What type of setup are you guys using?
I am planning maybe 50' of straight line watering, I'm not sure how to go. My first thought was to get an actuator and attach a soaker hose to a spigot, then I started thinking of having pipe buried and little nozzles stubbed up (no grass), and then thought of a simple controller...
But I just want something really simple. Date/time, timers, a rain sensor. Can I use HA or should I just buy off the shelf stuff?
There are Zigbee irrigation timers that you can consider.
One possible choice is SASWELL : (Amazon .com)
Hubitat driver here. (I don't have it, so I can't comment on the performance and the quality).
I use unconnected battery operated timers for my hanging basket drip.
I like to turn off the water when we're not home, so last year when we went on vacation I had Hubitat turn on the water for when the timers came on, and then turn it off when they were finished.
That linked timer seems pretty cool.
The battery cover on my stand alones seems like it would be more water resistant than this one, but who knows. The cloud based rain sensor seems like a nice touch.
For a temporary and portable use, I just setup an Orbit impact sprinkler controlled via GiEX valve (thanks @kkossev!).
I have automations for 3x daily watering of grass seed. Later, it will be used for tree watering and maybe some more grass patches.
No rain forecasted this week, so it will be a while before I need to figure out how I want to manage that aspect.
Probably, Sinope valves are of the best quality, but the price is different .. :
For me, the most important factor is the reliability. When commanded to open, the valve should open or report a failure otherwise. Same, when commanded to close. This is where the HE drivers can be improved so that command failures (the valve not reporting back the expected state) can be handled properly. So the possibilities in the GiEX and SASWELL timers to configure an automatic shut off of the valve after X minutes is a good feature that can prevent a lot of troubles if the close command issued by HE has failed for any reason.
A few days ago I discovered another potential issue - I accidentally shut off my main water valve, when experimenting with an OSRAM mini dimmer. The reason is that a lot of Zigbee devices that support Zigbee Group Messaging by default will listen for On/Off broadcasts sent to the default Zigbee Group #0. Very few of us have experienced this or are even aware that such a possibility exists (switching off dozens of ZIgnee switches, bulbs, etc..) by a press of a button without Hubitat hub being involved and even without receiving any notification for this Zigbee Group on/off command. Here to solution probably could be that all Zigbee actuators that support the Groups cluster (0x0004) are configured to be 'immune' to these broadcasts by being added to a random group number, different than 0... Sorry for the long post, this is probably more helpful for me as a record of some ideas that just come to my mind : )
This was very interesting to me.
Rachio 3, built in integration.
Same but looking for something for plants when we leave for 4.5 months. Other than using them for tinder when we get home.
Right now wife outs little buckets of water on floor with plants and hemp or some type of long fabric tubes that soak up water and transfer it to the plants slowly.
You could get a simple controller that connects to a spigot and plug in a hose and regular wavy lawn sprinkler... Or has some hose and nozzes near the plant areas for a new zone.
Ya they are indoor plants. Complicated to start hooking up all kinds of tubes to the sink. Probably cause more issues than it solves ie too prone to leaks.
ooooh... Thought outdoor. You could probably Build a small water pump setup on a zigbee plug with some 1/4" tubing and some misters.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/DIG-Fogger-Mister-with-1-4-in-Barbed-Elbow-7795BB/302469692
I'm wondering if that can handle 50' of liner with maybe 8 sprinklers without a large pressure drop. Your other post about Sinope has me curious, I like the idea of feedback. Not that I could do anything when I'm not around, which is often.
That was my first thought, just a basic actuator. Downside is I would need to move my main water cutoff valve as is need a hose bib on the street side of the main valve as I turn the main off when not home. I can do the plumbing but I am old and lazy, that time could be spent on the sofa watching 2 QI episodes and two beers.
Reading what I just wrote, I realize I have to do plumbing anyway, I have nothing street side of the main.
I am intrigued by the possibilities though, if I was younger HA would be The Thing for me, this scratches an OCD itch I occasionally have.
Honestly, the zigbee valve would be the fastest route, but the basic Rachio plus an off-the-shelf irrigation valve would have all the bells and whistles. Or, the DIY project would start with this...
Plus a trip to Home Depot...
The transformer will power the ZEN17 and the valve. Possible that a $20 wired rain sensor could also work on the ZEN17's input terminals, but may not.
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