I have come to discover a method to find lost items, such as soldering heads. This method works for me most of the time: Purchase a replacement, and an estimated 97% of the time you will find the originals. My most recent experience: I needed a nice smooth, yet textured surface upon which to rub my dirty brushes in the bottom of my first rinse glass, and I had, in the recent past, purchased a lovely tin for my sewing room. The tin just happened to contain glass marbles which were just a by-product of the tin purchase. At least in my case. I spent not a little bit of time looking for those damned by-product marbles. Finally, I gave up and purchased a tin of marbles, this time for the marbles with a bonus tin for my painting table. Just when I unpacked the new marbles and cut open the little plastic net bag, I looked up, and not three feet in front of me were the original by-product marbles sitting in their plastic net bag on a little wooden tray. I believe it has to do with quantum mechanics. Or elves. Or quantum elf mechanics. Anyway, thank you, Mr. Shrimp. Take good care of Mrs. Shrimp and Eva Shrimp.
I can honestly say that I have no interest in gardening whatsoever but this video was very entertaining indeed, cheers Mr Shrimp for making everything interesting 👍😁
This Parkside pump is very similar that the one I brought from Gardena 25 years ago to water my balcony. Same pump, same tubing and outlet, but the power supply had a rotary switch for duration and frequency while one was (is still working) using Gardena pipies and nozzles. I wrote that before you took it down. Now I can see that is exactly the same. If you run it dry the axis melt the rotor hub. As my source of water at the time was the rain from my rooftop (appartment under the roof) one summer it went dry. The fix is to reglue the rotor on the shaft with epoxy and some filing of the shaft. (2nd edit) After 25 years mine still works. I am now more south so that I use it to transfert water from one reservoir under the roof to another one close the vegetable garden.
I bought a string of Christmas lights at Aldi last year where the power brick has three modes (continuous and two timers) that you can cycle through with a push button. That kind of power brick would make so much more sense for an irrigation system than having a fixed timer that you can't change.
@@IanMichealit's a 5 volt aquarium pump, you don't need an inverter, please learn to use you hand instead of running everything exactly like someone tell you too.
@@SaitoGray The individual in question displays a desire for not using mains electricity, which is a reasonable option given the variety of alternatives available. Instead than debating someone's hand or being swayed by other ideas, I tried to address this specific issue in my response. I saw numerous situations where the reasoning given in the video looked to be weak, based on my significant knowledge in electrical engineering and software development. While the pump looked to be operational but exhibited symptoms of corrosion, I had reservations about its dependability. To remedy the problem, the guy disassembled the malfunctioning pump and had a working, albeit rusted, pump. They did not, however, transmit the non-burned winding. to the non rusty housing saying why bother was baffling.
I have a almost 100% bullet proof watering system for my garden it is called neighbors. And i am also their almost 100% bullet proof watering system when they are away.
You should check out the Gardena Aquabloom system, it's a solar powered rechargeable battery drip system which allows you to set a watering schedule (watering duration and frequency) ideal for outdoor spaces which don't have a mains connection. So far it worked great on my balcony while away for 7 days.
That system is nice, no problem, but it also is quite expensive. I guess about the price, he has paid for all the cheap crap as far. Like they always say: buy cheap, buy twice.
The Parkside one is decently well thought through, it's easier to manage flowrate at different nodes with a bit of plastic than with separate pumps. :) Especially if you would have plants with very different requirements. Pretty useful for most applications I'd say, definitely for the price.
I wonder if there are designs for this which where each node has a little reservoir that fills up which fills as the motors run, closes up once they are full, and then slow releases afterwards. That way the network hardly matters as the nodes self regulate regardless of the water supply. I bet you could design some node like that out of a single piece of plastic with no moving parts
I love watching your videos and talk about things that I might not be remotely interested in because your energy and love of talking about things that you find interesting reminds me about my dad who past now oh almost 15 years ago but he was just the same. So I'd just like to say thank you for unknowngly being a conduit of remebrance of my dad.
We have an watering unit, that connects to the garden faucet and runs on battery. It's hooked up to a drip hose to water the green house. You can program days and time, it just opens a valve, no pump required. It's called TechnoLine WZ 1000
With regards to getting power outside: one thing that's reasonably common here in Germany is to have a switched outlet outside that can be turned on and off through a light switch inside. You'd still have to have an electrician come and install it, but it'd be a lot cheaper than running a trench through your garden, more secure than leaving the window open, and a lot more versatile especially if you place it at the patio or someplace like that. On the passive watering system, you could try basing it off the smallest of the Parkside distribution blocks (closing all outlets but one which then feeds your hose network). The issue I see with that however is that you'd have to build a pretty sturdy tower to get a rainwater butt high enough to feed it.
I don't know how common outdoor sockets are in the UK (i know they are a thing here as we have one which i suspect has not been wired in correctly), but i think (correct) installation of one would involve messing around with the consumer unit/breaker panel, as i think they are supposed to be on a seperate circuit (which if i am correct on that, then ours was not done properly), which does not share an RCD with any other circuits (i don't know if using an RCBO is allowed, or if the RCD for the outdoor sockets is required to be seperate from the consumer unit)
I'd Frankenstein it - use the two new diaphragm pumps, hook them to the cpu/board/display from the new dual system from Amazon, mount it all on a wood board or in a custom box. You obviously now have many options for your hosing and distribution as well. You could also then use the lithium cells in the first two pumps you got as a power storage source. I guarantee some solution between all the systems, as described above or otherwise, is something viable. The leftovers will be useful in many other different ways as well! I am sure none of this has escaped you, but this is the sort of thing that makes my inner child smile and I wanted to contribute :) Have a great day Mr. Mike!
Oh, bother! It's my bedtime but I just noticed the third part of the "Lord of the Water-rings" trilogy is here! Who needs sleep? I love this series and I hope that Gollum doesn't catch dear old Frodo and steal the ring. In all seriousness, I have enjoyed these auto-watering videos WAY too much. Atomic Shrimp, you have great skills in creating educational, informative and entertaining content about things I never knew I cared about. Massive love goes out to you, your family, and your viewers! Beautiful channel with always something new, yet the classic Shrimp taste and texture. PS: only 846 "likes"? What the heck is wrong with 90% of the viewers? Too lazy to click "like" and help Mr. Shrimp succeed with CZcamss algorithm? Or you hated the video? Well, why did you click on a video about automatic watering solutions if you didn't want a video about automatic watering solutions? As someone who has uploaded a vid or 2 to the Tube (and a shameless statistic ogler) I find it sad that a 10% "like" ratio seems to be the absolute maximum that a creator can hope for. For friggings sake, I don't get it. Did 90% of the people who watched this video not like it? And if you did like it, do you not understand how clicking "like" helps the creator out? Sorry for the micro rant, but it's sad that giving 11K people a free 40 minute video can't even engage 25% of them to click one button.
Personally, I only "like" videos that I enjoyed so thoroughly that I want to save it for perpetuity. That way, when I want to show specific videos to friends and family, I can scroll through my "liked" videos and find them easily. I do, however, leave a comment or three to satiate the algorithmic needs.
Regarding passive watering: There are ceramic water terminals that you can inter, which distribute water kind of by "osmosis" (not really, the ceramic is porous). when the groudn dries up, it lets water through.
I'm in a similar situation; a greenhouse too far away for mains power, and a desire to use captured water over mains water. My solution was similar to your current one - a pump to move water up to a tank that then uses gravity to move water to the plants. The pump is on a 12v DC timer, backed by a 12v battery and a solar trickle charger. The main problem is that using captured water, even with a filter, tends to result in algae growing in the tubes which ends up blocking the drip feeds I went with (to save water). My next system is going to be a custom water trough that the plants all sit in, and re-circulating the same water from the rain barrel into the trough (with one end elevated) for a few minutes, relying on the wicking properties of soil to draw the water up through the drain holes of the pots. It'll take some work to figure out just how long to run water to get everything at least minimally hydrated, but I can use very large hoses to avoid clogging issues. The DC motor failure is almost certainly overheating causing the enamel insulation on a winding breaking down and causing a short. That becomes the shortest path, so it produces even more heat, breaking down even more windings in the vicinity in short order. That said, water isn't an immediate death sentence for a DC motor of that size. You can run them under water and unless the water is particularly salty it won't cause much damage. It's letting it sit wet in atmosphere that's the biggest issue; making sure to empty the submersible pump of all moisture before packing it away is critical and most often missed.
The biggest challenge with any system like this is getting even distribution of water. Especially after the thing has been in place for a little while and algae might be clogging up pinch points, or a speck of leaf debris in the water supply, or an insect, etc
I've actually been looking for a pump for my houseplants for when I'm on vacation, so the videos have been extra nice. Hoping you cover a peristaltic pump based system at some point.
I bought your first choice a week back and then saw the one in Lidl but i'm glad now that I didn't get it too. Same issue with makns power being too far away but good to hear that the originals are still your first choice. I still need to set mine up but sharing your experiences means many of us won't waste time and money on the wrong kind. Thank you
Slaughter Valley Atmospheric Control has stated that greenhouses and watering are unnecessary, unless the sky is unavailable. You might consider Slaughter Valley for all your garden related activities.
Hello AtomicShrimp, always nice to hear your voice. I was thinking, maybe one of those electrovalves with a timer powered by batteries may be used in your case if the water container is located at an height. The electrovalve would open and let the water flow by gravity and then close when needed. A bit of tuning for the valve opening time might be needed, but I think this could be a solution. Thanks for all the great vids, they are really heart-warming.
I went down this rabbit hole at my own allotment and the 2 automated watering systems I tried proved unreliable. I followed the advice of other greenhouse users in the end, re-use the pipes, connectors etc, and buy a good quality needle flow control valve for a gravity feed. It's been running for 5 years flawlessly. The valve was about 14 quid, I unscrew the needle and give it and the seat a wipe with a rag once a year.
I have been testing the solar powered irrigation system from Irrigatia for the past 3 months or so, works flawlessly and the solar charging means you never have to worry about charging the pump. For a recent 3 week vacation, I filled a 60L bin with water and came home to healthy tomatoes and cucumbers. Interesting point regarding the solar system, it runs on a timer (every x hours) but will only run until the battery has decharged through pumping to a certain threshold. In this way the sunnier it is, the more the battery will charge, and thus the longer it will pump before reaching the battery limit. Its more expensive than the systems you've looked at so far, but for me it has been a great investment (I also do not have mains power or mains water near my plants).
I have watched this series with interest because it reflects the type of problem quite frequently - I have a need with specific requirements or limitations. Then I start researching types of products that would help me solve the problem, it always seems that none of them account for all my limitations. In the end, I end up with a "mostly OK" type of solution, or with the most bare-bones solution (the equivalent in this case being - asking a neighbor to water the plants), or not being able to solve it at all. I love seeing the trial and error as well as hearing your thought process.
If Shrimp Cottage has any water running through its property, you could always make a hydraulic ram to pump water into a header tank, and then continuous drip watering from that. Then the whole thing runs off the energy of the flowing water in the stream and no electronics required.
You could always run the Parkside unit from a battery, with or without a psu to get the voltge right. BTW your power bank is turning off because the standby current of the timer unit is too low to keep it on.
40 gallon plastic trash can, a widshield washer pump, timer of your choice, some tubing and tees and you're all set. Fill the trash can when it gets low and you're all set. Or have it collect rain water from your roof.
Water from the roof? I have about 1000l of warm air in our rain barrels... 😔 Friends have actually 10m^3 (10 000 l, I guess about 2500 gallon?) and are also out. I would love a week of slow drizzle, 10l per day, maybe 20l after day three, when the soil has softened sufficiently to let water seep in. Alas, not in sight.
The submersible pump kit could be configured with a christmas light timer. Also, if you're concerned about the pump failing, you could use an aquarium pump which are likely better sealed. Hydroponic growers have been using aquarium pumps for that purpose for years.
I found out about Kratky non-circulating hydroponics two years ago. Everytime I come home after weeks from work, my plants are ready for harvest. I only buy the nutrients. No need for expensive growing containers. I grow them in 1 gallon water bottles.
Another thought about the passive watering system would maybe a pipe which has small holes at the points where the plants are, so that it's just dripping out there. As far as I know, in desert areas this way of watering is quite common.
Yes, it is. However, this sort of watering pipe is more suited to plants that are very close together, planted all in a row. Atomic Shrimp is endeavoring to water all the plants in his greenhouse, which are not spaced quite evenly or very close together.
A slightly old fashioned solution to your watering problem might be to ask a reliable neighbour ( assuming you have one) to do it. Perhaps in exchange for some veg or the like, probably wouldn't make for such an interesting video mind you.
Heh. You're fortunate that you don't need a full time irrigation system like in various places. I've a febco pressure vacuum breaker leading to an underground manifold running 5 irritol 2600T 24v solenoid valves. Each valve runs up to 9 popup sprinklers (mainly rainbird 4" 1800 series) running a mix of K-rain, toro and rainbird sprinkler nozzles. All controlled by a rachio iro 8 zone wireless irrigation controller. Just because grass doesn't really grow on its own in Colorado. Maintenance is a pain in the backside; this year I've replaced the PVB bonnet, a brass test port on the PVB, a complete valve, a valve diaphragm, a popup sprinkler and half a dozen sprinkler nozzles. Total cost in parts this year - $115. Actually quite a bit more as I've laid in some spares. The concept is very similar to this except it's mains water and larger pipe.
Despite having no garden and owning no houseplants, I continue to follow this series with interest. Is it possible that the amazon system would stop after ten seconds if water ran out while it was running? It may detect the change in resistance to the motor when it dries out rather than detecting the presence of water in the first place.
15:40 I had a small hydroponic system with a similar pump that I had connected up to a solar panel, a charge controller and an old electric gate battery. Then I got a timer circuit breaker that I programmed in when I wanted it to flow
My brain just decided to hyperfocus on your plant watering conundrum while I was trying to take a nap, so I came up with a solution I don't think has been discussed yet? Apologies if others have already suggested this. I'd also like to say that before watching your videos about this, I knew basically nothing about watering plants other than "you have to water them sometimes". You've tried so far all sorts of alternative power watering systems, either battery or usb-powered, because you can't get mains power at the greenhouse. But what if you don't use any power at all? My idea is: good-old gravity-powered drip feeders. I've done a quick google search and there seem to be ready-to-buy kits for this, but you can also make your own with some tubing, a water regulator thing at the bottom of your water tank, some drip emitters - and obviously you can adjust them to the needs of each plant. I'm not sure if this idea is too simple to work, or just simple enough, but I thought I'd share it just in case.
I have quite a bit of experience with installing irrigation. You don't need to run mains power to the glasshouse, all you need to do is run a low voltage cable. This is what I did and had socket timers and the transformers in the house and the pump or solenoids in the glass house with a low voltage cable linking them. Also quality pumps have all the electrics sealed and the actual turbine part is usually a circular magnet wuth the blades on the end that is spun by induction. So there is no hole for water to get into the electrics. Aquarium pumps are usually similar
I water my plants with a similar jury rigged system that's worked for a couple years now. Solar panel->USB battery pack->USB wifi smart switch->USB fountain pump.
Re: "If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid." Said by Mercedes Lackey, but more than likely quoted by our dear madcap special effects guy turned mad scientist, Adam Savage.
It's been interesting watching you work on this holiday plant watering project. In the past I've been someone's solution to this dilemma. House sitting is quite fun, especially if you get to play with the pets too. If I lived in your neighborhood I would definitely volunteer to sit Eva and the plants!
An interesting gravity powered and self regulating waterig system that is tried and proven is the "Blumat watering system", the water flow is regulated by a clay cone that opens a valve osmotically when it dries out together with the soil and therefore watering only happens when necessary
Dear Mr. Shrimp: we use a 12 volt SHURflo water pump using a 12 volt digital programmable timer with a JVR 12V timer switch. It’s a 7 day timer. This is all tied to a 12v marine deep cycle battery which is trickle charged by a 25 Watt solar panel and a solar charger controller. We use it to water trees and plants from a shallow well with no mains power accessible. You could get a smaller pump for your greenhouse. This would cost more initially but would be more reliable over time. The batteries last about 4 years for us (Texas). The water pumps have been used for many years.
You could increase the Lidl pump's number of daily waterings by using a power outlet timer with 2 or more programmable on/off cycles. This would, of course, mean you would need a considerably larger reservoir of water for the pump to sit in.
I actually just had to think of this automatic watering series yesterday when I saw a configurable automatic watering system that runs on solar and doesn't need main power or water advertised from ALDI (I'm in Germany though, but maybe you get the same product as well?) It sounded like the setup you're looking for
lol, look I bought some new gadgets that I really want to work for me.... I think I'll disassemble them immediately. Good thing you know how to put them all back together.
Hey Mike, great video. Just for completeness you have to put the rusty windings into the other housing, just to conform you did burn out the windings. maybe a short? no pressure though (pardon the pun) Cheers.
IF you were to plug the parkside pump into a wifi or timer controlled socket thing you could turn it on for a minute more frequently than once per day as it would run for a minute every time you power it on with the wifi control. Also the motor in the parkside if sitting with the correct orientation it will be inside a trapped air bubble in that section of the pump so there is less need to actually waterproof it. You might also be able to add your own timer and run it off a car battery or something. I also suspect that it is actually a fountain pump that they have repurposed with a timer in the power supply.
Depending how the motor got locked up you sometimes can revive it with a 9v battery. You just connect the plus and minus together and run it with the battery for a few seconds.
I made one using esp32 and solar charged battery that feeds from a water butt, it uses capacitve water sensors for each plant and has different solenoid valves for different branches. I forgot to plug it in after tinkering before I went on holiday and the plants didn't make it.
Quite common for capacitors to be omitted, they're generally decoupling capacitors and they'll design the board to accommodate if necessary them but if testing shows they're not needed then they can just leave them off and not need to redo the board design.
I’m intrigued if you could ask AI like chatGPT for a solution and listening all of your requirements and restrictions, would it actually come up with something clever or just suggesting unhelpful ideas. Just a thought.
If you use a large elevated feed tank, basically a small water tower, you can use a simple battery operated valve as the timer and not have to use a pump.
For the lidl pump you could get a timer for the plug that you use it for to configure it, It does not change that it is not fit for what you need it for but it is an option.
The parkside looks similar to aquarium or pond pumps. Everything electric is insulated in plastic and epoxy, and there's just a magnet with the rotor in the water.
Hello Mr. Shrimp, you will probably not see this comment. But we have had good experiences with a system available in Germany from Solarversand. I think this is just what you are looking for, as we have used it to water tomato plant's in a remote greenhouse without electricity or water supply for multiple seasons. I understand that you have found your solution, but perhaps someone else is looking for an of the shelf solution.
Rather than completely home-brewing it you could take the dual timer, remove the weedy pumps and connect relays instead, that can power better pumps from a bigger battery. The timer itself will run off the AA cells for much longer with relays rather than pumps. I like the gravity feed from the header tanks. You could use the restrictor from the mains system to control different levels of flow rate, or you can get clamps that are designed to restrict flow rate (like the ones used on aquariums or the ones used on drips in hospitals) that would be far more reliable than knotting the pipe.
If I'd want to use the Parkside unit off-grid, I'd look what voltage the power supply provides and build a little battery pack for it (basically as many 1,5V batteries as needed).
Watching this again, As Ive got an allotment with my water coming from an IBC at ground level so absolutely no water pressure (Not enough space to raise it up or I cant collect rain water from the shed) I have limited power (Max 200w) from a Portable Battery that can charge via solar, Looking for a way to keep my veg alive whilst I am on holiday this summer!
I think I can confidently say I have never before clicked so fast on a 47 minute long video about automatic plant watering.
I had to think about that, but ditto.
lol i havent even got a garden but agree!
ME TOO
Ha ha so true 😂
let's hope he finally gets it solved and this is only a trilogy and doesn't turn into a 10 part series
I have come to discover a method to find lost items, such as soldering heads. This method works for me most of the time: Purchase a replacement, and an estimated 97% of the time you will find the originals.
My most recent experience: I needed a nice smooth, yet textured surface upon which to rub my dirty brushes in the bottom of my first rinse glass, and I had, in the recent past, purchased a lovely tin for my sewing room. The tin just happened to contain glass marbles which were just a by-product of the tin purchase. At least in my case. I spent not a little bit of time looking for those damned by-product marbles. Finally, I gave up and purchased a tin of marbles, this time for the marbles with a bonus tin for my painting table. Just when I unpacked the new marbles and cut open the little plastic net bag, I looked up, and not three feet in front of me were the original by-product marbles sitting in their plastic net bag on a little wooden tray. I believe it has to do with quantum mechanics. Or elves. Or quantum elf mechanics.
Anyway, thank you, Mr. Shrimp. Take good care of Mrs. Shrimp and Eva Shrimp.
I never thought I would be so invested in a series about watering plants 😂
"Automatic Greenhouse Watering" should be picked up as the next big Netflix series
Discovery has a series call "Extreme greenhouse watering" I believe.
The next episode would be "the sons of watering systems"...
I can honestly say that I have no interest in gardening whatsoever but this video was very entertaining indeed, cheers Mr Shrimp for making everything interesting 👍😁
Learning a lot in case the need should arise.
This Parkside pump is very similar that the one I brought from Gardena 25 years ago to water my balcony. Same pump, same tubing and outlet, but the power supply had a rotary switch for duration and frequency while one was (is still working) using Gardena pipies and nozzles. I wrote that before you took it down. Now I can see that is exactly the same. If you run it dry the axis melt the rotor hub. As my source of water at the time was the rain from my rooftop (appartment under the roof) one summer it went dry. The fix is to reglue the rotor on the shaft with epoxy and some filing of the shaft. (2nd edit) After 25 years mine still works. I am now more south so that I use it to transfert water from one reservoir under the roof to another one close the vegetable garden.
The Parkside one could be plugged in a separate timer, so you can set it to run multiple times a day
Yeah and a bigger solar panel and an inverter to run it .
@@IanMicheal I don't think you'd need an inverter. The power supply probably provides DC anyways, so a voltage regulator would be sufficient.
I bought a string of Christmas lights at Aldi last year where the power brick has three modes (continuous and two timers) that you can cycle through with a push button. That kind of power brick would make so much more sense for an irrigation system than having a fixed timer that you can't change.
@@IanMichealit's a 5 volt aquarium pump, you don't need an inverter, please learn to use you hand instead of running everything exactly like someone tell you too.
@@SaitoGray The individual in question displays a desire for not using mains electricity, which is a reasonable option given the variety of alternatives available. Instead than debating someone's hand or being swayed by other ideas, I tried to address this specific issue in my response. I saw numerous situations where the reasoning given in the video looked to be weak, based on my significant knowledge in electrical engineering and software development. While the pump looked to be operational but exhibited symptoms of corrosion, I had reservations about its dependability. To remedy the problem, the guy disassembled the malfunctioning pump and had a working, albeit rusted, pump. They did not, however, transmit the non-burned winding. to the non rusty housing saying why bother was baffling.
I have a almost 100% bullet proof watering system for my garden it is called neighbors. And i am also their almost 100% bullet proof watering system when they are away.
Petition to make this a regular series.
I mean, that's pretty much happening all by itself!
You should check out the Gardena Aquabloom system, it's a solar powered rechargeable battery drip system which allows you to set a watering schedule (watering duration and frequency) ideal for outdoor spaces which don't have a mains connection. So far it worked great on my balcony while away for 7 days.
That system is nice, no problem, but it also is quite expensive. I guess about the price, he has paid for all the cheap crap as far.
Like they always say: buy cheap, buy twice.
i dont even like gardening, but watched all 3 parts of this series with great interest. How do you do this to me Atomic Shrimp, love all your vids
Love the purple mopping up cloth 💜
The Parkside one is decently well thought through, it's easier to manage flowrate at different nodes with a bit of plastic than with separate pumps. :) Especially if you would have plants with very different requirements. Pretty useful for most applications I'd say, definitely for the price.
I wonder if there are designs for this which where each node has a little reservoir that fills up which fills as the motors run, closes up once they are full, and then slow releases afterwards. That way the network hardly matters as the nodes self regulate regardless of the water supply. I bet you could design some node like that out of a single piece of plastic with no moving parts
And you could use a simple power supply timer to turn it on and off as often as you want.
@@EightBitTony i agree with these comments and would not like to disagree with anything u said
@@markmarketing7365 Look for the "Autopot" system. It's very clever. Downside is the price you pay for that cleverness.
The pump is a concern
Perhaps you could use the Lidl pump submerged in a large reservoir to keep a smaller reservoir in the greenhouse topped up?
The magician atomic shrimp makes us watch a boring video with complete attention! Mike rocks!
I love watching your videos and talk about things that I might not be remotely interested in because your energy and love of talking about things that you find interesting reminds me about my dad who past now oh almost 15 years ago but he was just the same. So I'd just like to say thank you for unknowngly being a conduit of remebrance of my dad.
He reminds me of my late great-uncle for the same reason.
We have an watering unit, that connects to the garden faucet and runs on battery. It's hooked up to a drip hose to water the green house. You can program days and time, it just opens a valve, no pump required. It's called TechnoLine WZ 1000
Have the same type of setup. 4 programmable outlets. Sprinkler, drip and underground watering supply twice a day. Very happy with it.
With regards to getting power outside: one thing that's reasonably common here in Germany is to have a switched outlet outside that can be turned on and off through a light switch inside.
You'd still have to have an electrician come and install it, but it'd be a lot cheaper than running a trench through your garden, more secure than leaving the window open, and a lot more versatile especially if you place it at the patio or someplace like that.
On the passive watering system, you could try basing it off the smallest of the Parkside distribution blocks (closing all outlets but one which then feeds your hose network). The issue I see with that however is that you'd have to build a pretty sturdy tower to get a rainwater butt high enough to feed it.
I don't know how common outdoor sockets are in the UK (i know they are a thing here as we have one which i suspect has not been wired in correctly), but i think (correct) installation of one would involve messing around with the consumer unit/breaker panel, as i think they are supposed to be on a seperate circuit (which if i am correct on that, then ours was not done properly), which does not share an RCD with any other circuits (i don't know if using an RCBO is allowed, or if the RCD for the outdoor sockets is required to be seperate from the consumer unit)
This is low key my favourite series of 2023
Huh?
@@StubbyPhillips Must be american. I don't understand what he's saying either
@@vacantplanet Perhaps "low key" is the new "literally."
@@vacantplanetdefinitely not American.
I'd Frankenstein it - use the two new diaphragm pumps, hook them to the cpu/board/display from the new dual system from Amazon, mount it all on a wood board or in a custom box. You obviously now have many options for your hosing and distribution as well. You could also then use the lithium cells in the first two pumps you got as a power storage source.
I guarantee some solution between all the systems, as described above or otherwise, is something viable. The leftovers will be useful in many other different ways as well!
I am sure none of this has escaped you, but this is the sort of thing that makes my inner child smile and I wanted to contribute :) Have a great day Mr. Mike!
Oh, bother!
It's my bedtime but I just noticed the third part of the "Lord of the Water-rings" trilogy is here!
Who needs sleep?
I love this series and I hope that Gollum doesn't catch dear old Frodo and steal the ring. In all seriousness, I have enjoyed these auto-watering videos WAY too much.
Atomic Shrimp, you have great skills in creating educational, informative and entertaining content about things I never knew I cared about.
Massive love goes out to you, your family, and your viewers!
Beautiful channel with always something new, yet the classic Shrimp taste and texture.
PS: only 846 "likes"? What the heck is wrong with 90% of the viewers?
Too lazy to click "like" and help Mr. Shrimp succeed with CZcamss algorithm? Or you hated the video? Well, why did you click on a video about automatic watering solutions if you didn't want a video about automatic watering solutions?
As someone who has uploaded a vid or 2 to the Tube (and a shameless statistic ogler) I find it sad that a 10% "like" ratio seems to be the absolute maximum that a creator can hope for. For friggings sake, I don't get it. Did 90% of the people who watched this video not like it? And if you did like it, do you not understand how clicking "like" helps the creator out? Sorry for the micro rant, but it's sad that giving 11K people a free 40 minute video can't even engage 25% of them to click one button.
Personally, I only "like" videos that I enjoyed so thoroughly that I want to save it for perpetuity. That way, when I want to show specific videos to friends and family, I can scroll through my "liked" videos and find them easily.
I do, however, leave a comment or three to satiate the algorithmic needs.
@@fieryvale wow. how selfish. you can use the "watch later" for your specific use case. how selfish of you
@@Boogie_the_cat Gosh. I'm using a website created for enjoyment for my own enjoyment. How thoughtless of me.
Why am I not surprised that A. Shrimp knows what a sprue is.
Mike,
I must say I was extremely relieved and glad that you were able to fix the burned out motor. I don't know why, but I was cheering your efforts.
Regarding passive watering: There are ceramic water terminals that you can inter, which distribute water kind of by "osmosis" (not really, the ceramic is porous). when the groudn dries up, it lets water through.
this is the saga I didn't know I needed
This series of videos can be called dive into water pump market
I'm in a similar situation; a greenhouse too far away for mains power, and a desire to use captured water over mains water. My solution was similar to your current one - a pump to move water up to a tank that then uses gravity to move water to the plants. The pump is on a 12v DC timer, backed by a 12v battery and a solar trickle charger. The main problem is that using captured water, even with a filter, tends to result in algae growing in the tubes which ends up blocking the drip feeds I went with (to save water).
My next system is going to be a custom water trough that the plants all sit in, and re-circulating the same water from the rain barrel into the trough (with one end elevated) for a few minutes, relying on the wicking properties of soil to draw the water up through the drain holes of the pots. It'll take some work to figure out just how long to run water to get everything at least minimally hydrated, but I can use very large hoses to avoid clogging issues.
The DC motor failure is almost certainly overheating causing the enamel insulation on a winding breaking down and causing a short. That becomes the shortest path, so it produces even more heat, breaking down even more windings in the vicinity in short order. That said, water isn't an immediate death sentence for a DC motor of that size. You can run them under water and unless the water is particularly salty it won't cause much damage. It's letting it sit wet in atmosphere that's the biggest issue; making sure to empty the submersible pump of all moisture before packing it away is critical and most often missed.
The biggest challenge with any system like this is getting even distribution of water. Especially after the thing has been in place for a little while and algae might be clogging up pinch points, or a speck of leaf debris in the water supply, or an insect, etc
Glad we get another part.
I love the PEBCAK reference.
You are tenacious, if you were a pit bull terrier who liked to chew shoes, no one in your house would have feet! Love you, keep up the good work!
I've actually been looking for a pump for my houseplants for when I'm on vacation, so the videos have been extra nice. Hoping you cover a peristaltic pump based system at some point.
I bought your first choice a week back and then saw the one in Lidl but i'm glad now that I didn't get it too. Same issue with makns power being too far away but good to hear that the originals are still your first choice. I still need to set mine up but sharing your experiences means many of us won't waste time and money on the wrong kind. Thank you
Ramble away as much as we can stand
In my case a lot.
Keep doing what you do best.
I so love all different hings you show us. 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃
instead of a knot you could get a valve that you open and close to regulate the drip. that way it's consistently closed off and easily adjustable.
Slaughter Valley Atmospheric Control has stated that greenhouses and watering are unnecessary, unless the sky is unavailable. You might consider Slaughter Valley for all your garden related activities.
Slaughter Valley is so much like "1984"
Hello AtomicShrimp, always nice to hear your voice. I was thinking, maybe one of those electrovalves with a timer powered by batteries may be used in your case if the water container is located at an height. The electrovalve would open and let the water flow by gravity and then close when needed. A bit of tuning for the valve opening time might be needed, but I think this could be a solution. Thanks for all the great vids, they are really heart-warming.
I went down this rabbit hole at my own allotment and the 2 automated watering systems I tried proved unreliable. I followed the advice of other greenhouse users in the end, re-use the pipes, connectors etc, and buy a good quality needle flow control valve for a gravity feed. It's been running for 5 years flawlessly. The valve was about 14 quid, I unscrew the needle and give it and the seat a wipe with a rag once a year.
Really enjoying the video, you are the only CZcamsr that I watch at regular playback speed!
Probably the most genuine channel on CZcams. 👏 👍
I have been testing the solar powered irrigation system from Irrigatia for the past 3 months or so, works flawlessly and the solar charging means you never have to worry about charging the pump. For a recent 3 week vacation, I filled a 60L bin with water and came home to healthy tomatoes and cucumbers. Interesting point regarding the solar system, it runs on a timer (every x hours) but will only run until the battery has decharged through pumping to a certain threshold. In this way the sunnier it is, the more the battery will charge, and thus the longer it will pump before reaching the battery limit. Its more expensive than the systems you've looked at so far, but for me it has been a great investment (I also do not have mains power or mains water near my plants).
Haven’t watched it all yet, but I still think a Pythagorean/greedy cup siphon would be an ideal system 😊
I put my holiday irrigation system on, have a cup of tea and I think about leaving the house (Parkside)...
I have watched this series with interest because it reflects the type of problem quite frequently - I have a need with specific requirements or limitations. Then I start researching types of products that would help me solve the problem, it always seems that none of them account for all my limitations. In the end, I end up with a "mostly OK" type of solution, or with the most bare-bones solution (the equivalent in this case being - asking a neighbor to water the plants), or not being able to solve it at all. I love seeing the trial and error as well as hearing your thought process.
If Shrimp Cottage has any water running through its property, you could always make a hydraulic ram to pump water into a header tank, and then continuous drip watering from that. Then the whole thing runs off the energy of the flowing water in the stream and no electronics required.
You could always run the Parkside unit from a battery, with or without a psu to get the voltge right. BTW your power bank is turning off because the standby current of the timer unit is too low to keep it on.
40 gallon plastic trash can, a widshield washer pump, timer of your choice, some tubing and tees and you're all set.
Fill the trash can when it gets low and you're all set. Or have it collect rain water from your roof.
Water from the roof? I have about 1000l of warm air in our rain barrels... 😔 Friends have actually 10m^3 (10 000 l, I guess about 2500 gallon?) and are also out.
I would love a week of slow drizzle, 10l per day, maybe 20l after day three, when the soil has softened sufficiently to let water seep in. Alas, not in sight.
The submersible pump kit could be configured with a christmas light timer. Also, if you're concerned about the pump failing, you could use an aquarium pump which are likely better sealed. Hydroponic growers have been using aquarium pumps for that purpose for years.
Nice one shrimp 💜
I found out about Kratky non-circulating hydroponics two years ago. Everytime I come home after weeks from work, my plants are ready for harvest. I only buy the nutrients. No need for expensive growing containers. I grow them in 1 gallon water bottles.
3:45 thank you kind sir!
I love some of your random mutterings - problem between chair and keyboard is another golden phrase 😂
I love your work table
You're a braver man than I connecting an unregulated 18650 across a potentially shorted motor.
Yeah, that probably wasn't a smart move
Another thought about the passive watering system would maybe a pipe which has small holes at the points where the plants are, so that it's just dripping out there. As far as I know, in desert areas this way of watering is quite common.
Yes, it is. However, this sort of watering pipe is more suited to plants that are very close together, planted all in a row. Atomic Shrimp is endeavoring to water all the plants in his greenhouse, which are not spaced quite evenly or very close together.
A slightly old fashioned solution to your watering problem might be to ask a reliable neighbour ( assuming you have one) to do it. Perhaps in exchange for some veg or the like, probably wouldn't make for such an interesting video mind you.
Heh. You're fortunate that you don't need a full time irrigation system like in various places.
I've a febco pressure vacuum breaker leading to an underground manifold running 5 irritol 2600T 24v solenoid valves. Each valve runs up to 9 popup sprinklers (mainly rainbird 4" 1800 series) running a mix of K-rain, toro and rainbird sprinkler nozzles. All controlled by a rachio iro 8 zone wireless irrigation controller.
Just because grass doesn't really grow on its own in Colorado.
Maintenance is a pain in the backside; this year I've replaced the PVB bonnet, a brass test port on the PVB, a complete valve, a valve diaphragm, a popup sprinkler and half a dozen sprinkler nozzles. Total cost in parts this year - $115. Actually quite a bit more as I've laid in some spares.
The concept is very similar to this except it's mains water and larger pipe.
Despite having no garden and owning no houseplants, I continue to follow this series with interest. Is it possible that the amazon system would stop after ten seconds if water ran out while it was running? It may detect the change in resistance to the motor when it dries out rather than detecting the presence of water in the first place.
15:40 I had a small hydroponic system with a similar pump that I had connected up to a solar panel, a charge controller and an old electric gate battery. Then I got a timer circuit breaker that I programmed in when I wanted it to flow
My brain just decided to hyperfocus on your plant watering conundrum while I was trying to take a nap, so I came up with a solution I don't think has been discussed yet? Apologies if others have already suggested this. I'd also like to say that before watching your videos about this, I knew basically nothing about watering plants other than "you have to water them sometimes".
You've tried so far all sorts of alternative power watering systems, either battery or usb-powered, because you can't get mains power at the greenhouse. But what if you don't use any power at all?
My idea is: good-old gravity-powered drip feeders. I've done a quick google search and there seem to be ready-to-buy kits for this, but you can also make your own with some tubing, a water regulator thing at the bottom of your water tank, some drip emitters - and obviously you can adjust them to the needs of each plant. I'm not sure if this idea is too simple to work, or just simple enough, but I thought I'd share it just in case.
I have quite a bit of experience with installing irrigation. You don't need to run mains power to the glasshouse, all you need to do is run a low voltage cable. This is what I did and had socket timers and the transformers in the house and the pump or solenoids in the glass house with a low voltage cable linking them. Also quality pumps have all the electrics sealed and the actual turbine part is usually a circular magnet wuth the blades on the end that is spun by induction. So there is no hole for water to get into the electrics. Aquarium pumps are usually similar
At this point you will have a great watering system for tomatoes around 2037 🎉
I think you could make us watch and enjoy a video about paint drying 😅 glad it worked eventually
I water my plants with a similar jury rigged system that's worked for a couple years now. Solar panel->USB battery pack->USB wifi smart switch->USB fountain pump.
Re: "If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid." Said by Mercedes Lackey, but more than likely quoted by our dear madcap special effects guy turned mad scientist, Adam Savage.
The series we never asked for, but that we need.
I don't really know anything about any of this stuff, but I've loved following this saga as it's come out. wonderful to have on while drawing :]
It's been interesting watching you work on this holiday plant watering project. In the past I've been someone's solution to this dilemma. House sitting is quite fun, especially if you get to play with the pets too. If I lived in your neighborhood I would definitely volunteer to sit Eva and the plants!
An interesting gravity powered and self regulating waterig system that is tried and proven is the "Blumat watering system", the water flow is regulated by a clay cone that opens a valve osmotically when it dries out together with the soil and therefore watering only happens when necessary
nice video Mike you went above & beyond on this one
Dear Mr. Shrimp: we use a 12 volt SHURflo water pump using a 12 volt digital programmable timer with a JVR 12V timer switch. It’s a 7 day timer. This is all tied to a 12v marine deep cycle battery which is trickle charged by a 25 Watt solar panel and a solar charger controller. We use it to water trees and plants from a shallow well with no mains power accessible. You could get a smaller pump for your greenhouse. This would cost more initially but would be more reliable over time. The batteries last about 4 years for us (Texas). The water pumps have been used for many years.
You could increase the Lidl pump's number of daily waterings by using a power outlet timer with 2 or more programmable on/off cycles. This would, of course, mean you would need a considerably larger reservoir of water for the pump to sit in.
I actually just had to think of this automatic watering series yesterday when I saw a configurable automatic watering system that runs on solar and doesn't need main power or water advertised from ALDI (I'm in Germany though, but maybe you get the same product as well?) It sounded like the setup you're looking for
Oh, I have to look that up. I'm interested in something, that will keep my balcony plants alive while on holiday.
🙋🏻♀️ from Cologne
lol, look I bought some new gadgets that I really want to work for me.... I think I'll disassemble them immediately. Good thing you know how to put them all back together.
He just can't help himself! 😄
Perfect. Just looking for one of those! :)
Hey Mike, great video. Just for completeness you have to put the rusty windings into the other housing, just to conform you did burn out the windings. maybe a short? no pressure though (pardon the pun) Cheers.
Parkside is a solid company it does its job for a low cost option
IF you were to plug the parkside pump into a wifi or timer controlled socket thing you could turn it on for a minute more frequently than once per day as it would run for a minute every time you power it on with the wifi control. Also the motor in the parkside if sitting with the correct orientation it will be inside a trapped air bubble in that section of the pump so there is less need to actually waterproof it. You might also be able to add your own timer and run it off a car battery or something. I also suspect that it is actually a fountain pump that they have repurposed with a timer in the power supply.
not even wifi needed, you could just have any mechanical times connected via mains
This watering trilogy has been more exciting the the Star wars sequel trilogy.
Thanks been looking forward to seeing this !
Depending how the motor got locked up you sometimes can revive it with a 9v battery. You just connect the plus and minus together and run it with the battery for a few seconds.
Loving this series so much.
Solar panel and 3 18650's controlled by an ATiny85 and a cheap 12v pump from a water butt works for me, 3 years and still running.
I made one using esp32 and solar charged battery that feeds from a water butt, it uses capacitve water sensors for each plant and has different solenoid valves for different branches. I forgot to plug it in after tinkering before I went on holiday and the plants didn't make it.
Loved this watering series
“If it’s stupid and it works, then it’s not stupid.” Is from Murphys laws of Combat operations. He also is known for “if it can go wrong, it will.”
Quite common for capacitors to be omitted, they're generally decoupling capacitors and they'll design the board to accommodate if necessary them but if testing shows they're not needed then they can just leave them off and not need to redo the board design.
I’m intrigued if you could ask AI like chatGPT for a solution and listening all of your requirements and restrictions, would it actually come up with something clever or just suggesting unhelpful ideas. Just a thought.
An interesting thought, to be sure.
And maybe make some Clay Ollas and fire them??? that would be neat too!!!!
If you use a large elevated feed tank, basically a small water tower, you can use a simple battery operated valve as the timer and not have to use a pump.
The smaller capacity "Smart Life" pump could be used to trigger relays to power bigger pumps.
For the lidl pump you could get a timer for the plug that you use it for to configure it, It does not change that it is not fit for what you need it for but it is an option.
Great content & thanks Atomic shrimp 🦐 🤗
Keeping small electric pumps dry has been solved decades ago in auqarium filter pumps. There the rotor and stator are different sealed compartments.
The parkside looks similar to aquarium or pond pumps. Everything electric is insulated in plastic and epoxy, and there's just a magnet with the rotor in the water.
this seems like a great start for a microgreens garden
Hello Mr. Shrimp, you will probably not see this comment. But we have had good experiences with a system available in Germany from Solarversand. I think this is just what you are looking for, as we have used it to water tomato plant's in a remote greenhouse without electricity or water supply for multiple seasons. I understand that you have found your solution, but perhaps someone else is looking for an of the shelf solution.
Rather than completely home-brewing it you could take the dual timer, remove the weedy pumps and connect relays instead, that can power better pumps from a bigger battery. The timer itself will run off the AA cells for much longer with relays rather than pumps.
I like the gravity feed from the header tanks. You could use the restrictor from the mains system to control different levels of flow rate, or you can get clamps that are designed to restrict flow rate (like the ones used on aquariums or the ones used on drips in hospitals) that would be far more reliable than knotting the pipe.
If I'd want to use the Parkside unit off-grid, I'd look what voltage the power supply provides and build a little battery pack for it (basically as many 1,5V batteries as needed).
Watching this again, As Ive got an allotment with my water coming from an IBC at ground level so absolutely no water pressure (Not enough space to raise it up or I cant collect rain water from the shed) I have limited power (Max 200w) from a Portable Battery that can charge via solar, Looking for a way to keep my veg alive whilst I am on holiday this summer!
Seeing you doing your tear downs, makes me wonder if you are a volunteer at a repair cafe?