Irritrol MC-E - Manual (Page 35)


Flow Sensor (Sold Separately)
Flow monitoring is one of the best water resource management tools available in the irrigation industry today. With
definable over and critical flow values, broken lateral or mainline piping, stuck valves and damaged sprinklers can be
quickly detected and bypassed automatically.
The flow sensing capability of the MC-E allows it to learn actual flow rates for every station. These flow rates are stored
in the memory for comparison use. Whenever a station is activated, MC-E will monitor and compare the values to detect
if overflow or critical flow values have been violated. The overflow percentages are user defined to fine tune the system.
The MC-E is designed to function with a normally open master valve and a flow sensor. The Data Industrial PVC tee
flow sensor model 228PV, 250BR or equivalent are the recommended sensors for use. When MC-E detects a flow value
that violates the station flow parameters, the flow alert LED indicator will illuminate. The MC-E will make an audible
beep every 30 seconds to notify you of the flow error. The controller will also display the problem station on the LCD.
The flow alert indicators will continue until the detected flow is returned within the set parameters and the
button is
pressed.
Flow sensing requires that Station 2 is used for a normally-open master valve rather than a
regular station. See Optional Setup.
Flow Sensor Installation
Step 1 – Install the flow meter into the main pipe that only
supplies irrigation to the area being monitored.
Typically, it is installed just before or after the
master valve. Install the flow sensor according to
the provided instructions. Pay particular attention to
the flow direction and to the length of straight pipe
required before and after the flow sensor. Take note
of the sensor size and the pulse rating for the MC-E
flow sensor setup.
Step 2 – Route a two-wire irrigation cable from the flow
sensor to the MC-E controller. The cable can be
2000 ft. in length when using a shielded two-
conductor, 20 AWG or larger stranded copper wire.
Leave extra wire length to allow for future servicing.
Take note which wire is installed to the red sensor
wire as well as the black sensor wire.
Step 3 – At the controller terminals, connect the “Red” wire
to FLOW+ terminal. Connect the “Black” wire to
the FLOW- or SENSOR- terminal. See illustrations.
The controller will beep every 30 seconds
when an flow error is detected.
IMPORTANT! Sensor wires must be installed in the correct polarity for
proper operation. If you plan to use the controller’s flow sensing function,
set flow parameter and learn the flow value for all the stations being used.
MC-E will not execute the flow diagnostic if an active station is without
flow settings even if other active stations have flow settings configured.
VALVE
COMMON
VALVE
COMMON
VALVE
COMMON
MASTER
VALVE
YEL RED VALVE
COMMON
GND 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48
INHIBIT SENSOR START SENSOR FLOW SENSOR
FLOW +
MC-E Models with 12 or less stations
Red Sensor Wire
Black Sensor Wire
FLOW –
MC-E Models with 18 or more stations
SENSOR – FLOW +
Black Sensor Wire
Red Sensor
Wire