Earlier this year Piet Brand at Think Water Geraldton got a call from an irritated groundskeeper from Newman in the Pilbara.
Piet explains the situation. “He was responsible for keeping a subdivision looking great, but his irrigation system was making his life difficult. His irrigation system controller was not user friendly at all. It was hard to change the irrigation settings and when things went wrong with the system, he really struggled to troubleshoot.”
After eight years wrestling with his tricky system, the groundskeeper had had enough. Not only was the controller hard to use and hard to troubleshoot, but when the decoders controlling the watering system failed, which they did quite often, his verges and plantings weren’t irrigated. Newman has a hot desert climate, so reliable irrigation is important to keep grounds looking good.
Piet explains his approach, “I’ve previous experience with these tricky systems. There are a lot of them installed in this region, and the controller really lets it down. So, I just take the controller out and swap it for a Hunter ICC2 EZ decoder system. Hunter controllers are very easy to operate, and the technical service we get is really good. I’ve people I can call straightaway who know their stuff and are easy to talk to.”
Piet used the existing two wire path installed in the development, which ran for 400 metres in both directions. Another beauty of Hunter EZ decoder systems is they’re compatible with any direct-burial wire, and no special wire or connectors are needed. So, they can be installed with existing wiring infrastructure, saving you the expensive task of rewiring your irrigation system.
The other strength of Hunter EZ decoder systems is they’re quick and easy to install, and simple to maintain with standard tools. Piet says, “It was a straightforward job to swap the decoders out. We installed 30 new EZ1 decoders in the field, and a new ICC2 Hunter controller. We also set up remote control using Hunter’s Centralus system so the groundskeeper could operate his irrigation from his phone.”
Hunter EZ decoder systems and ICC2 controllers are popular for their affordable pricing, ease of installation, use and maintenance, and their reliability. They’re also flexible. You can run up to four programs (two simultaneously), with eight start times per program and up to 12 hours run time. This ease and affordability made this Hunter set up the perfect solution for our frustrated Pilbara groundskeeper, who’s delighted with his new irrigation system.
Piet’s also pleased, saying, “I’m not a salesperson, but if I believe in a product, it’s easy to sell. And it’s easy for me to sell a Hunter product to a customer because I know it’s a user-friendly product that’s very robust and easy to troubleshoot. I’m not a techy guy, give me a shovel and I’ll get the job done, but with a Hunter controller you just open the lid, and you can see that station is working, that station is working, that one is not. You can go straight to the problem and fix it.”
“I bought Think Water Geraldton just over six years ago, and I’ve worked with the Nelson Australia team from the start. We have a good relationship. Greg always has time for questions. He listens. We work really well together. And I just believe in the Hunter product, because it’s tough and user friendly, the back-up service is great and in the long run it will save you money.”
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