Toro LDC-6, LDC-11 User Manual

OUTDOOR IRRIGATION
CONTROLLER

User Manual

• LDC-6

• LDC-11

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Controller

Introduction to Programming
Watering Schedules

Filling Out the Watering
Schedule Form

Setting the Time and Date

Setting the Time

Setting the Date

Setting up Watering Programs

Setting Start Times

Setting Watering Days

Setting Station Run Times

Suspending Automatic Watering

Clearing all Programs

Manual Watering

Running a System Test

Running a Program

Rain Sensor

Setting a Rain Delay

2

3

4

5

6

7

7

7

8

8

8

8

10

10

11

12

13

14

14

15

16

16

17

18

18

18

18

19

19

20

21

22

23

Water Budgeting and
Seasonal Adjustment

Master Valve On/O Selection

Pump Delay

Station Delay

Installation Instructions

Mounting the Controller

Electrical Wiring

Wiring the Solenoid Valves

Rain Sensor

Pump Start Relay Connection

Specification

Troubleshooting

Appendix A
Guidelines for Watering

Appendix B
Watering Schedule Planners

3

INTRODUCTION

The Toro Lawn Dial Outdoor Irrigation Controller
is a programmable electronic timer that controls
the watering of six or eleven stations (depending
on the model) using remote solenoid valves.

In a typical irrigation system, there is a Master
Valve (MV) which is switched on whenever one of
the Station Valves (SV) is on.

The Controller is also suitable for use on water
supplies derived by pump from a bore or a dam.
In this case, the Master Valve control line is used
to turn on a Pump Start relay which controls the
power to the pump. The Pump Start relay is not
supplied with the controller. A Relay should be
installed by a qualified electrician.

Note that the Lawn Dial Controller will not power
the pump; it will only control an auxiliary relay

that switches power to the pump.

Typical Irrigation System

Using a Pump Control Relay

FEATURES

• Easy to install and program.

• 6 individual Programs.

• 6 individual Start Times per Program.

• 3 dierent watering cycles – day of the week,

odd/even days, and interval.

• Water Budget feature which provides easy

adjustment of watering for seasonal or
weather conditions.

• Rain Sensor function (external sensor

required) to prevent watering when it has
rained.

• Pump delay feature (for use with a bore or

dam pump).

• Station delay feature used to prevent or

reduce issues caused by slow closing
solenoid valves.

• Permanent memory for the retention of all

programmed information. In the event of a
loss of mains power, data will be saved for
up to 5 years. This occurs even if a backup 9V
battery is not fitted.

• Battery back-up (9V battery supplied).

• Weather resistant controller with 240VAC

power lead and plug.

4

THE CONTROLLER

The Controller has the following features, which
will be explained in detail throughout this
manual:

used to select functions:

• OFF

stops irrigation

• AUTO RUN

automatically run watering programs

• SET CLOCK/CALENDAR

set the date and time

• SET START TIMES

set the watering start times

• SET WATERING DAYS

set the days that watering is to occur

• SET STATION RUN TIMES

set the durations of programmed watering

• SET AUXILIARIES

- Rain Sensor

turn on/o the rain sensor function

- Main Valve/Pump Start

- Pump Delay

Turns the pump on first and then the station
after a delay, allowing for pressure to build.

- Station Delay

Delays the opening of the next station on

sequence to give time for the previous sta­tion to close. Useful for slow to close valves.

• SYSTEM TEST or RUN SINGLE STATION

• RUN PROG.

Control Dial

LCD Display

Control Buttons

Backup Battery, Control Wiring Terminals

used to navigate through the programming
equences

(beneath a cover)

Control Panel

Note: If the mains power to the unit is o, to conserve battery energy, the LCD display automatically
switches o after about 15 seconds of operator inactivity. Press to see the display again. When
mains power is o, the controller does not run the automatic programs, but the clock/calendar and all
program information is retained

LCD Display

Control
Buttons

Backup Battery and
Control Wiring Terminals

Control Dial

Rain Sensor

Switch

5

INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING WATERING SCHEDULES

When programming the controller, there are the
following to consider:

STATIONS OR ZONES

your controller has either six (6) or eleven (11)
Stations, depending on the model. Each Station
has a group of sprinklers in a specific portion
(Zone) of the garden and is controlled by a
solenoid Valve. Zones are generally laid out
according to the type of plant material being
watered and the type and flow rate of the

sprinklers used to distribute the water.

PROGRAMS

up to six (6) watering Programs can be set and
applied to any of the Stations. For each Program,
the following are programmable:

• Watering Days

watering may be programmed to occur on

- fixed days of the week
(eg. Mon, Wed and Fri),

- at intervals of a number of days
(eg. every third day), or

- on odd or even days of the month
(eg. 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th etc.)

• Start Time

each program may have up to six (6)
Start Times

• Run Time
each Station (or Zone) has an associated

Run Time

Programming is a lot easier if you first fill out a

Watering Schedule Form, an example of which is

on the next page. You will have a record of your
watering schedule and zone locations which can
be kept with your controller. In the
example, four Programs have been
programmed:

• Program 1 starts at 7:00am on Mondays and

Thursdays and runs for 20 minutes on
Stations 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6

• Program 2 starts at 9:00pm every day and

runs for 10 minutes on Stations 3 and 6. Note
that if no Watering Days are programmed,
the Lawn Dial Controller defaults to every day

• Program 3 starts at 6:00am every third day

and runs for 10 minutes on Station 4 only

• Program 4 starts at 5:00am on Tuesdays and

Sundays and runs for 30 minutes on Station
6 only.

Note: The Controller runs all programmed

watering sequentially, with only one Valve open
at any given time. In the example, Program 1 will
water Station 1, then Station 2, then Station 3,
then Station 5 and then Station 6, beginning at
7:00am, and taking a total time of 100 minutes.

If another Program was scheduled to start at say
8:00am, it would be delayed until 8:40am (the
completion of Program 1).
Therefore, when scheduling multiple programs
and/or multiple start times within each
program, make sure that each program cycle
can run to completion before the next program
cycle is scheduled to start. If you do not do this,
the Controller will automatically stack them in
sequence.

6

FILLING OUT WATERING SCHEDULE FORM

VALVE NUMBER

In the area at the top of the form, fill in the area
and/or type of lawn or garden which is to be
watered by each Valve. In the example, three of
the valves are watering turf (lawn), two are
watering flowers and one is watering vegetables.

WATERING DAYS

For each Program (1 to 6), write in the days of
the week that watering is required (eg. Mon,
Wed, Fri), or the interval between waterings (eg.
3 days – water every third day), or Odd or Even
if restricted watering is imposed, based on your
house number.

RUN TIME (minutes)

For each of the Programs and each of the
Stations, write in the Run Time required. Run
time can be set to any time between 1 minute
and 12 hours and 59 minutes.

START TIME

Write in the Start Times for each of the six
Programs. Each program can have up to six
assigned start times.

Sample Six Station Watering Schedule Form

7

SETTING THE TIME AND DATE

1 Select Set Clock/Calendar on the Control Dial.

This will cause the HOUR to flash.

2 Use the and buttons to adjust the

hour to the correct value. Note that the clock is
12 hour so ensure that the correct AM or PM is
displayed.

3 Press and MIN will flash.

4 Use the and buttons to adjust the

minutes to the correct value.

1 Select Set Clock/Calendar on the Control Dial.

This will cause the HOUR to flash.

2 Press and DAY will flash.

3 Use the and buttons to adjust the day

to the correct value.

4 Press and MONTH will flash.

5 Use the and buttons to adjust the

month to the correct value.

6 Press and YEAR will flash.

7 Use the and buttons to adjust the

year to the correct value.

PM

9: 27

HOUR MIN

TUE

DAY

2015

YEAR MONTH

TUE

9 15

ODD

Note: If the 9V backup battery is not fitted, or is flat, when mains power is lost, the controller memory

updates every 10 minutes. When power is restored, the clock resumes at the last updated time, which may
dier from the correct time by up to 10 minutes.

Control Switch

SETTING THE TIME SETTING THE DATE

8

SETTING UP WATERING PROGRAMS

Up to six Programs may be entered, each requiring the programming of:

• Watering days – applied to all Station numbers and Start Times

• Start times – up to six

• Station numbers - up to four or six, depending on the model

• Station Run Times – may be dierent for each Station

For example, Program 3 may be set to water on Mondays and Thursdays (Watering Days), at 7am and
7pm (Start Times), and water Station 1 for 20 minutes, Station 2 for 10 minutes, and Station 4 for 30
minutes (Run Times).

An example of the use of six start times is the watering of a new lawn in very hot weather. It might be
watered for 10 minutes at 6am, 10am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm.

SETTING START TIMES

SETTING WATERING DAYS

1 Select SET START TIMES on the Control Dial.

This will cause the START No to flash.

2 Press to select the required Program.
3 Use and to select the Start No

required.

4 Press and OFF will flash (if a start time

has previously been set, then the Hours will
flash.

5 Use and to select the Start Time

Hours required.

6 Press and MIN will flash.

7 Use and to select the Start Time

Minutes required.

8 To add a second start time, press until

Start Number 1 flashes, press to change
start number to 2. Repeat steps 4-7 for Start

Number 2

9 Repeat steps 2 to 7 until all Start Times have

been programmed for all Programs.

PROG

No

3

START

No

1

AM

7: 30

HOUR MIN

There are three ways to set Watering Days:

• Calendar Schedule

water on specific days of the week (eg. Monday, Wednesday and Friday). This is a seven day schedule

which starts on Monday and ends on Sunday.

• Interval Schedule

water at intervals of a selected number of days (eg. every third day). Available intervals are from 1

(water every day) to 15 (water every 15th day).

• Odd/Even Schedule

water on odd or even numbered days of the month (useful in times of drought when watering

restrictions are in place).