Giexperience ZIGBEE Garden Soil Moisture & Temperature Meter

Just pulled trigger on this from Amazon and was wondering if anyone else has tried this yet. Plan is to activate solenoid on sprinkler hose as need for flower bed.

https://www.amazon.com/Moisture-Temperature-Sensor-Outdoor-Waterproof-Compatible/dp/B0BWMXQH8L/ref=sr_1_4?crid=15Z8KP4OL9XIW&keywords=ZIGBEE+Garden+Soil+Moisture&qid=1686587500&s=lawn-garden&sprefix=zigbee+garden+soil+moisture%2Clawngarden%2C150&sr=1-4

Thanks - Bill

Let's hope you will be lucky and will have a better experience ...

https://community.hubitat.com/search?q=Tuya%20soil%20sensor%20order:latest

image

These are the humidity (moisture) graphs samples from the Amazon link.
I have no explanation how it is possible to have such graphs measuring soil moisture... especially the second graph?

I'll give it a shot. If it doesn't pan out back to amazon it goes :slight_smile:
I'll update with my experience

Bill

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There may be a second revision of this sensor (I suppose it may be a hardware problem in the first batches), because some say it works, some not.

I have posted some screenshots from the Tuya app here.

Make sure the gun is pointing away from you when you pull the trigger! :grimacing:

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Sound advice for all situations :slight_smile:

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Oh no! More bad reviews

You might want to consider just looping that back to Amazon and order the Misol alternative instead. They’re proven reliable and the low frequency radio signal should penetrate buildings and travel the distance a lot better than Zigbee can.

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So maybe I'm out of my depth with this one... I received and hub found it no problem, installed with 4 in 1 driver but not sure how to get option to read moisture or temp. I only see health status (online), power source (battery) and tamper (WTF this means) detected. any obvious step I missed?

TIA - Bill

PS; looking at Misol now

A lot of Tuya devices require to be paired to the HE hub with the specific driver already installed, so that they are initialised the right way during the pairing process .

Delete the device (REMOVE DEVICE res button at the bottom of the page) and then pair it again.

Got the same device from Aliex, it lasted about 5 months. Batteries went dead and it never worked again. I suspect it is NOT truly waterproof, despite the gaskets on the battery door. My device is stuck at 32 degrees F(it's never been that cold) and humidity of 0%, even with 1 inch of rain. I was going to try to re-pair the device, but The pairing button does nothing even with new energizer.
batteries.
IMHO- Tuya needs a rev 2 with more reliable hardware.

This is all I get. reinstalled after complete removal. Went straight to Tuya 4-1 driver but no moisture output

Sorry, I got confused too ...

Tuya 4 in 1 driver = Motion (PIR and mmWave) sensors + extras (temperature, humidity, illuminance, tamper).

Tuya temperature and Humidity driver = Temperature and Humidity + extras (Illuminance, LCD display w/ a clock)

So the right driver is the second one.

Installed correct driver. seems to be OK for the moment. Lets see what happens

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Does seem to be reporting battery every few minutes. It will eat them up pretty quick. I'll play with it a few more days but likely returning to Amazon and going Misol instead. Thanks to all for helping :slight_smile:

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My batteries were eaten for 2-3 weeks while the sensor was paired to a Tuya gateway…

It is still interesting to know whether your device will report meaningful humidity measurements.

It's been raining last few days, moisture steady between 85-90%, temp seems pretty close. I'll let yo know how it does once we dry out a little here in teh south :slight_smile:

so 2 weeks in and surprisingly this seems to be working OK... Battery is still at 90%. it's sat outside in my garden 50' from the house, and triggers my sprinkler flawlessly. 75' from C5 hub. Has never lost connection and generally seems to work. If it lasts another month I'll buy a second 1...

Updates as needed.

Bill

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@bill.whitaker thank you for the feedback!
So it seems like the new batches of this sensor have fixed the reporting issue.. whatever it was - hardware or software.

so 6 weeks in, 2nd sensor purchased and both working flawlessly :slight_smile:
I'm using some bluetooth battery powered garden hose valves with a wifi link via tuya/smartlife. IFTT for linking from hub to tuya. I'm am surprisingly happy!
The valves are from amazon, run on AA batteries, BT range seems OK to outside of house where valves are on spigot. Lets see how they are long term. 1st one purchased still @70% battery... 2nd @90
Bill

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Another update.... bought a 3rd unit which was working fine and after 2 weeks it died. Sent back to Amazon and received replacement. Its OK 4 now.

Certianly may be some quality issues. Buyer beware. I'll see if these are still working by the end of summer.

SB

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