Automatic Garden Watering
Discussion
Anyone used this http://www.easywatering.co.uk/ or another system, and tips or recommendations?
Yes, I wrote about it recently. Horrifically expensive (for the materials you get) but very useful. I have separate runs down each side of the garden, each on timers.
Tips:
Source:
Off the tap, or (if you are serious) a large rainwater butt with a pump.
If off the tap, fit one of the 1-to-4 splitters on the link. Mine has the two timers (you can only fit two), one for the hosepipe, and a short hosepipe for filling the watering can.
If looking at rainwater, you'll need a huge butt (800litres). My neighbour has this, and it's certainly useful if you have a hosepipe ban or water meter.
Feed system
A 13mm bore network to get the water to the right place. The proprietary stuff is expensive and doesn't go round corners well. You could do worse than use ordinary hosepipe for long runs (use the jont pieces & jubilee clips to make joints). You can get joint pieces - straights, 90 degrees, and Tees to split the feed (also in line taps, if you want to turn off a particular spur). Also mounting clips (Hozelock's own are best for wood, Gardena's better for brick/concrete. And there are retaining stakes if you are running along the earth.
Plan your route(s), noting limits on the available flow (so you'll need an estimate of how many and which spray heads you'll be using). On narrow beds, it's best to run along the fence, but you might run through the middle of the bed. Remember you can always revise your routes later.
Beds
Best done with sprays and spinklers. I mainly use 180 & 90 spray heads on borders (reach is about 4') and centrally placed sprinklers (8' diameter, has a flow adjuster) in larger beds. Heads can but cut directly into the feed pipe, but generally it's better to use them on stakes and connect with the 4mm delivery pipe (remember to get the special connectors). Be generous with the 4mm pipe so you can move the spray heads.
This stuff is very effective and easy to do (you get a little tool to bore holes and screw connectors in).
Containers & Pots
With these you use "dribblers" (several types available) and need to build a network of 4mm pipe (there are similar ranges of connectors and pipe stakes). Most importantly, you should budget on flow adjusters in almost every spur, so you don't overwater. Some heads incorporate these, otherwise use the 4mm in line tap (yellow head, but can't find on this site).
This area is much harder to get right than the beds (it needs more fine tuning, and needs to be flexible as pots come and go). For many small pots (e.g. seedlings) it would be wise to put them in large trays with a single feed.
Lawns
You can get the fancy pop-up units, but it all looks like too much hassle for the ordinary gardener. For now, stick with getting the hose out when you need it.
Timers
Finally, the bit that makes it so useful. Make sure it's easy to set.
this basic one is better than some of the fancies ones. When you want it to run, turn to AutoStart, then back to a runtime (e.g. 20 mins). Every day thereafter it will run that cylce. You can turn it off, turn it on (60 mins, now) and return to the Auto cycle.
Others can do more fancy things (alternate days, two runs a day, programme it to the internal clock so you don't have to stay up late to set it to run at 4am), but if it's too complicated to understand it sort of defeats the object.
Other Tips
Tips:
Source:
Off the tap, or (if you are serious) a large rainwater butt with a pump.
If off the tap, fit one of the 1-to-4 splitters on the link. Mine has the two timers (you can only fit two), one for the hosepipe, and a short hosepipe for filling the watering can.
If looking at rainwater, you'll need a huge butt (800litres). My neighbour has this, and it's certainly useful if you have a hosepipe ban or water meter.
Feed system
A 13mm bore network to get the water to the right place. The proprietary stuff is expensive and doesn't go round corners well. You could do worse than use ordinary hosepipe for long runs (use the jont pieces & jubilee clips to make joints). You can get joint pieces - straights, 90 degrees, and Tees to split the feed (also in line taps, if you want to turn off a particular spur). Also mounting clips (Hozelock's own are best for wood, Gardena's better for brick/concrete. And there are retaining stakes if you are running along the earth.
Plan your route(s), noting limits on the available flow (so you'll need an estimate of how many and which spray heads you'll be using). On narrow beds, it's best to run along the fence, but you might run through the middle of the bed. Remember you can always revise your routes later.
Beds
Best done with sprays and spinklers. I mainly use 180 & 90 spray heads on borders (reach is about 4') and centrally placed sprinklers (8' diameter, has a flow adjuster) in larger beds. Heads can but cut directly into the feed pipe, but generally it's better to use them on stakes and connect with the 4mm delivery pipe (remember to get the special connectors). Be generous with the 4mm pipe so you can move the spray heads.
This stuff is very effective and easy to do (you get a little tool to bore holes and screw connectors in).
Containers & Pots
With these you use "dribblers" (several types available) and need to build a network of 4mm pipe (there are similar ranges of connectors and pipe stakes). Most importantly, you should budget on flow adjusters in almost every spur, so you don't overwater. Some heads incorporate these, otherwise use the 4mm in line tap (yellow head, but can't find on this site).
This area is much harder to get right than the beds (it needs more fine tuning, and needs to be flexible as pots come and go). For many small pots (e.g. seedlings) it would be wise to put them in large trays with a single feed.
Lawns
You can get the fancy pop-up units, but it all looks like too much hassle for the ordinary gardener. For now, stick with getting the hose out when you need it.
Timers
Finally, the bit that makes it so useful. Make sure it's easy to set.
this basic one is better than some of the fancies ones. When you want it to run, turn to AutoStart, then back to a runtime (e.g. 20 mins). Every day thereafter it will run that cylce. You can turn it off, turn it on (60 mins, now) and return to the Auto cycle.
Others can do more fancy things (alternate days, two runs a day, programme it to the internal clock so you don't have to stay up late to set it to run at 4am), but if it's too complicated to understand it sort of defeats the object.
Other Tips
- It's very easy to install, a great bloke project. But it will take a couple of years to get it just right. Accept that you will want to modify it, so don't screw it down until you are sure a particular bit's just right.
- Reliability is pretty good. Limescale does build very slowly (several years at least), so spare heads are handy. Foxes have been the worst problem, biting the main feed tube (have some spare straight connectors) and if they chew on the large (expensive) sprinklers you'll need to replace them.
- A starter pack is generally good value to get you going (cheaper than buying everything separately), but you will need more parts immediately.
- As a guide, I've probably spent £200-250 over ten years for beds around a 10x20m garden
- Maintain a box of spares
- The site you found seems pretty competitively priced - better than B&Q and with most of the stock.
- And most importantly, it does work really well. Far easier than getting the hose out regularly, and of course it works when you are not in.
s for that.A couple of tips
- plan the lay-out carefully and what you want where are this will make putting it all together far simpler and mean you don't pull it up and re-start
- install extra taps in your garden at different places if you need an extensive system as this simplifies things and allows you to run different circuits
- get a simple timer and not an overally sophisticated one as I doubt you need all the complexities of the sophisticated one and they don't last well : I've just replaced a dual "sophisticated" one with 2 simple Gardena timers which were a doddle compared with the old one (which also leaked after 2 years)
- plan the lay-out carefully and what you want where are this will make putting it all together far simpler and mean you don't pull it up and re-start
- install extra taps in your garden at different places if you need an extensive system as this simplifies things and allows you to run different circuits
- get a simple timer and not an overally sophisticated one as I doubt you need all the complexities of the sophisticated one and they don't last well : I've just replaced a dual "sophisticated" one with 2 simple Gardena timers which were a doddle compared with the old one (which also leaked after 2 years)
I had the Hozelock version at my old house, and it was very good, especially for the window boxes under the first floor windows! It is expensive but does save masses of time.
What I did find though was that the hose which attaches the outside tap to the timer needs replacing regularly. Otherwise it will burst under the pressure and spray water everywhere. Also not good if you are at work or away when it goes and you are on a water meter!
What I did find though was that the hose which attaches the outside tap to the timer needs replacing regularly. Otherwise it will burst under the pressure and spray water everywhere. Also not good if you are at work or away when it goes and you are on a water meter!
Chrisgr31 said:
What I did find though was that the hose which attaches the outside tap to the timer needs replacing regularly. Otherwise it will burst under the pressure and spray water everywhere. Also not good if you are at work or away when it goes and you are on a water meter!
To solve this you need a pressure regulator between the mains and the system (es pecially in France where the mains is at a far higher pressure than the UK)If your veg are all in a seperate area you'd be better off using a timer to just open and close a supply to a hose leading to a simple lawn - type sprinkler that can cover the whole area.
I'm currently drip irrigating plants in approximately 150 pots with two other computers, but there is no way I would set up seperate drip / spray heads for veg - unless these were also being grown in pots.
I'm currently drip irrigating plants in approximately 150 pots with two other computers, but there is no way I would set up seperate drip / spray heads for veg - unless these were also being grown in pots.
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