Automatic watering ideas

[Paulneill]

Hi guys,
I’ve been using tap timers connected to sprinklers and dosing the entire area
I set up 2 so if one fails the other one hopefully gets the job done.
Thing is I work away consistently for 8 days a fortnight and have managed to keep most my trees alive for the past 3 years doing this.
I also have a water hammer arrester connected to the tap because I’m worried the sudden on/off pressure will case a leak in my house. It’s plumbed in cheap Chinese plastic pipes here in Perth.
It’s also costing a fortune in tap timer’s batteries and sprinklers

I’m thinking I need a 240 volt solonoid set up
But haven’t seen anything
Can anyone recommend a reliable system that I could try?

[shibui]

Your solenoids won't be 240V.
The controller is usually 240V but it runs the solenoids on 24V so users won't electrocute themselves or someone else.
The control box sits near a power point with wires running to the solenoids up to 20 or 30 m away. Then water distribution lines to the sprinklers or sprays.

Bunnings have several options:
https://www.bunnings.com.au/holman-wx8- ... r_p0182179
https://www.bunnings.com.au/k-rain-indo ... r_p0409791
https://www.bunnings.com.au/k-rain-wi-f ... r_p0409790

Any irrigation shop will be able to help.
A search for Perth home irrigation came up with plenty of businesses like this one:
https://shop.landwater.com.au/collectio ... O-vv15IG-O
Specialists usually have more options. They also provide expert advice.

I'm currently running a K-Rain 6 station controller. Each station runs a solenoid that waters a small area of the nursery due to limited water pressure. Separate solenoids also allows you to water some areas more or less than other areas.

[MarkP]

Hi Paul

I have run a rain bird system for years. I have three zones with a rain sensor. It runs great. Only issue I have had is when one of the drippers comes away from the main pipe.

As mentioned before, there are multiple systems out there, but ones connected to mains power are best.

MP

[thoglette]

My plants are watered as part of our overall reticulation system. The nursery gets its own program, which gets adjusted to match the weather. It is a typical system, it lives inside the house and plugs into a mains socket for power and has a (lithium) 9V battery backing up the settings and clock. The solenoid control cables run through the roof space to outside. It’s plumbed directly into the water mains (but you could run it off a tap and avoid the cost of a plumber).

The system is mostly done in black flexible poly rather than white hard piping, the only issue is that the joints can come loose, which happens from time to time.

All systems need regular inspection: eg. we have at least one species of ant that loves to nest inside retic, blocking it up.

You can spend as much or as little as you like (mine ha so a soil water content input that is unused) and these days adding fault alarms (via email or SMS) is trivial.

I would definitely recommend going to a specialist, if only because they have a much bigger range of options than the Big Green Box. A decent one will also provide plenty of advice & can assist with installation.

Important note: the master solenoid is $$$ for a very good reason: it needs to be super reliable as it’s the only thing between you and a major water leak. Every thing else is a cost/reliability trade off. (Don’t forget where you’ve placed the other solenoids as you’ll be replacing one every half dozen years )

[Ryceman3]

My automatic watering looks like this ...

IMG_6255.JPG

Main Controller - Top Left
Black chord running off the photo to the left is plugged into mains (it has battery back up)
White conduit coming out the bottom holds cables to individual solenoids, which are attached to a 3-way manifold (because I have 3 "zones" connected. Hoses out the bottom of the valves run to plastic poly set up for each zone.
Works pretty well, but like anything automated, you can't "set and forget". As has been mentioned, always looking for leaks/cracks, checking spray heads and assessing to improve the way it functions.
I have left my trees for weeks at a time with this being the only thing to keep my collection hydrated and it worked great, but that was in winter ... I would have a hard time doing the same in summer.
I can recommend these components though, no issues with quality or reliability to date. I got them recommended from a specialist irrigation store, but not really a hell of a lot more pricey than the big box alternatives.

[Mitch_28]

Is that a copper pressure reducer after the tee-off tap? What is its reduction pressure?
I've used plastic ones on my poly system and they are a common failure point for me.

Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk

[shibui]

Very neat setup

Is that a copper pressure reducer after the tee-off tap? What is its reduction pressure?
I've used plastic ones on my poly system and they are a common failure point for me.

Looks more like a non return valve. Seems to be standard to fit these when a system is connected to mains water now.

[Mitch_28]

Very neat setup

Is that a copper pressure reducer after the tee-off tap? What is its reduction pressure?
I've used plastic ones on my poly system and they are a common failure point for me.

Looks more like a non return valve. Seems to be standard to fit these when a system is connected to mains water now.

Thanks mate

Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk

[Luke308]

My automatic watering looks like this ...
IMG_6255.JPG
Main Controller - Top Left
Black chord running off the photo to the left is plugged into mains (it has battery back up)
White conduit coming out the bottom holds cables to individual solenoids, which are attached to a 3-way manifold (because I have 3 "zones" connected. Hoses out the bottom of the valves run to plastic poly set up for each zone.
Works pretty well, but like anything automated, you can't "set and forget". As has been mentioned, always looking for leaks/cracks, checking spray heads and assessing to improve the way it functions.
I have left my trees for weeks at a time with this being the only thing to keep my collection hydrated and it worked great, but that was in winter ... I would have a hard time doing the same in summer.
I can recommend these components though, no issues with quality or reliability to date. I got them recommended from a specialist irrigation store, but not really a hell of a lot more pricey than the big box alternatives.

Hey mate,

Can I ask what a set up like this costs?

I am wanting to install an automated watering system myself, but not sure on the budget I should set.

Can you access yours from your phone over wifi/bluetooth and turn on and off remotely from you phone?

Cheers,

Luke

[Ryceman3]

Hey mate,

Can I ask what a set up like this costs?

I am wanting to install an automated watering system myself, but not sure on the budget I should set.

Can you access yours from your phone over wifi/bluetooth and turn on and off remotely from you phone?

Cheers,

Luke

I have had this set up for about 6+ years now so honestly can’t remember the cost, which tells me it was pretty decent… otherwise I’d know exactly!
I’m sure there are better set ups now at any rate. Having wifi/Bluetooth/remote operation would be great, mine has none of these and when I bought it they were features outside my budget. Probably attainable in a similar one now though.
You get what you pay for (as the saying goes)… I can try find the figures if that is really helpful, but I’d say it was under $350 back then, including all poly pipe and spray heads for 2 zones, which is what I started with.

[dansai]

I use the Hunter Pro HC hydra wise system. I got a bundle like the one I've linker here

I got the 12 zone and extra solenoids. The website sunshoweronline.com.au seems to have the best prices around. It is a wi-fi system. You can set it up through a touch pad on the box, but its very easy through the website app to set zones, watering times and programs. Then the mobile app is great for suspending it, running individual zones or full programs. I've been away a lot so its great having that control. You can also set up rain sensors and leaf wetness sensors for misting. If you have a fairly local weather station you can also set it to adjust the watering according to the weather. You can even get your own and set it up to adjust to the weather at your actual place.

There is also an option to run a master valve and flow meter so you check how much water you are using, and it will also let you know if there is a leak. All the options cost more. I've run it for over 4 years without a hiccup. If your internet goes down, (ours has a couple of times for over a week), it will just keep running the last program you had.

Poly pipe and sprinkler heads are pretty cheap. I use the micro spray heads and have them overlap fairly well. I do need to check them regularly as I use dam water and even with a filter, tiny sticks get trough and block them up. I've found the local irrigation store cheaper on poly pipe and spray heads than the big green shed. But online is the way to go for a controller and solenoids.

[shibui]

My set up is similar to Rycemans but I'm obviously not as neat so mine looks more like a rats nest.
Electricity travels better than water so the controller goes somewhere close to mains power rather than close to the water supply.

IMG_7081.JPG

The K-rain controller is my second controller. The first was a different brand and ran for around 10 years but died, probably from a lightning strike. I find the K-Rain program system difficult to manage so I would try some other brand next time.

Wires to control the solenoids can go 20-30m if necessary. The cable on the left is 8 bundled wires as all my solenoids are in one place close to the plants. Much better to run longer wires and place the solenoids closer to the area they will water.

IMG_7083.JPG

Water supply to a manifold to supply the 6 solenoids that turn water on and off.
All the solenoids share a common negative wire but each one has it's own positive wire from the controller.
There's an inline filter between the ball valve and the manifold to filter out any tiny bits that might otherwise block the solenoids or spray heads. I need to clean that filter about every 4 weeks when using lots of water in summer. If you're on town water you can probably leave out the filter.

IMG_7084.JPG

Poly pipe from each solenoid to separate sections of the nursery. The solenoids are housed in the grey box at the bottom of the picture.
Because we don't have mains pressure I run a demand start pressure pump that can only supply enough water for around 20 sprays so I need 6 separate lines to cover the whole area properly.

When planning a watering system of any sort you'll need to find out what your water supply flow rate is so you have an idea how many sprays it can run at one time. Place a bucket under the tap and time how long to fill the 10 or 20 litre bucket. From that you can calculate litres per minute.

Also need to understand that friction inside a pipe reduces water flow. Small diameter pipe reduces flow a lot. Large pipes allow more water to flow more easily. Longer supply lines reduce flow and pressure even more. I rarely use 12mm poly now. 19mm does not sound much bigger but allows more than twice the water flow with much less pressure loss. All the distribution lines in the nursery are 19mm low density poly.
If the water has to travel more than around 10 m it would pay to use a larger supply line and extend the control wires to put your solenoids closer to the area they will water. An alternative would be to run the water through a 25mm poly pipe to the area to be watered then reduce down to 19mm for the actual spray lines. Most of the solenoids I see are actually 25mm so it's easy to start with larger pipe if necessary. They need reducing bushes to attach the 19mm poly.