houseplant watering system

[last updated: 2016-10-19]

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Current Status: First rev of this system was done and functioned, however the pump I used was under-powered and insufficient to raise water up as high as I needed for my hanging plants. Project currently on hold. Eventually I'll need to get a larger pump.
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Goal/Purpose: "I love and have a lot of houseplants, but I also travel some amount, and keeping my plants alive and well when I'm gone has been a challenge. Friends and neighbors have bailed me out, but I wanted to build an Arduino-controlled automatic watering system so I didn't have to impose on them.

My first attempt, successful but limited, used:

• a 5-gal bucket as water reservoir
• Problem: trip duration limited to however long 5 gal of water would last
• could add a toilet float or other keep-full mechanism
• this would add risk of overflow/spill when unattended
• a garden water fountain pump powered with 12 vdc
• I had some hanging plants that were 6' or so off the floor. In first trial I had the bucket/reservoir sitting on a table, so the pump only needed to raise water to head-height of about 4'. This worked.
• Problem: However when I moved the bucket to the floor, the cheap little pump that I had could not pump high enough to reach to the hanging plants.
• I'm currently shopping for a more powerful pump
• an Ardweeny to control how often and how long water flowed to the plants
• current program

Modified version:

• added a manifold of 12vdc valves (6@)
• controlled by a transistor driver board