Garden watering timers with Apps

[elise2000]

Hi All

I've just installed a watering system in the garden and want to install timers with apps.

There's loads on amazon, but I need an app that can control 3 watering systems at once (the 3 systems are far apart so come from different taps around the garden)

There seem to be loads that can have separate systems from 1 tap splitting into several, but I haven't found any that can/say they can work with 3 taps.

Any recommendations?

Many thanks

[nyt]

I use: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SONOFF-Irrigation-Sprinkl...

They have built in timer functionality. But you do need a Zigbee bridge.


These: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SONOFF-SWV-ZNE-Weather-Ad... say that they use Bluetooth as well as zigbee, so might meet your requirements

[elise2000]

nyt said:

I use: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SONOFF-Irrigation-Sprinkl...

They have built in timer functionality. But you do need a Zigbee bridge.


These: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SONOFF-SWV-ZNE-Weather-Ad... say that they use Bluetooth as well as zigbee, so might meet your requirements

thanks will take a look

[biggiles]

Have a look at the more serious kit from Rainbird/Hunter etc. if the simpler "app" devices like Sonoff don't work out for you. You may well want to run a sequence of watering, if your water pressure can't support 3 on at the same time) which these will do without any problem.

[OutInTheShed]

My mate Jim used to use a washing machine solenoid tap with a plug-in timer.
He's gone all techno now, using a smart plug instead of the timer.

I might copy that and use a smart plug to control the pump from my water butt.

[AW10]

OutInTheShed said:

My mate Jim used to use a washing machine solenoid tap with a plug-in timer.
He's gone all techno now, using a smart plug instead of the timer.

I might copy that and use a smart plug to control the pump from my water butt.

Curious what pump you're using?

We have a large flower bed at the back of the garden (8m wide by 3m deep). Last year I installed a network of soaker hoses but in the spring found that the foxes had shredded them. Went to use a sprinkler but our water pressure is too low. So wondered about using a WC cistern float valve to fill a water butt and then pump that water at enough pressure to make a sprinkler work.

[OutInTheShed]

Pump I'm using is an old diaphragm bilge/deckwash pump from a yacht. Via a 12V system.
Easily gives 3 bar.

The irrigation drippers don't need much pressure, but it's a faff to balance the system when it's at different levels.


My system could do with some fine tuning, but it's OK for plants to survive for a week or so unattended. Some will be a bit dry and some a bit wet when I get back, but I don't expect too many to die. It wouldn't be OK left for weeks at a time.

[Luca Brazzi]

We don’t have great water pressure, so we use 3 of these, giving 6 lines/zones so that we control how much water each zone gets. App controlled with a hub. Really really pleased.

https://www.waterirrigation.co.uk/rainpoint-smart-...

[RizzoTheRat]

nyt said:

I use: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SONOFF-Irrigation-Sprinkl...

They have built in timer functionality. But you do need a Zigbee bridge.

If you have a relatively recent model Alexa or Google Home then it may well have a Zigbee bridge built in and be capable of running these. Zigbee is relatively short range, but it's designed to operate as a mesh network and you can buy repeater/router nodes pretty cheaply