Automated Garden Watering system

[Gene Pink]

Flow can be regulated by the choice of drippers...
How about a linear actuator run by the solar panel that lifts a metal ball over a given time interval, to a point where it lets it go into a cup attached to a rod attached to the toilet handle, causing the toilet to flush, then it returns to be lifted again?

I like the way you think.

Or, to take it sillier, change the angle of the flush handle to face down, and line up a coo-coo clock with the bird facing it. "Coo-Coo-Flush".

Yes, I am also a fan of Rube, and of Chuck Jones. Wile E. Coyote was a mechanical genius, just very unlucky.

Are we getting off-topic?

A over-center dump-bucket arrangement would work too, and be completely passive.

Gene

 

[walter]

I don’t think this is getting off topic at all. The Cuckoo clock/toilette tank combination is a great idea. I have always liked the tilting Bamboo fountain. I could have a trickle fill a bucket until it spills once a day. I was wondering about electronic timers. I’m using a microprocessor because of the low power consumption. Daisy chaining 555 timers would draw more current. I could attach sensors to the hands of a clock to fire an on timer. If I really wanted cheap and easy, I could get a battery powered timer like this:
http://www.horticulturesource.com/product_info.php?products_id=23847&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIttm__JOT1QIVRlcNCh1D1gGdEAkYByABEgKhp_D_BwE

It looks like it does exactly what I have built. I changed my code to monitor the on/off time, and adjust for on time, it would be simple to add an adjust for off time.
I had it set up over the weekend and added a drip irrigation kit:
http://www.digcorp.com/homeowner-drip-irrigation-products/fm01as-patio-drip-watering-kit

I have a garden hose between the valve and the garden, but the hose is too long so I put a coil where it goes over a flat part of the yard. I’m not getting enough flow. I’ll probably run some plastic pipe at a consistent angle, and put the valve downstream of the pipe to increase pressure. I may need to modify the drippers. If that doesn’t get it, I’ll consider adding a pump. An on-demand pump for RV would work.

 

[Seeker]

I have a timer that runs a pump in a rain barrel that waters a few veggies for me... works out pretty well, but I need to add a float switch to prevent my pump from burning out, right now I have to make sure it stays full. 

One thing I've noticed however is that the drip heads become clogged pretty easily if they aren't fairly wide open... I couldn't figure out why my tomatoes looked so bad until I realized I needed to re adjust the drop heads...

Ymmv

 

[nielsk]

It is important to have a filter for the collected rainwater, it will have debris in it that will clog drippers and valves... the spin down type work well, they do not reduce low velocity flow and are easily cleaned

 

[walter]

I connected a second rain barrel, and cut a hose to length with the valve at the end near the garden. I had issues with software, hardware, and the valve. I thought it was ready so I left it on a few days. I drained both rain barrels overnight. I modified the code, but it is hard to check since it has a 24 hour cycle. I downloaded a Tektronix add-in for excel to build a data logger, but that’s a project in itself. I rewired how the coil is energized and that seems to be working now. The valve, I thought was working, but it seems inconsistent. It does indeed require higher pressure, I would need apparently 35 feet of drop to generate enough from my rain barrel. The solenoid opens a “priming valve” that alters the pressure and causes the flap to open. When the solenoid closes, the pressure changes again and the flap closes. The water pressure is used to close the valve as well as to open it. My fix was to add a piece of rubber to restrict the flap. Now the solenoid opens the tiny orifice and I get enough flow for the drippers. I don’t know if the flap is opening any, but I get a good flow to a dozen drippers and no flow when I de-energize the solenoid.