They difference in the amount of heads installed between contractors could mean a couple of different things, without looking at the drawing it is hard to tell. One company may not be designing your system with head to head coverage, thus using less heads. It could be that the company with more heads is overkilling the amount needed to be installed, and just wasting water. More often than not, if there are less heads, generally the system is not designed for head to head coverage. Something is not adding up there.
Hunter makes excellent products, and I stand by them 100%. There are very many companies any more that are strictly geared toward the professionals, and don't sell out to the home improvement centers.
While the Hunter SRC is a good controller, I would be leaning more towards the Hunter Pro-C. Same programability as the SRC, but is expandable to 15 stations, instead of the standard 6 or 9 you get with the SRC. Also the Pro-C is built a little bit tougher than the SRC.
I notice that Vendor 1 includes spray heads, while Vendor 2 does not. Is there a reason for this? The Pro Series Hunter spray heads are a very competitive sprinkler head. They have an excellent spray pattern with thier nozzles, and the retraction on them is good. Very comparable to the Rainbird 1800 series, and I would recommend either of them.
The Hunter I-20 rotor heads are built very tough, geared a little bit more towards larger residential or commercial settings. I would stick with either the PGP or the I-20, both from Hunter. For the money, the PGP is probably a better buy, but the I-20 also comes with a 5 year warranty, whereas the PGP comes with a 2 year warranty.
We generally install the 765 series backflow from Febco, and so I have no knowledge on the 825Y. I am assuming because both contractors picked the same backflow device, that it is probably the standard for your area. As for Febco in general, they make a great product, and I again recommend them.
You can't truly have a Hunter sprinkler system without having Hunter valves as well! The PGV gets high marks in my book, we install these, and often replace others with them as well. If you have really dirty water, than the HPV valve is a good choice.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask away. Because products and contractor rates vary so much by location, it is hard to ballpark a figure. If you get at least three quotes, you should be able to locate a median ballpark figure though. Good Luck.
Tony Posey
Ridge Run Landscapes