TrolMaster NFS-1 Aqua-X Irrigation Controller | 30 Zones, pH and EC

What the Aqua-X Controller Is, and What It Needs Around It

This is the Aqua-X head unit rather than a complete irrigation system. The box holds the controller, one water detector, one touch spot and a 12 V power adapter. Everything that actually switches water is an expansion board sold separately. There is a hard limit for each accessory on one controller. Five 24 V boards, five line voltage boards and five program device stations. Thirty water detectors, eight water content sensors, and exactly one sensor board. One conductivity and temperature probe, and one pH probe, and no more of either. Outputs drive 24 VAC solenoid valves or line voltage pumps. The 12 V figure is the power adapter for the controller itself, not an output. Input is 100 to 240 VAC at 50 or 60 hertz, so it suits either supply.

Thirty Irrigation Zones, and the Two Ways to Schedule Them

Thirty irrigation zones sounds like a greenhouse number until you count benches rather than rooms. A room with five benches and three valves each is already at fifteen, and that is one room. Each output holds its own schedule, which is what makes bench level zoning worth the wiring. There are two scheduling modes and neither gets much attention. One is a recycling timer, running a set duration at a set interval through the day. The other is time of day scheduling, where each event is pinned to a clock time with its own duration. Recycling suits rockwool and small containers, while clock events suit a crop being pulsed around a lighting schedule. Data logging runs underneath both, so a dry back can be traced afterwards rather than argued about. The app sends alerts, which on an irrigation system matters more than remote control does. A missed feed found six hours later is a very different day from one found by phone.

Key Features

• What it is: The head unit of the Aqua-X system, not a whole system
• Zones: Up to thirty separate outputs through expansion boards
• Output types: 24 V solenoid valves, or pumps on line voltage boards
• Board limits: Five 24 V boards, five line voltage boards, five program stations
• Sensor limits: One sensor board, one EC probe, one pH probe
• Also supports: Thirty water detectors and eight water content sensors
• Scheduling: Recycling timers, or events pinned to clock times
• Input: 100 to 240 VAC at 50 or 60 hertz
• In the box: Controller, water detector, touch spot, 12 V adapter
• App: Free, with alerts, historical charts and data logging

Technical Specifications