Hi folks. We are about to launch the Harvst tap controller, and would value your thoughts on the capabilities we propose. It runs on 4x AA batteries for up to a year. We've analysed the competition, and made improvements in a number of ways.
- Longer battery life
- Reduced risk of turning on when the batteries may be too low to turn it off again ( Hozelok devices can be known to do this )
- No WiFi hub needed to connect to the internet
- Runs in Online mode ( monitor and manage remotely ) or Offline mode.
- Contains on-board temperature sensor for frost protection and pumping algorithm.
- Compatible with wireless sensors which we may release in the future ( eg soil / rain )
Technically in online mode we have access to weather data and could stop watering if it's been raining or rain is forecast, BUT from testing over the last year, we have not found that the weather data + rain information is accurate enough [in our location]
We propose you have the following configuration options:
- Timer A : water for {x} seconds at {time} {every day/2d/3d/4d/5d}
from 10 seconds to 30 minutes
- Timer B : water for {x} seconds at {time} {every day/2d/3d/4d/5d}
from 10 seconds to 30 minutes
- Water for {x} seconds when temperature has been over {x} for {x} hours
- Don't water at all when temperature is below {x} [typically 10C]
Would this do what you need for your garden / greenhouse / polytunnel?
Depending on cost, I would be very interested. My concern with the plastic body would be freezing in winter. I had a plastic tap adapter ( 1 input to 4 outputs ) and, even though I drained it as best I could, there was still enough water left inside to crack the unit when it froze.
Hi Chris, we can send you one for testing when all the parts are here. As for winter, we recommend removing garden irrigation hardware like this completely before the chance of the first frost. Bring it indoors. Most of the time, automatic irrigation stops well before then as the plants aren't needing it.
Thanks Chris. I would be very happy to test one for you. And yes, I've learned my lesson: even tiny amounts of water can wreak havoc with irrigation systems when frozen.
I wonder if you would consider having two outlets, each controlled by a timer, rather than one outlet, controlled by two timers? For example, in my case, I would like to operate two sprinklers at slightly different times ( so that each sprinkler receives maximum water pressure and achieves maximum coverage ), rather than one sprinkler twice a day.
Hi Chris
You may be better off with our upcoming single valve controllers which are wired to a Watermate and give you extra zones. Would two of these manage for you? You use Aux 1/2/3 timers for controlling them [for now, until we have dedicated zone 3/4/5 etc timers on the main Watermate firmware]
Attached pic. 3D printed case while we are in pre-production phase.
They plug into the same 3-pin port as the temperature sensor. Your control box would need a small modification which we can do here if we get your box back.
Chris
Thanks, Chris, but my control unit is a pumped unit, not a mains tap-water unit, so my water butt is not large enough to water the whole garden. I'm thinking about adding a shelf to the outside of my greenhouse for some of my outdoor bonsai pots, so I might consider an extension from the greenhouse outside to water them. If I do that, I would be interested in buying one of your single valve controllers some time in the future.
In the meantime, I'm still interested in your smart tap controller ( with one output or two :- ) ), for mains tap watering the garden.
Hi folks. Thanks for the feedback so far, following which we have released firmware version 2024090301 which includes :
- Allowing operation all the way down to 2.3V, which should give an even longer battery life.
- The watering settings are now in minutes rather than seconds ( most uses will be 1+ minutes ) ... but currently it's still capped at 30 minutes since the device turns the tap off when it wakes every half hour as a safety measure to prevent flooding.
- You can choose the "on" period for manual watering when you press the button. Change this in settings via the Device Control Panel.
- The device now goes to sleep during a manual watering cycle to save battery power.
We'll be updating your devices over the next few days.
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- Longer battery life
- Reduced risk of turning on when the batteries may be too low to turn it off again ( Hozelok devices can be known to do this )
- No WiFi hub needed to connect to the internet
- Runs in Online mode ( monitor and manage remotely ) or Offline mode.
- Contains on-board temperature sensor for frost protection and pumping algorithm.
- Compatible with wireless sensors which we may release in the future ( eg soil / rain )
Technically in online mode we have access to weather data and could stop watering if it's been raining or rain is forecast, BUT from testing over the last year, we have not found that the weather data + rain information is accurate enough [in our location]
We propose you have the following configuration options:
- Timer A : water for {x} seconds at {time} {every day/2d/3d/4d/5d}
from 10 seconds to 30 minutes
- Timer B : water for {x} seconds at {time} {every day/2d/3d/4d/5d}
from 10 seconds to 30 minutes
- Water for {x} seconds when temperature has been over {x} for {x} hours
- Don't water at all when temperature is below {x} [typically 10C]
Would this do what you need for your garden / greenhouse / polytunnel?
You may be better off with our upcoming single valve controllers which are wired to a Watermate and give you extra zones. Would two of these manage for you? You use Aux 1/2/3 timers for controlling them [for now, until we have dedicated zone 3/4/5 etc timers on the main Watermate firmware]
Attached pic. 3D printed case while we are in pre-production phase.
They plug into the same 3-pin port as the temperature sensor. Your control box would need a small modification which we can do here if we get your box back.
Chris
In the meantime, I'm still interested in your smart tap controller ( with one output or two :- ) ), for mains tap watering the garden.
- Allowing operation all the way down to 2.3V, which should give an even longer battery life.
- The watering settings are now in minutes rather than seconds ( most uses will be 1+ minutes ) ... but currently it's still capped at 30 minutes since the device turns the tap off when it wakes every half hour as a safety measure to prevent flooding.
- You can choose the "on" period for manual watering when you press the button. Change this in settings via the Device Control Panel.
- The device now goes to sleep during a manual watering cycle to save battery power.
We'll be updating your devices over the next few days.