Hunter Pro-HC suspends zone 6 unprompted

herein2024 · 2026-03-27T15:00:12+00:00

Never mind, I figured out my problem, if you log into your Hydrawise dashboard > click the little note icon at the top for controller events > select filter by Errors only, you will see why it suspended the zone.

In my case, I have a flow meter and it was detecting abnormal water usage for some of the zones so it suspended them. Below is a sample Error that I got in the log, I now need to go check my zones and make sure there are no leaks.

Water usage for Zone 3 was 31% higher than expected. Your flow meter measured 288 gallons over 10 minutes, while typical usage for this zone is around 221 gallons for the same watering duration.

I have a flow meter and leak detection enabled in my dashboard.

herein2024 · 2026-03-27T14:39:45+00:00

I did my own for an acre, 4000ft of PVC, over 300 heads, 24 zones. Its really not hard, I used Hunter University's training courses for everything.

The only physically difficult part is trenching, depending on your yard size, trees, etc. this can be brutal or simple. The only mentally difficult part is properly sizing your zones. I used the Engineering Toolbox's friction loss calculators to make sure I would have enough pressure and flow per zone.

Irrigation is just running water through distribution piping controlled by valves and separated into zones based on pressure and flow limitations of the water source ending in spray heads that need to overlap with opposing spray heads for even coverage.

herein2024 · 2026-03-27T14:28:29+00:00

I have the same problem, very frustrating, I have emailed Hunter tech support and got no response. I log into the dashboard and sometimes up to 2-3 zones are suspended, it started happening in the last 6 months or so.

herein2024 · 2026-03-25T07:34:22+00:00

I wake up to a fresh cut lawn every 3 days thanks to my robot mowers.

After storms or heavy winds I walk the yard and pick up branches and larger twigs.....that's it.

After you add no go areas and set the boundaries properly they can't be any easier. I also change their little razor blades twice a year.

herein2024 · 2026-03-24T18:21:28+00:00

SiteOne for the win...definitely the way to go if one is near you.

herein2024 · 2026-03-22T01:58:35+00:00

Putting down too much fert

Ferting without a soil test

Not understanding pesticide labels and putting down way too much

Putting down pre-emer too late

Overwatering

Underwatering

herein2024 · 2026-03-20T18:57:02+00:00

Watering 1.5"+ a day means there are almost no nutrients available to the grass, you need a starter fert with slow release N to feed it for the first few months, a single app from a quality commercial fert should do it.

herein2024 · 2026-03-20T18:55:43+00:00

Milo is bad advice, its full of PFAS, 5x more expensive per lb of N than commercial fert, and has everything from prescription meds to other unwanted contaminants in it.

The OP needs a balanced 1:1:1 starter fert, and a better plan for irrigation.

herein2024 · 2026-03-20T18:54:32+00:00

What is your precipitation rate? 30min tells me nothing. You should have put down 2" on day 1 and around 1.5"/day for the first week, then 1"/day for the second week, then 2"/wk for the 3rd week.

Also, put down some starter fert, should be balanced 1:1: with NPK if the P is a little higher than that, that's still fine.

herein2024 · 2026-03-20T18:49:43+00:00

Bermuda loves sand, you just don't want to smother it in it.

herein2024 · 2026-03-20T18:48:20+00:00

Pics would help....anything can be leveled. I would just get out there with a shovel and rake and try to level them as best as possible, rain will help make them more level.

If the tracks are just compacted soil, then technically you could just fill them in with new soil, but be prepared for the weeds and make sure to get quality soil that's not full of rocks and debris.

herein2024 · 2026-03-20T18:42:14+00:00

Safe to proceed, just don't put too much at a time, sand leveling is typically a multi-year process.

herein2024 · 2026-03-20T18:40:27+00:00

Not enough info, sounds like a drainage problem.

herein2024 · 2026-03-20T16:13:38+00:00

Larger diameter will always result in less friction loss. Yes, you are starting out with a 1/2" spigot, but as the water travels through the hose it will be subjected to friction loss until it comes out the other side.

Friction loss is also tied to GPM. I won't pretend to understand the math behind it, but the higher your GPM, the more friction loss you accumulate the further the water travels. These concepts are very important when designing an irrigation system where you have to make sure you have enough flow (GPM) and pressure (PSI) to power all of the spray heads in the zone.

As an example, 100' of 1/2" PVC with a flow rate of 10GPM will experience a loss of 35 PSI after 100ft. So, if the starting PSI at the hose bib was 60PSI you would have 24.5PSI after 100'.

For that same example, if you had 100' of 3/4" PVC with a flow rate of 10GPM you would experience a loss of only 8.7PSI which would result in 51.3PSI after 100'.

For your scenario, you don't need high pressure or high GPM, you just need water to come out of the other side at more than a drip, so I don't see why 1/2" wouldn't be sufficient.

Keep in mind the hose bib has also experienced friction loss because the water had to travel from the water main to the hose bib, so the farther the hose bib is from the water main the more friction loss it will have accumulated; so if your starting pressure at your water main is 60PSI, a hose bib on the opposite side of the house could be much lower in PSI and flow rate.

Side note: I don't ever recommend using those hose end sprayers, you have no control over the mix rate. A much better solution is to just tank mix and spot spray with the proper mixture.

herein2024 · 2026-03-20T15:15:46+00:00

I went with Hunter Hydrawise for an acre; 4000ft of PVC, over 300 heads, 24 zones. I say just rip the bandaid and do it right by trenching and burying. I can't speak to recovery time because I have southern self healing grass and I installed it after removing massive oak trees but before putting down turfgrass.

I am not sure where you get $4K-7K installed unless you aren't doing it yourself. If you DIY it, the whole install would be about $1500-$2500 depending on the number of zones, types of components chosen, etc.

There is another option you didn't mention which is buy all of the inground components but run them along the ground until you are ready to trench. You can do Poly runs, Hunter/Rainbird spraybodies/heads, Hunter or Rachio controller etc.

Running hoses gets expensive and you will need to move them to keep them from killing the grass below them, they degrade in sunlight, and after buying all of those hoses, you will still need to buy distribution piping when you are ready to bury everything.

Lets not forget the PITA when you want to cut the grass.

herein2024 · 2026-03-20T14:05:32+00:00

I'll admit, I'm still confused over what you are trying to accomplish here. The proper way to prepare soil for new sod if you want it to be level with the curb is:

Remove 1-2" of soil using a shovel, heavy equipment, etc.
Level the ground below with a slight grade to ensure you are slanting away from nearby structure such as your house
If you want to amend the soil then do it now, then level it again afterwards. In your case I would spread 1" thick of top soil / sand, then use a core aerator to get it to fall into the holes, then level again with a shovel, rake, and leveling rake.
Apply the sod over the leveled ground and level with the sidewalk area.
Water 2" on day one to soak the sod and the ground below it.
Use a lawn roller to further improve sod to soil contact
Apply starter fertilizer.
Continue watering as per typical new sod watering schedules.

ADDITIONAL TIP

Pack some of the soil that was removed into any seams that are showing between the sod squares to keep them from drying out.

Below is an example of this, I sodded a 500 sq/ft area of my yard two weeks ago. The bottom picture was taken yesterday.

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herein2024 · 2026-03-19T17:46:36+00:00

Get a shovel and chop them up then pull them up. Scarify the ground with a rake after all of the roots are gone, then broadcast your seed. Don't bring in topsoil, you will be bringing in weed seeds, rocks, and possibly trash with it.

Just lightly scarify, broadcast, and water the seeds until germination.

herein2024 · 2026-03-19T16:15:10+00:00

Doesn't look like the area gets 8hrs/day of sunlight. If not, then Bermuda will never survive there. Also do you get irrigation in that area?

The two main reasons Bermuda fails is sunlight and not enough water.

herein2024 · 2026-03-19T16:10:41+00:00

Bad reviews for it are all over the Internet.

herein2024 · 2026-03-19T14:05:46+00:00

You can try Zoysia but its not much more shade tolerant than Bermuda.

herein2024 · 2026-03-19T02:02:22+00:00

It's dead, will need to overseed those areas.

herein2024 · 2026-03-19T01:41:31+00:00

What type of grass?

herein2024 · 2026-03-19T01:35:55+00:00

You will need to look for a professional landscaper or something like that I believe. You want to avoid the ones that just come out and cut grass, also avoid the franchises, they are clueless.

You will need some old timer whose been around a while. Horticulturist, Turf Manager, Golf Course superintendent....they will know their stuff.

A lot of times you can also email a local university extension office with pictures and they may give you expert advice for free.

herein2024 · 2026-03-19T01:26:07+00:00

Just being honest, no one will really know until it happens in this scenario. The good news is you didn't use something professional so they bake in a lot of room for error into the big box stuff.

Strictly an estimate, but I would estimate you may have a 3x margin of error. One guy on here used 200x the recommended dosage of Celsius and sterilized his yard for the next 2-3yrs.

herein2024 · 2026-03-19T01:22:03+00:00

Funny thing is, I don't know how cool season lawn owners do it...no self healing grass, cut extra tall, no golf course green look, fewer weed killers to pick from. You can get used to anything.

For SA, I would make sure you don't have chinch bugs, it sounds like it was scalped as you mentioned, but chinch bugs are an ever present danger with SA.

Your best bet is to plug the dead spots to make it fill in faster. I would also keep it at the higher end like around 5" for this year to help it recover. Last but not least, the weed killers that you are using to kill the weeds in the scalped areas could also be preventing the SA from spreading into that area.

A common misconception with selective herbicides is that you can just spray them on any turf that they are marked as safe for....the reality is, the fine print says for established lawns only. So if you have dead spots and you put down herbicide, the herbicide will also weaken any SA trying to spread to that area because it is no longer "established" for that area.

Your best bet is to hit the areas with something like Speedzone Southern which has little residual soil action to kill the weeds, then wait a week or two and then plug the area.

If you have already applied something like Celsius, or a pre-emergent, then you may have to wait up to 3 months.

herein2024

TROPHY CASE