The Ability to Choose (8 or 48 Stations? Plastic or Metal?) Makes ICC an Installer's Top Choice

Now in its third year on the market, the Hunter ICC controller has become one of the brightest success stories in the company's recent memory. The idea behind the product was simple – to introduce a unit that offered virtually every feature expected in a top-of-the-line controller, but made available at a price competitive with middle-of-the-road models.

However, what has truly set the ICC apart is its design. Starting with a base unit of 8 stations, the ICC allows you to "build" the controller up to 48 stations (for a metal or stainless steel cabinet, 32 for plastic) simply by adding additional 4- or 8-station modules. Hunter thus became the first company to introduce a controller that successfully executed the concept of expanded station modularity.

Reliability has been a key factor in the Hunter ICC's popularity with contractors and specifiers. "I've been a long-time Hunter rotor user, and I patiently waited for the company to come along with the right controller for commercial sites," said Tom Lee of Indianapolis Irrigation. "With its dependable performance and solid construction, this product has been a real winner."

Hunter product manager Kevin Gordon indicated that gold-plated connectors are one of the primary reasons that the ICC earns such high marks for reliability. "We chose to use gold for two purposes," he said. "First, it's the best conductor for electric circuitry; no other metal is as dependable. Second, gold is so strong a metal that it is virtually corrosion-resistant." That's why you'll find that Hunter has used it for all the pins and plugs.

"We're in an area that, during the summer months, has to contend with lightning a great deal of the time," said Will Katerburg of Grapids Irrigation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "We've come to find that no other controller can surpass the level of surge protection (both the primary and secondary surge protectors are MOV-type and are standard features) in the ICC."

Peter Roberto of Roberto & Sons Landscape and Irrigation in North Easton, Massachusetts said that one of the features he loves about the ICC is its built-in short detection. "If a particular station experiences a short, the ICC can recognize that, skip over it and continue to go on watering the rest of the landscape."

That the ICC is compatible with all microswitch rain sensors makes it popular, as well. "We are long time users of Mini-Clik II¨ and its great to know there's a controller that delivers Hunter quality that can work hand-in-hand with their sensors," said Jim Hackworth of HCI, a design firm in Colorado Springs.

The ICC is available in a variety of installation configurations to suit a landscape's particular needs and, in some areas, requirements. According to Gordon, Hunter designed the ICC with a plastic cabinet to satisfy the needs of those contractors who were looking for a compact unit, yet one that could also handle a commercial site. He added that the ICC Metal Cabinet, which can hold up to 16 stations more than the plastic, was created to provide the ultimate in flexibility while offering the maximum degree of protection.

"There are, in fact, numerous places where the law actually requires that an outdoor controller be mounted or housed in a metal cabinet," said Gordon.

The ICC is also available in a stainless steel cabinet for areas where a non-corrosive alternative is needed, such as coastal environments where salty air could eat away at a metal cabinet. Plastic, metal and stainless steel ICCs are all available as wall mounted units; metal and stainless steel are also available with a pedestal.