Mains-powered irrigation, fertigation and environmental controllers, from single zones to cloud-managed multi-zone systems.
Every controller on this page runs from mains power, and that is close to the only thing they have in common. Some are commercial landscape station timers that work fine on a container block. Some switch to a seconds time base so they can run propagation mist. Some water on vapor pressure deficit, ET or soil moisture instead of a clock, and some run the whole house from one panel: vents, heating, shade, fans and fertigation.
Picking the wrong type is the controller mistake we see most, and it usually shows up as a mist bench that dries between cycles or feed dosed on a separate timer from the water. Here is how to sort them.
Which type of controller does the job actually need?
Start with what the controller has to switch and how fast. A container block or field bed watered in minutes is the easy case: a station controller from Hunter, Rain Bird, Toro or Irritrol will run it, and the choice comes down to station count, expansion and app control.
Propagation mist is different. A standard station timer programs in minutes and cannot hold a cycle measured in seconds. Look for a seconds time base: the Superior Sterling runs 1 second to 24 minutes in 1-second steps, the Dramm MistTime sets durations from 1 second to 60 minutes on intervals from 1 minute to 12 hours, the Galcon S8000 does seconds-based irrigation on minute intervals, and the Irritrol MC-E and Toro TDC-100/200 set run times down to the second.
If you want the plant rather than the clock to decide, move to sensor-driven control. MicroGrow's Water Pro VPD and Water Plus VPD open valves on vapor pressure deficit. Heron Electric's HM-Pro and HT-Pro water off light, temperature, soil moisture or a calculated ET value from their weather station. Toro's EVOLUTION takes up to three soil sensors. Where fertilizer goes through the same lines, pick a controller that sequences feed with water: Netafim GrowSphere MAX, Galcon GSI and GALPRO, Bermad BIC 1000 or the QCom QLink Fertilizer Controller. When the job is the whole house, you are into environmental control: MicroGrow Procom II, Growcom and the single-function stats, Heron Environmental Controllers, or QCom QLink for several houses.
What does the site have to supply: power, wiring and enclosure?
Most of the station controllers here take 120 V AC in and put 24 V AC out to the solenoids; the MicroGrow boxes and the Galcon 8000 run on 24 V. Plan power at the panel and check the transformer against the valves you intend to open together. The Irritrol Rain Dial-R allows 0.5 amp per station and 1.0 amp total including the pump start circuit; the Superior Sterling runs two 4-watt solenoids per station and up to six at once below 0.25 A each; Toro's EVOLUTION powers up to four solenoids at a time; the Galcon 8000 opens two valves concurrently. Anything beyond that needs checking. A backup battery on a mains controller keeps the clock, and on some models the program, through an outage; it does not open valves.
Wiring is the other decision. Conventional wiring means a home run from every 24 VAC valve to the cabinet. Two-wire decoder systems (Heron HT-Pro, Rain Bird ESP-LXD and ESP-LXIVM, Toro TDC-100/200, Hunter EZDS) run one cable and drop a decoder at each valve, which makes a large or awkward site practical. Hunter's ICC2 and Pro-C and Toro's Eagle Plus accept both on one controller, so an old block and a new extension can share a panel. Match the enclosure to where it hangs: several lines offer indoor and outdoor versions, and MicroGrow's motor controls and switching cabinets use non-metallic NEMA 4X enclosures, which the maker says survive a wet, fertilizer-laden greenhouse better than a painted steel box.
What goes wrong, and how the manufacturers' lines differ
The failures we see are rarely the controller breaking. They are a minute-based timer on a mist bench; a sensor hung in still air, reading the sensor rather than the crop (QCom and MicroGrow aspirate theirs); valves opening before the pump has built pressure; a broken lateral running all night; and an open roof with no wind or rain override. Each has a product answer: a seconds time base, an aspirated sensor, the Dramm MistTime's pump pre-start option or the QCom MINIGator's built-in pump-start relay, flow monitoring on the Toro RXC, Hunter ICC2 or Irritrol MC-E, and a MicroGrow Weatherstat on the vents. Buying station count ahead of need is the other habit; modular lines and Heron's plug-in cards add outputs later.
The lines split by origin. Hunter, Rain Bird, Toro and Irritrol come from landscape and commercial control: modular, decoder and Wi-Fi options, and a seconds time base only on specific models. Heron Electric builds for protected cropping specifically, and the Superior Sterling's seconds time base is its reason to be specified over a landscape timer. MicroGrow is greenhouse climate and irrigation control at nursery scale; QCom is its larger sibling for several houses under GEMLink. Galcon, Netafim and Bermad treat water and fertilizer as one system, cloud-managed on their upper lines; the Bermad BIC 1500 measures by volume rather than minutes. Dramm covers MistTime, ProLine, HAF fan speed controllers and thermostats. Send the valve count and what it has to run with your quote request.
Frequently asked
Can I run propagation mist from a standard irrigation timer?
Usually not well. Most station controllers program in minutes, and mist needs cycles of a few seconds repeated many times an hour. Choose a controller with a seconds time base: the Superior Sterling, Dramm MistTime, Galcon S8000, Irritrol MC-E and Toro TDC-100/200 all set run times to the second, and the Sterling and MistTime are built around repeating mist cycles with adjustable intervals.
What is the difference between an AC controller and a DC or battery controller?
AC controllers run from mains power, typically 120 V in and 24 V AC out to standard solenoids, and belong wherever there is power at the panel: headhouses, greenhouses and container yards with a pump house. DC and battery controllers use latching solenoids and belong where there is none. Several Galcon lines, including GALPRO and the GSI Gardening Series, come in both builds; see our DC and battery irrigation controllers page.
Does ML Irrigation sell to individual growers, and where do you ship?
ML Irrigation sells wholesale to production nurseries, greenhouse operations and horticulture education programs, and ships to growers in all 50 states from Fountain Inn, South Carolina. Request a quote with your valve count, water source and what the controller has to run, and ask us which controller and head-end parts fit the job.
Do I need two-wire, or is conventional wiring fine?
Conventional wiring is fine for a compact block where every valve is a short run from the panel. Two-wire earns its place when valves are spread over distance or the layout keeps changing: one cable goes out and a decoder sits at each valve. Heron's HT-Pro supports 5 km of cable per path, and Hunter's EZDS converts a Pro-C, HPC or ICC2 that is already on the wall.
Can I add remote or app control to a controller I already have?
Often, without replacing the cabinet. Rain Bird's LNK2 module fits six model families including the ESP-TM2 and ESP-LXME2; Hunter's WAND adds Hydrawise to the X2, and Centralus puts an ACC2, ICC2 or Pro-C under cloud control; Toro's RXC has optional Wi-Fi. Cellular platforms such as Galcon GSI and Bermad BIC 2500 are built around remote management from the start.
