Slowflow Watering Decanter

This improvised watering decanter is perfect for watering small plants that don't need a lot of water but do need it regularly. It's simple and is made of dirt-cheap items that most people probably already have around their house and tools that most people already own. It's small so it can easily be stored at your desk where you work or in a small space out of sight at home. it's also fairly safe and doesn't spill much if it falls over while full - though it will spill a little.

I originally put this together because I needed a bottle with a narrow spout which would make it easier to get the water into the narrow gap at the end of seedling trays. Since I'm starting them early I have to keep them inside which for me is in front of my big bay window in my nice carpeted living room where there's plenty of light. I like to water them from the bottom which means pouring about a pint of water through a half-inch gap at the end of the tray and hoping I don't spill any.

This introduces two issues which I solved using this decanter: accuracy and quantity. Since the bottle is clear and already close to the right quantity for one tray it makes it easy to measure the amount of water I'm adding to each tray. Granted this creates extra work since I'm constantly shuffling back and forth to the kitchen for more water. Perhaps this calls for a large watering container: maybe something along the lines of a two-liter Coke bottle.

Secondly, this is much easier than just pouring the water on my plants at work. I have more than a dozen plants at my desk, some of which dry out before others. Most of the plants are large pots that only need water once a week and the whole batch can be taken care of in two or three trips to the restroom sink.

I also have several small cacti which dry out completely on an almost daily basis. Instead of running them to the restroom sink every day it's nice to have a watering bottle at my desk. Plus they are crowded together on a tray and the long spigot makes it easy to get to all of them without spilling any water. Finally, and most importantly, the water flows slowly which keeps me from overflowing the pots and making a big mess.

The real reason I made this is that, in true Instructables spirit, I had some spare time, love putting things together, was thrilled at how well all the parts integrated, and hoped somebody else might get some use out of the thing. Remember, this is my first instructable. Granted it's not a Traditional Polynesian Ice Canoe - I wish I had some ice nearby so i could try that - but it was fun to do.

Now...without further adieu...

Step 1: Gather Materials

The following materials will be needed for this instructable.

• A beverage bottle of your choice. I had lots of water bottles on hand so I used one of those.
• Two flexible drinking straws. If you want faster water flow then you can get larger diameter straws such as those you get at restaurants. The only problem with those is that you loose the flexible joints which server to help secure the straw to the bottle in this case and also let you flex the spigot straw for easier watering.

Step 2: Gather Materials: Tools

In addition to the materials for the decanter some tools will be required.

• A drill
• An appropriately sized drill bit should be a tiny bit smaller than the diameter of your straw.
• Scissors
• Waterproof glue for sealant. I used low-temp hot glue because it was what I had on hand. If you use hot-glue it is important that it be low-temp as the high-temp glue will melt the straw.

Step 3: Empty Your Bottle.

Set your camera on timed, fuzzy mode; strike your best Gatorade-Commercial pose and start chuggin. Here we see that my Gatorade-Commercial pose isn't very good but my chuggability more than makes up for it.

Step 4: Check Drill Bit Size

First you should insert the drill bit into the long end of the straw to size it. If it just barely fits then it's perfect. If it has to be forced in or slides in easily then it's too large and too small respectively. If you don't have the proper size then it's best to get a smaller size and ream the hole out larger by swiveling the drill around in the hole.

Step 5: Drill Holes in the Lid

Most soft drink bottle lids have a ridge around the inside. This ridge forms a seal with the lip of the bottle as the lid is screwed on. Other manufacturers use a soft disk or rubbery coating to form a seal in the top of the bottle.

When drilling the holes in the lid make sure to leave about 3/16 of an inch between the edge of the lid and the edge of the holes. This will help avoid damaging whatever seal mechanism was used by your bottle's manufacturer. It will also ensure that the holes are unobstructed by the lip of the bottle when the lid is screwed on.

Please be cautious when drilling if you plan to hold the lid whilest drilling.

Step 6: Prepare Straws

The straws must be cut to prepare them for use.

The first straw - the yellow one in the first picture - will be used as the spigot for the decanter. Cut the long end of the straw off leaving all the joints attached to the short end. Discard the long end.

The second straw - green in the first picture below - will be used as an air return spout. Cut the long end and all but four of the joints off. The remaining four joints should be attached to the short end of the straw. Discard the long end and extra joints.

Next, the end of each straw opposite from the joints will need to be split to make it easier to insert into the holes in the bottle lid. The split only needs to be about 1/4 inch long. The second picture below illustrates me splitting the end of the air return straw.

Step 7: Insert Straws Into Lid

The straws have to be attached correctly for the decanter effect to work.

The air return straw - the straw with only four joints remaining - should be attached so it protrudes inside the lid. Pull the straw through from the outside until two joints are inside the lid and two are outside. Collapse the inner joints and the outer joints - as seen in the pictures - to help secure the air return straw.

The spigot straw - the one with all the joints still attached - should be inserted so that it protrudes outside the lid. All but two of the joints should be pulled through to the outside of the lid. The two joints remaining on the inside as well as two of the outer joints should be collapsed to help secure the straw. The two pictures provided illustrate this.

Make sure that the spigot straw is protruding from the outside of the lid and that all but two of the joints are outside as well. This will allow you to flex the straw during use if needed.

Step 8: Seal the Straws

It will be necessary to seal the gap - little as it is - around the straws. I used hot-glue because it was the only water-proof fast-drying glue I had on hand and I didn't want to go shopping for the aforementioned reasons. I also tried chapstick as a sealant on the first one I made and It worked quite well but prevented me from using the decanter for warm water. Be cautious when picking glues as those with strong solvents may warp or dissolve the straws or lid or both. It's only necessary to seal the straws on the outside which is good because it is difficult to do on the inside.

Step 9: Voila...Your Done.

Happy decanting.

Comments

[crossless]

 I have use lot of soldering iron to make holes in thick plastic to get air holes to containers for snails home. So you could use that as making hole or with candle flame heated sharp knife.If you can use some force with stinger what is use to make holes for drill starting point in material that makes nice hole too. You need use air-conditioned place to melt plastic. I'll think I try this one I need often some small bottle to water snails peat. :)

If you get your hand long neck bottle, you cold try to make holes on the neck.

[Chanio]

Caution!

Please, allow me to suggest a safer method ('though no one knows what is really safe)...
Use any rounded metal of that size and heat it until red hot. Then just be careful and touch the plastic lid with it. It is going to melt as butter. So, be careful to just melt the size that you wanted to gain. Or a little less, since there might be a little of melted plastic all around the edges. You should then cut those melted edges when they are not so hot. And later, use some cold water to see if the hole was what you have expected.
It is very tempting to use the drill but many times, the lid would slip and start spinning at high speed.
That is very dangerous...

[CaseyCase]

Caution! ...very dangerous... Worth repeating. LOL!

[theprofessor]

use a clamp if you drill.

[Chanio]

Very nice photos!
Clear and big enough to self explain themselves.

[gowithflo]

I'm going to do this . . . .
Hey just started a gardening group. Add this instructable please!
https://www.instructables.com/group/reapwhatyousow/
thanks

[crapflinger]

very well written and well thought out...very well documented (your "gatorade" pose is more of a napoleon dynamite pose though *gosh!*) i would imagine with slight modifications you could actually make this process into more of a "trickle feeder" for when you are out of town....maybe by making the air return portion a MUCH smaller diameter?

[skids927]

what is the benefit of this? why cant you just pour water the normal way?

[trebuchet03]

The same reason why so many people don't feed their dog the normal way every day and buy an automatic feeder ;)

[WesDoesStuff]

this is not an automatic watering bottle. this just uses the second hole to equilize the preasure and give a nice solid stream like with a small watering can

[trebuchet03]

No I understand :) My point was convenience ;)

[gzusphish]

Here are all the things I originally intended to put in the intro but couldn't articulate at the time.

I originally put this together because I needed a bottle with a narrow spout so I could get the water into the narrow gap at the end of seed trays. This also makes it easy to measure the amount of water I'm adding to each tray since the bottle is clear and already close to the right quantity for one tray. Granted this creates extra work since I'm constantly shuffling back and forth to the kitchen for more water. Perhaps this calls for a large watering container: maybe a liter Coke bottle.

Secondly, this is much easier than just pouring the water on my plants at work. I have more than a dozen plants at my desk, some of which dry out before others. Most of the plants are large pots that only need water once a week and the whole batch can be taken care of in two or three trips to the restroom sink.

I also have several small cacti which dry out completely on an almost daily basis. Instead of running them to the restroom sink every day it's nice to have a watering bottle at my desk. Plus they are crowded together on a tray and the long spigot makes it easy to get to all of them without spilling any water. Finally, and most importantly, the water flows slowly which keeps me from overflowing the pots and making a big mess.

Anyway, these are all small annoyances at most and as I said in the intro to the instructable; it really is moot because decanters and watering pots are available everywhere though not all are dirt cheap. Plus I already own an appropriate watering pot for my seed trays.

The real reason I made this is that, in true Instructables spirit, I had some spare time, love putting things together, was thrilled at how well all the parts integrated, and hoped somebody else might get some use out of the thing. Remember, this is my first instructable. Granted it's not a Traditional Polynesian Ice Canoe but it was fun to do.

[ewilhelm]

Thanks for the nod to my ice canoe! In my opinion, this is definitely as much as an Instructable it is.

[binnie]

if you go on holiday and your plants need water, you cant be there to do it this could be used for that or just to slow teh water down dramaticly

[canida]

Nice! I always made a terrible mess watering overhead plants, especially spider plants- without a small spout it's easy to water the tops of the leaves, which then dump the water back onto your head. Your solution is easy, cheap, and involves recycling rather than buying more plastic crap.

[jbeale]

This is at work? It may seem funny... maybe I have no sense of humor, but... your hazard placard indicates a substance that is extremely flammable, and also toxic, and chemically reactive, and incompatible with water. I don't know where you work but at most places I've worked, the safety guys would take a very dim view of keeping anything labelled that way outside of a secure chemical storage area.

[gzusphish]

I had thought of that but since it's in an improvised water bottle, obviously not stored properly, and my workplace doesn't have ANY hazardous materials I thought that it wouldn't matter. It may not go over so well at someone else's workplace though. Thanks for noticing: I'm going to remove that portion of the post now.