Jan 19th 2017
Know How... 279
The Growduino - Part 1
Arduino, solenoid valve, relay, automated watering
If you grow plants indoors, at some point you'll be faced with the choice of going on vacation and letting your plants die, or becoming a shut-in. You COULD purchase an automated drip-watering system, but if you've got even a little maker knowledge, you can make yourself a low-cost, super-flexible automated watering system.
Adafruit 1/2" Water Solenoid Valve ~$8
- Normally closed valve (Requires 12v to open the valve)
- Minimum pressure of 3PSI
- Liquid can only flow in one direction (marked on the casing)
Live Demo:
- We're going to install a solenoid valve into the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket
Parts:
- 5 Gallon Bucket
- Adafruit 1/2" Solenoid
- 3/4" - 1/2" Bulkhead Fitting
- Teflon Tape
Tools
- Drill (3/4" or Dremel)
- Sealant
3D Printed Files
Claber 8053 Oasis 4-Program/20 Plant Garden Automatic Drip Watering System ~$94
- Gravity fed dripper with a timer
- Opens the valves twice a day
- How long it opens the valves depends on the setting
uxcell HH54P D 12V Coil Relay ~$8
- Relays are electromagnetically controlled switches
- Most use the same design: a higher power/current circuit can be thrown by a lower power/current circuit
- They can be normally open or normally close, some, like the UXCELL can throw multiple circuits simul
Uxcell 12V 5-pin Mini Power Relay ~$7
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