I’m gonna be heading out of town for the holidays so I’m planning to build a drip system to keep my plants watered while I’m away. Planning to follow the setup that Jeremy built in the build a soil video series for his 5 gallon pots since it seems like stuff I can source easily from local hardware stores.
The question I have for the group is about the timer specifically. Does anyone have experience with a multi day timer that they’d recommend? I’ll need the timer to kick in for a designated period of time every 2-3 days to mimic my hand watering while im away, looking for a simple interface and a reliable product. I’ve done some research on Amazon and whatnot but figured I’d start here to see if there’s something folks have experience with that they like. I’d hate to roll the dice on something and have it fail while
Im away. Any suggestions are really appreciated
I haven’t watched his video, but does he show exactly what timer he uses? Also, what’s the specific schedule you’re trying to replicate (assuming you’re doing what he did)?
I’ve recently bought 3 different types of digital timers, so depending on your needs, I might have a suggestion.
I have the autopilot 8 functions (times per day) and it does up to seconds. You can program it up to everyday of the week or mon, wed, and Friday (and a few other combinations). So good so far. It has 2 ground outlets on it and it’s heavy duty.
He uses the niwa grow hub to run everything, which is just a little more than I want to spend right now so I’m just hoping I can find a timer for the watering specifically. Hand watering I typically give them like 1.5L every 2-3 days in veg so I’d be looking to be able to replicate that schedule
I’m not sure how tech savy you are but thats basically how you DIY a niwa grow hub. Probably slightly cheaper also depending on how much you want to do with it.
Hmmm…OK, the timers I have experience with may not work for you. One of them can be programmed for up to 20 on/off cycles per day, any day or days of the week, but you’re limited to whole minutes. You may need to program your “on” time in the seconds to prevent over-watering. Perhaps the Autopilot timer that @grief mentioned might work for you
i use these, they work great. set as many on/off periods you want and can control anytime with the app form anywhere. also shows total on time etc etc…
i use them with these cameras when im out of town to watch my grow rooms all with the same app…
i’m very satisfied with both and they both have great features.
Edit:
i’m not sure what equipment @FiveGar uses but ive seen screenshots of his app and it seems pretty nice as well.
I use smart plugs also. Best to set it up before you leave to test how long you need to water. 1 min of water every 2-3 days may be enough. I used a fountain pump, poly piping 1/2 and 1/4, then some elbows to connect.
@CornbreadJunior@MidwestMover these things seem like the ticket! Biggest thing I was worried about with mechanical or self contained digital multi day timers is like decyphering the interface to set them up correct, these things seem like they’re way easier to know that you’ve got them dialed in right once you figure out the proper timing for you “ON” cycle. You guys haven’t experienced any failures or weirdness with these? Do they maintain your settings in the event of a power outage? Sorry for the game of 20 questions, this just got me real excited haha
yes i have had several (>5 in) power outages and they always retain my settings.
i’ve had 1 failure since i first bought them on 1 plug and it failed to cycle 1 time and i can’t rule out user error.
I had more failures on my mechanical timers. Mostly due to being sloppy like dropping something on the pegs that messed up on/off times or ive smushed them between the tent and wall that stopped the timer from spinning.
ive been out of the state/country several times since i started using them and it sure makes it nice to be able to check the data and turn on my cameras and actually see how things are going as well. well worth the $ to not stress about it.
i also use this for temp/humidity but i think there are better on the market now for less.
it is reliable and it works really well and it is accurate and both temp and humidity can be adjusted to offset inaccuracies and you can set alarms but the long term historical graphs arent the best…
Mine didn’t log times for a week. Pretty sure it was on for that time. I want checking the log either. I also like them for watering. It only does minute increments. I’ve been two hours away and I just turn the switch on count to 30 and turn it off.
thanks guys, i bought a 2 pack of these things, you sold me. i really appreciate the recommendations. just dropped a bunch of $$ to get this whole drip situation dialed out, i think ill be happy to have it on hand so im not married to my grow, even though i kinda like it that way
i can tell you it is a great feeling to be able to sit on a beach half a world away and be able to peak in on the girls and see how comfortable they are…
I fried a 24/7 fan, could have burnt the house , the normal digital programmers you can buy only have ten programs daily available, so I switched to this smart plugs, you can have 30 schedules daily:
You can switch ON-OFF from your mobile wherever you are and have a timer, for instance I can switch on my heater in the bedroom for 20 minutes and so …
It happened to me those digital programmers going blank and losing their schedule, never happened with this smart plugs, highly recommended if you’ve got WiFi where you should have it …
Go one step further… Add a raspberry pi and home assistant (HA is free, pi around $50)… Unlimited schedules, reactionary if/then scenarios. And I use the wyze cams (v 2.0, the v 3.0 has issues with RTSP). And TP link switches (same basic thing, wifi controlled switches). Home Assistant has integrations for all the Wyze products, plus a BUNCH of other stuff… Have 12 of those switches and always adding more… They control lights, fans, exhaust fans, humidifier, dehumidifier you name it
Thanks, I prefer having some responsability on the decissions taken , for instance all my dehus have electric buttons, so you have to manually press them. If electricity is gone I have to switch them on again.
It’s like automated watering, I prefer to be the man in charge , too old for that Raspberry pi …
yes, analog switches are slowly being phased out. I had to return and buy a different dehumidifier for that very reason. I could turn it off, but not on, with the switch. I wrote a little script that I use to control the humidifiers / dehumidifier, even has a little variance that you can adjust. For my drying tent, that keeps everything to the percent. For the grow, its one less thing to think about. I do glance at the hygrometers, but I have faith in my programs… lol…
Ya can do partial too I actually both automate watering AND hand water. My automation is 1min of watering every other day, (drippers are kinda fast). And i water w/ fertilizer… or just water, by hand, as needed as well… I find the automated watering just helps to keep things moist, and gives me wiggle room on my watering by hand. at 1 min every other day it sure wont replace hand watering though…
the electronics are a different story… I am a geek and proud of it. lol… getting this crap to all play nice has been fun, but worth it to me too. If I can just get it to automatically zip up the photo tent when i forget to at the end of the day, it would be perfect. ROFL
yo! i have to say a big thank you to the group here for the advice on the timer, i just got it setup with the exact dripper system outlined in the BAS video and i have to say this system is unreal!! i did my calculations based on the number of drippers per line and the number of pots in the tent ad then dropped all the lines into a measuring bucket and damn if it wasn’t basically spot on for the volume im trying to achieve. i just tested out the Wyze plug timer and it works great from what i can tell, turns it on and off perfectly, also pretty rad that you can override the timer and just switch the whole system on if you need to. i dropped one of the Wyze cameras in there too so i feel way more confident about heading out for a couple of days knowing that i can literally watch all my plants and water at the push of a button if i need to. yall were a huge help with this i appreciate every last one of you. super happy with the investment in this system.
, the normal digital programmers you can buy only have ten programs daily available, so I switched to this smart plugs, you can have 30 schedules daily:
, for instance all my dehus have electric buttons, so you have to manually press them. If electricity is gone I have to switch them on again.
, too old for that Raspberry pi … 