SPW Hunter Hydrawise HPC-400 4-16 Station Wi-Fi Controller Web-Based i-Phone Android App 4 Zones Expandable to 16 Zones with Optional Expansion Modules HPC400

I replaced a 12-year-old Hunter Pro-C controller that was starting to malfunction, including watering two zones simultaneously. After some investigation, I discovered that the issue was caused by faulty zone expansion modules—a common problem according to my local irrigation supply house specialist. While I could have simply replaced the modules, I decided it was time for an upgrade. I opted for a WiFi-enabled model with a phone app and weather forecast integration, and I'm glad I did. The controller comes with a standard module which is just 4 zones and the main valve. I had to purchase both the 3 and 9 zone expansion modules to get to the 13 zones I need for my house since you need to increment with the 3 zone module first and can't just add a the single 9 zone module by itself. The setup was seamless, connecting to my 2.4G home WiFi was easy, and I opted to program the zones and settings using my laptop with the Hydrawise website. I was also able to reuse my existing rain/freeze sensor as well as my "Roam" remote, which was good (if not redundant). So far, everything is working flawlessly. I’m extremely satisfied with this upgrade and would definitely purchase it again or recommend it to a neighbor!

The builder installed a Hunter Pro-C controller, which worked fine. However, I wanted something that was more versatile and convenient. Wow. What a nice surprise. Others have described this component well, but the interface on the phone was worth the purchase to me, and I am not a geek that loves technology for technology's sake. Very intuitive set-up. Yes, it is as easy to convert the Pro-C to the HPC as others have said. Programming was easy peasy. Changing programming is so easy it almost seems like cheating. One note: when I first tested the system, my irrigation did not come on. I remembered that I have a master solenoid valve as well as zone valves. It is a simple toggle in the set-up menu and all is well. This system also has many built in weather adjustments you can use and a way to automatically cycle the zones that tend to have runoff to minimize wasted water. Really very capable system.

This thing is great. I upgraded my panel with this so I could utilize the Hydrawise app. It works like a champ and is easy to install. Being able to control the system from my phone was well worth the money!

I was looking to upgrade our Pro-C model (with the dial and blue buttons) to be Wi-Fi enabled, so it’s easier to adjust programs and test zones without walking back and forth all the time. That upgrade is really just an HPC faceplate but is hard to find by itself, and when you do it’s almost the same price as this entire unit. So I bought this just to use the faceplate! (And if something ever happens to the main board of the Pro-C it’s nice to know we have a backup device that could replace it.) Swapping it into our Pro-C was a breeze: unplug the power, detach the ribbon cable, detach the old faceplate, attach the HPC one, attach the ribbon cable, and plug it back in. There’s a tiny touchscreen to get connected to your Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz only) and then you add the serial number to your Hydrawise account and you’re set. So much easier to program now, and the customizable temperature and precipitation adjustments give you more control.

Easy upgrade from my Pro-C with green buttons and black modules. The setup wizard on the app is a little buggy but once I got it all set up configuring zones and creating a program was easy. All in, took me about 15 minutes to switch all my wires and modules from the Pro-C over and set up my first program. Glad I just did it myself because my Sprinkler company offered me a "special deal" to install one of these for nearly $700! Pays to learn how to do this stuff yourself because it's not hard at all and you absolutely don't need a contractor to do it for you and rip you off. One gripe: the predictive watering stuff seems a little wonky. It rained last night and I have the default predictive settings on to not water if there's 0.1 in rainfall or 80%+ chance of rain, and it still ran. Yes, I have my location and everything set up correctly. Chalking it up to first watering weirdness so will see if it improves. If not, I'll have to set up a smarter automation in Home Assistant to toggle watering for that day. Speaking of Home Assistant, I set up the integration in minutes and it works great, so I can turn on watering or any zone easily from HA.

Received the product quickly and was packaged well. Installing the controller was very easy. Only one minor thing to watch for when connecting the sprinkler wires, they moved the common wire so it’s no longer next to the other wires. The new location is marked well with a paper “COM” tag. Everything else connects just like other Hunter controllers. Setting up the Hydrawise software and app was really straight forward, controller connected to network without issue. The app is pretty easy to setup and use but isn’t quite as polished as some of the other apps. However, it does offer a lot of control over your watering options. I had debated over this and the Rachio. The Rachio software is easier to use but the controller is very basic and feels pretty cheap. The Hunter controller is definitely of better build quality.

When I moved into my new house about 3 years ago, I inherited a old Hunter Pro-C controller (circa 2009). It was still doing great, until recently one of the extension module failed. This got me focused on the controller. I really liked the idea of having it wi-fi enabled, but my Pro-C controller was too old to upgrade to the $180+ face panel replacement. Since I like the Hunter brand, I took a chance and purchased this HPC-400 controller and a new extension I needed anyway. I am real glad I did. The swap out would have been real simple, except in my case the old install was kind of hacked together and I needed to re-adjust the location some to avoid re-running my wires and have it more of a normal install. This would not have been needed if they would have had a normal install on the old Pro-C. With that behind me, connecting to Hydrawise app was fairly simple. Understanding the flow was a small learning curve after using the controller panels for so long, but was still fairly easy. I really like that the Hydrawise app can still use my Ambient weather station to determine if watering is needed or not. I pull water from a canal, but if I was pulling from city, this would be a good savings long term. Another thing I like about this system is that you can remotely turn on/off sprinklers zones. This helps a lot when adjusting or diagnosing sprinkler head issues. Saves a bunch of steps back and forth from controller to sprinkler. The only reason I gave this a 4 instead of 5 is more based on the app. If you are temporarily suspending one or more zones manually, pay attention to everything you do. I didn't notice the 2nd "Suspend" link after setting the date and zones, so it didn't suspend when I wanted it to, and didn't tell me the change didn't go through. Still my bad. Overall I'm happy for this purchase.

We replaced an old Hunter Douglas controller with this model and are SO glad that we did. The option to control the water from my phone with the easy to use app has saved me from trudging to the garage many times to turn the water on or off. Plus our water bill was substantially lower as it only waters when needed. 100% reccomend.