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I have plants in my office - the problem is that my days vary wildly and sometimes I forget or don't have time to water the plants. I looked for an automatic house plant watering system and they were very expensive ($49-$100) and I couldn't be sure of the quality.
I was walking in Wal*Mart one evening and went past the pet asile. I picked up some inexpensive aquarium supplies with the intent of putting together my plant watering system. I also went to the hardware asile and picked up a 24 hour light timer. In the end I had to go to a pet specalist store to get the valves that I needed to get it to work.
Here is my supply list
25' Airline Tubing ($2)
4 Gallon Bucket ($2)
Aquarium air pump ($10) - I got a dual line mode, beefier the better (not pictured in the instructable)
24 hour timer ($4) - Originally I used a 1 hour timer, but I found a 30 minute timer that worked better
Lee's Airline Control Kit ($4) - Cat no. 14103 - This is the perfect set for this project - it contains 4 Tee junctions and 5 valves. The valves are inline and all plastic.
Check Valve (Free) - This should come with your pump and is very important for safety (not shown in pictures)
I was walking in Wal*Mart one evening and went past the pet asile. I picked up some inexpensive aquarium supplies with the intent of putting together my plant watering system. I also went to the hardware asile and picked up a 24 hour light timer. In the end I had to go to a pet specalist store to get the valves that I needed to get it to work.
Here is my supply list
25' Airline Tubing ($2)
4 Gallon Bucket ($2)
Aquarium air pump ($10) - I got a dual line mode, beefier the better (not pictured in the instructable)
24 hour timer ($4) - Originally I used a 1 hour timer, but I found a 30 minute timer that worked better
Lee's Airline Control Kit ($4) - Cat no. 14103 - This is the perfect set for this project - it contains 4 Tee junctions and 5 valves. The valves are inline and all plastic.
Check Valve (Free) - This should come with your pump and is very important for safety (not shown in pictures)
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Signing UpStep 1Prepare the junction and valve
You may have a different step if you are using a different type of valve and/or junction. The nice thing about the Lee's product is that it is modular. First, take the valve and inspect it - the valve is in three parts, the screw adjuster, the valve body and then another little connector. Pull the connector out - I used my teeth :)
Then take the tee junction and press the valve body on to the perpendicular part of the tee.
If you have a different type of junction or inline vavle you made need to fashion a small length of hose to join the tee and the valve - it'll work just fine.
Then take the tee junction and press the valve body on to the perpendicular part of the tee.
If you have a different type of junction or inline vavle you made need to fashion a small length of hose to join the tee and the valve - it'll work just fine.
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I would use this to water your plant automatically when you are on vacation.
http://automaticplantwater.webs.com/
I would use it to water my button mushrooms but they need to be sprayed.
Not sure if I need more water or more air power.
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.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45305
I think I will try it!
Like this Ible www.instructables.com/id/Automatic_Plant_Watering_Device_simple_version/
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45303
http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=digital+timer&Submit=Go