Hi everyone, I just bought one of those Tuya sensors and THEN a saw the "Do not Buy" advice from 2023. Is that still the current thinking on these things? The Home Assistant forum linked to above seems to show someone having success with them so I'm not sure whether to return the thing, try it, or if there is something like it that y'all recommend instead?
There is no definite answer whether these sensors work as expected or not. Seems that there are two batches still on the market, the first one with some hardware issues, but these are still sold...
Mine is definitely a crap - humidity readings that do not make sense and the battery is depleted in a few weeks - even when paired and used with Tuya Zigbee Gateway!
However, others are saying the this soils sensor works OK for them.
I am currently testing a new model :
... and I still have doubts.
Hey - I wanted to share this sensor - it comes from a good brand. and I have no idea whether or not its a new product but I was excited to see it when it popped up in my amazon search
THIRDREALITY Smart Soil Moisture Sensor
Has anyone used it? wondering if there is a generic driver for it - I might be able to get rid of ecowitt if this sensor is reliable.
not that ecowitt is bad or anything, but its nice to have everything in hubitat without the need for an additional hub. it also will get rid of the 8 device limit which is awesome.
looking forward to hearing thoughts
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Looks like it is indeed brand spanking new.
Might be the soil moisture sensor we’ve all been dreaming about
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I am hopeful but maintain healthy skepticism. My brain refuses to accept that a great product is launched with all of the photos being obviously bad fakes.
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Good brand though. I bought 4. Will report back in a few months with a review
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Anyone know if there is a default driver for this type of device?
Try the HE inbuilt Generic Zigbee Temperature and Humidity drivers, ThirdReality devices typically comply with the Zigbee standards (ZCL).
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Third reality just sent me a sample of this device, I should be looking into it shortly!
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That is the exact recommendation in the manual.
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Just got mine today and this driver isn’t working other than reporting temperature
If you have any suggestions for inbuilt drivers that might work please let me know.
The moisture is next up on my list
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@mike.maxwell @kkossev my apologies the inbuilt Generic Zigbee Temperature and Humidity driver does indeed work. This is my first soil moisture sensor and I didn’t know what to expect. It is a bit slow to update and I was being impatient. Battery reporting doesn’t seen to work with that sensor though, has remained on zero.
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Anyone know off hand the weather rating of the electronics?
In other words, is this just designed to be used in a pot indoors?
No IP rating that I have observed.
Scraped from the Amazon listing, the 3Reality site, and their YouTube channel:
- suitable for both indoor and outdoor use
- recommended for indoor use
- Consider Zigbee's signal range, better for indoor using
- Application scenarios: greenhouse, outdoor, indoor, courtyard
- Widely use: indoors, greenhouse, garden
- Temperature Range: -10°C to +50°C
Not sure yet if their marketing is just abysmal, but maintaining my healthy skepticism. 6 months until I start planting again, so I can wait for empirical testing.
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The 'Third Reality' Soil Sensor model '3RSM0147Z' uses an unknown Zigbee manufacturerCode: 0x1407, which is different from the manufacturerCode: 0x1233 used in all their other products.
This usually means a rebranded product... But given that all other similarly priced soil moisture products are far from what everyone desires, and at just $19, it is probably worth trying.
From this page, looks like 0x1407 stands for Jiangsu Shushi Technology Co., Ltd. and the "Visit Site" link on that page goes to Third Reality.
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Third Reality Soil Moisture Sensor
I made a better driver if anyone wants to give it a shot. reports battery, and is cleaner. no errors in log that I can see
also, it does seem to support temp. not sure why they advertise it doesn't do temp. anyone know why they might be saying that?
Are you referring to the confusing statement: "Designed to measure soil moisture ONLY"?
My best guess is that they were distinguishing the ability to measure any other substance.
The rest of the manual and 3Reality site show many claims and examples of temperature measurement. This is a good confirmation, so thank you.
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