes. Subsequently, the third circle should be irrigated.
In my case, only six minutes because this area is somewhat smaller. Another click to the right shows us a 4 that has not been programmed. Since I only have three irrigation circuits connected to my control computer, but it can handle four circuits, I just left the last circuit set to 0. Thus nothing happens.
The programming video
in the following video you can watch the programming step by step. On my Youtube channel you can find many more videos about garden irrigation and especially about the Hunter X-Core.
Program watering days
Now only the irrigation days are missing in which the program should be started. To do this, I switch to the Irrigation Days setting in the menu. In the menu you can see the days from Monday to Sunday which are executed in English.
Monday and Thursday have a raindrop as a symbol. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday have a crossed-out raindrop as a symbol.
In this case, the program is to be started in my controller on Monday and Thursday morning at 6 o’clock. To change the watering days, I use the control pad again. With the minus key I switch off the irrigation on this day and the cursor automatically jumps to the next day. If I press the minus key again, it changes to Wednesday.
Now, for example, if I want to sprinkle on Wednesday, press the plus button and the crossed-out raindrop turns into a normal raindrop. In this case, therefore, irrigation would take place on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, however, not.
Solar Sync and seasonal adjustment
Thus, we have already made the date and time the start 6 am, the duration for each circuit, in minutes, and set the irrigation days. This completes the basic programming.
I will not go into the programming for seasonal adjustment or the solar sync setting here. There will be a second video about this and of course a separate blog entry.
To let the control computer do its work now, I simply turn the wheel forward to “Operation”. 4:43 pm so evening or afternoon on Saturday. The control computer will therefore only start to open the first circuit again on Monday early at 6:00.
Start manual watering – 2 options
But now I may want to water the lawn outside the regular rhythm. I have two options for this. On the one hand, I can have a section that I have selected irrigated manually. That would be the function “manual operation” Or I can start the complete program manually outside the programming.
Start individual sections manually
Let’s start with the manual operation of a single section. I want to manually irrigate Area 2, my second irrigation zone. To do this, I change the rotary switch to “manual operation”. You will see zone number 1 in the display with seven minutes to go. These seven minutes takes over the control unit from our time programming.
Now, however, I do not want to irrigate zone 1, but zone 2. Therefore, I switch to zone 2 and get seven minutes preallocated. This also follows from the standard programming. But now I need a longer irrigation period. So I increase the whole thing to ten minutes and start the rhythm by turning the dial to the “Operation” mode.
You will see the “it is watering” icon in the display. By the way, this has no influence on the programming. The settings in manual mode do not overwrite the basic program.
If the controller is turned to “Off”, the irrigation switches off.
Start entire program manually
However, if I want to irrigate not only a single sector, a single zone, individually outside the program, but run the entire program outside the programming times, I can do this quite easily.
I change the slider to “Operation” and press the cursor to the right for 3 seconds and can make settings here. For example, set the time up and down for each zone.
Zuletzt aktualisiert am 9. December 2023 um 15:30 . Ich weise darauf hin, dass sich hier angezeigte Preise inzwischen geändert haben können. Alle Angaben ohne Gewähr. (*) Bei den verwendeten Produktlinks handelt es sich um Affiliate Links. Ich bin nicht der Verkäufer des Produktes. Durch einen Kauf über den Link werde ich am Umsatz beteiligt. Der Preis ändert sich für dich jedoch nicht.
Save data permanently
So that these settings do not disappear in the event of a power failure and simultaneous battery failure, I would like to save them directly in the device. To do this, I switch to “Operation” and I press the Plus key and the PRG key simultaneously for 3 seconds. You will see a running symbol from left to right in the display.
In case of data loss or if all settings have been messed up, I can restore the programming by pressing the minus key and the PRG key simultaneously for 3 seconds.
Alternatives to Hunter X-Core
In perspective, I could also imagine the installation of a Hunter Hydrawise control computer. This irrigation computer is one of the smart variants and is compatible with the Hunter X-Core in terms of connections (so it can be easily interchanged).
The Hydrawise impresses not only with a touch display but also with a WLAN data connection. The current weather data is then synchronized via the Internet or devices connected to the home network and the irrigation is adjusted accordingly.
- Intelligente Beregnung basierend auf lokalen Wetterbedingungen mit vorausschauender Anpassung
- Verwenden Sie die App als Fernsteuerung für erhöhte Effizienz
- SMS-Warnmeldungen
Excel irrigation schedule and useful links
To make programming a little easier for me, I copied an irrigation matrix, a schedule, from the professional section. Under the following link you will find an Excel table which you are welcome to use for your own private purposes. Please note that I can not take any liability for the file.
An official operating manual for the Hunter X-Core is available for download as a PDF from Hunter.
In my playlist about automatic garden watering I have already posted a lot of videos about my garden watering. You can find more projects in my Youtube channel.
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