This Instructable will teach you how to simply make an automatic plant water-er. Perfect for when you're going on vacation or when you just don't remember to water your plants. It will provide a specific dose of water on whatever schedule you set to one plant.
I made this to keep my pot of dragon trees tree alive while I was out of town for 5 weeks. It's a bunch of big trees in a small pot so they need to be watered pretty often and I didn't feel like calling in friend favors to stop by every other day for more than a month. Those gel packs, plastic bags, 2 liter bottles, plant wicks, etc wouldn't work because they don't hold or move enough water. (The tree goes through about a cup and a half of water a day.) And commercial timed pumps things were expensive. It worked so well I've kept using it even when I'm not on vacation. It's been working perfectly every day for two years. As long as I remember to fill it up once a month.
It's not the cheapest solution, but it's a lot cheaper than the commercial versions I found (and those even looked a little cheap to me). Some would have required me to have a running hose in my house for the whole time I was on vacation, which sounds like an invitation to a flooded house to me. This one costs much less (You can do it for less than $30 depending on what parts you have lying around and how much you bargain hunt) and is an easy afternoon project.
It's very simple to make: The most complex part is programing the vacation timers.
It's reliable: It always delivers the exact same amount of water, and there's no chance of flooding your house while on vacation.
I made this to keep my pot of dragon trees tree alive while I was out of town for 5 weeks. It's a bunch of big trees in a small pot so they need to be watered pretty often and I didn't feel like calling in friend favors to stop by every other day for more than a month. Those gel packs, plastic bags, 2 liter bottles, plant wicks, etc wouldn't work because they don't hold or move enough water. (The tree goes through about a cup and a half of water a day.) And commercial timed pumps things were expensive. It worked so well I've kept using it even when I'm not on vacation. It's been working perfectly every day for two years. As long as I remember to fill it up once a month.
It's not the cheapest solution, but it's a lot cheaper than the commercial versions I found (and those even looked a little cheap to me). Some would have required me to have a running hose in my house for the whole time I was on vacation, which sounds like an invitation to a flooded house to me. This one costs much less (You can do it for less than $30 depending on what parts you have lying around and how much you bargain hunt) and is an easy afternoon project.
It's very simple to make: The most complex part is programing the vacation timers.
It's reliable: It always delivers the exact same amount of water, and there's no chance of flooding your house while on vacation.
Materials:
- 1 five gallon plastic bucket (or some other reservoir for water like a plastic garbage can.)
- 1 smaller, plastic tub. (Like those disposable tubs for leftovers, or an old Cool-whip container, etc.)
- 2 Vacation timers. ($12 each) Important:They must be able to be able to turn on for only one minute, which means you can't get the cheapest ones that go by the hour.
- 2 small submersible pumps like the ones used in small fountains. ($7-$15 each) I used these (if still available) Theseare a good substitute. Or just Google "small fountain pump"
- Several feet of vinyl tubing. ($1 a foot) (Make sure it fits the outlet of your pump. Mine was 1/4" inner diameter)
- Several medium size binder clips. (Can substitute hot glue if you don't ever want to reuse any of the parts of this project.)
- Ground fault interrupter (Recommended, though not required. But it's always a good idea when water and household current are this close together.) ($15-$30)
Tools:
- Craft knife.
- Magic marker.
Time:
About 30 minutes (or more if your vacation timers have weird cryptic instructions.)
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Cheap pumps and timers aren't particularly accurate. Running one pump for a precise time gave me drastically different amounts of water, and a to-the-second timer was a bit pricey and a pain to build. Setting up a flow meter attached to a switch was going to be tricky and expensive for such a low volume of water.*
So I made this two pump, two reservoir system that delivers exactly the same amount of water every time no mater how inaccurate the pumps and timers are.
The pumps are on two separate timers and run at two different times, one in the main reservoir pumps water into the top one. When it runs for too long and the excess water simply pours back into the bucket. When that one is complete the top pump pumps the container dry, which makes sure that you get exactly the same amount of water every time. No worry about over or under watering.
Lets get started!
So I made this two pump, two reservoir system that delivers exactly the same amount of water every time no mater how inaccurate the pumps and timers are.
The pumps are on two separate timers and run at two different times, one in the main reservoir pumps water into the top one. When it runs for too long and the excess water simply pours back into the bucket. When that one is complete the top pump pumps the container dry, which makes sure that you get exactly the same amount of water every time. No worry about over or under watering.
Lets get started!
- Though now that I think about it, maybe a pressure switch and a balance might work.... hmm. Next time.
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The advantage of my system is that it can hold gallons of water and can water even the largest and most expensive plant for weeks. The drip and capillary action ones you mention hold only a few ounces at most. My dragon tree goes through more water than that in an afternoon.
Next time I'm digging around behind my plant I'll probably switch the pumps so that they wear more evenly and hopefully I can get another 3 years out of it.
A simple, reliable, one pump and one timer, automatic watering system can be constructed with the items already mentioned above. The 1-minute interval timer sold by Harbor Freight Tools will allow a minimum on-off cycle of one minute. The 66 gph pump sold by Harbor Freight Tools has a grey, sliding, intake regulator/valve which can be positioned to reduce the pump output. With the regulator valve at full open, the pump expells 1.1 gallons of fluid per minute. At the minimal pump regulator valve setting, it pumps 3 cups of fluid per minute. For a single plant set-up, you would use the minimal pump regulator setting. If 3 cups of fluid is still too much fluid, you can reduce the output as follows: Insert a plastic 1/4" T-valve (T) in the pump output line at least an inch or more above the tank water-line. This will split the minimal setting output into two, 1 1/2 cup per minute streams. Cut and attach a short 1 1/2 inch section of 1/4" hose to each end of the T-valve. Next, position a screw-top, plastic air control valve (CV) to the free end of each of these hose sections. Your assembly will look like this ---CV---T---CV---. You can now manipulate the flow through each control valve. With one valve almost totally open and the other almost totally closed, you can limit the slowest flow to about 3/4 cup per minute. (Most any plant pot can handle this amount of water inflowing over a 1 minute time period.) Connect this slowest flow output via the appropriate plastic tube to the plant container. The maximum flow stream is then positioned so that it spills back into your reservoir. A bit of trial and error manipulation of the control-valves (CV) will provide you with the amount of water that you want your plant to receive. The rest of the output goes back into the tank and is conserved for use during future watering cycles. There are only two caveats that you must keep in mind and address. One is that the maximum flow output spout going back into the reservoir must NOT be positioned below the water-line of the reservoir. If it is, a siphoning connection will be created from the reservoir to the plant thus emptying the reservoir onto the plant while the timer is off. The second caveat is that you should keep the flow distribution assembly positioned over the reservoir. A suction cup holder or a binder clip can provide support for this positioning. This positioning is needed because the control-valves (CV) will emit an occasional drop of water out of the top stem. These drops will fall harmlessly back into the tank if you keep the assembly over the reservoir. You can expand this set-up to water multiple plants by the addition of a series of in-line control valves (CV) and the proper manipulation of the pump intake regulator, the control-valve outputs, and the timer on-off times. If you want to keep the amount of water sent to multiple plants equal, you must shoot for approximately equal tube lengths to each plant. Moreover, you must assure that the discharge port of each tube at the plants is of an equal height above the floor. Use plastic or bamboo stakes for this height adjustment. Unequal discharge positions and/or tube lengths will unbalance the equal flow pattern. With a minimum of trial and error this system works very well with one timer, one pump, and one reservoir for single and multiple plant set-ups. It can be constructed from off-the shelf, retail components for less than $30 total. Most of the components go on sale from time to time for even greater economy. (Note: An alternate 11-piece TOP FIN air-flow connection kit is available at Pet Smart for $3.50. It contains 5 air control valves (CV), 4 T-valves (T), and 2 suction cups.) Lastly, liquid plant fertilizer can be added to this system if you take precautions to prevent algae growth that can clog the pump. This algae growth prevention can be accomplished by enclosing your tank in a black plastic bag or surrounding it with aluminum foil. No light, no algae. My thanks go out to all who worked on this project. My improvements are simply extensions of the excellent work already presented by previous contributors.
Mine has been running daily for two and a half years and so far hasn't failed me yet...
Try this:
Pick-up a 45 gallon plastic solution container from any local car wash. free
Pick-up a aquairium POWER HEAD. $20.00's
Pick-up a 110v appliance timer $8-15.00's
25', 50' or whatever length of 1/4" air line tubing. $5-12.00's
1, 3-4-5-6 way gange valve from pet supply. $5-9,00's
Silicone the power-head flow-port closed and leave air-line port open for airline tubing.
Attatch powerhead to bottom inside of container.
Thread tubing (water-tight seal) from powerhead thru container-wall and attatch to gange valve.
Thread power-head cord thru top of container and plug into appliance timer, don't forget to set times for irrigation on timer after trial and error due to individual container watering needs. Adjust gange valve to achieve best results...
(NOTE:) Your main solution container can be placed outdoors to collect nutrient fresh rainwater from gutter-downspout by cutting a opening on the side of collection container/reservoir then add your wifes nylon anklet to end for filtering of debris, run tubing thru house wall, to gange valve and finally to plant ccontainers.
What could be more simpler you might ask?
A complete solar (Green) system.
Both are available thru me. E-mail for more information and prices...
There's another great Instructable that uses water condensed from an air conditioner to water his outdoor plants. You could use a similar system as they use to collect this otherwise wasted water.
If you run a dehumidifier you could also use that to provide recycled water for the plants.
Also these cheap pumps can't be relied on to deliver the same amount of water over a given time. I tested them pretty thoroughly and running them for 10 seconds one time would deliver several cups of water one time, and no water at all another.
As I said in my intro one of the features of this design is to make it reliable. Both to keep my plants alive and not pumping gallons of water all over my floor. Having the extra pump and timer makes it much more reliable.
However if you have a reliable pump and a programmable timer then one water supply and one pump is the way to go and you don't really need an Instructable to set that up. But in my research these things easily double the cost of the project. If you're interested in a more ambitious project, I suggest the Garduino Instructable which uses moisture sensors and a microcontroller to control the pump. It's a very cool project.