Looking for Smart Hose Timer recommendation

It’s a HACS integration.

It’s pretty easy to setup. Just follow the directions on the GitHub.

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To control one tap for animal watering I am using an off the shelf dumb solenoid, an off the shelf 12V power supply, and a Shelly RGB2. No cloud required! Shelly connects with wifi and integrates easily with HA.

@RayHollister cool gonna try first with just one and see how it goes if it works like yours then will go for a second one :slight_smile: thank you

I’d love a link if you still know where you got it! I was looking for one for a while.

Hi Ray

I’m using a K-Rain solenoid. Not sure what country you’re in but here’s the link to my local source:

https://www.bunnings.com.au/search/products?q=krain+solenoid&sort=BoostOrder&page=1

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May I know the exact model you are using? I have had the Orbit 21004 in my Amazon cart for a while but haven’t bought it yet. Is there also an Orbit 21005 model, the only drawback? Both are expensive for such a simple task :neutral_face: but I need them because I forgot to turn off the faucet days ago and it was on for about 2h

what is this? can you post a link for this too? I find it on Amazon but not sure I get the right item. For the valve does this one looks good to you?

This is the Shelly RGBW2 relay: Shelly RGBW2 - All Products - Products - Shelly

Note I’m having some unreliability with my setup - I’m not sure that the Shelly is passing through sufficient voltage to open the solenoid (I can always hear the whine of the solenoid trying to open, but sometimes it doesn’t actually open). I’m going to try with a 24V AC power supply (more suited to the solenoid), plus a relay which can pass the 24V AC to the solenoid and be controlled by 12V DC, so I can still use Shelly (12V DC) as the trigger for the relay.

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Hey @RayHollister I know is being a while but did you start your B-Hyve smart hose already? I would like to take a look. Haven’t bought mine yet :man_facepalming: so far I am doing all manually which sometimes I forgot to turn watering off and my entire garden is getting water till the next day, plants are happy tough my water bill is not so happy heh

Lucky you your water is cheap! Depending were you live - having the tap open a hole night can easily add over $100 to the bill - so in that case you probably only forget one time to close the valve and after that you find yourself checking all valves couple of times a day if they are really closed :wink:

ESP + Relay + Valve = ~$10 and just add esphome to the sauce :flying_saucer:

Also easy to scale, for example I use one ESP + 4 Relays + 4 Valves = :sweat_drops:

:rofl: I already forgot to shut them off a couple of times that’s why I am looking for an automated solution. My home has an irrigation system but is not working (the pump is burned and fixing it is a LOT of money). Is something I will do but not right away.

Agreed, can you post more info on these ones? as for example what are exactly you using so I can google it and take some ideas?

Thank you

Check the links in my post as it features photos and more details :point_down:

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Note this setup with an off the shelf valve, off the shelf 24v AC power supply, and Shelly RGBW has been successfully topping up an animal water trough twice a day for over a year now.

I had 3 of the Orbit 21004 B-hyve Smart Hose Watering Timer with Wi-Fi Hub. All three died this year. Just got 2 SONOFF SWV-NH, took a while to be delivered. They paired up with out a problem and started using them.

The good thing is you are not relying on the cloud to set up and use.

Bad thing is you will have to set up an automation to turn on and turn off. Which should not be a big deal.

https://www.amazon.com/SONOFF-Controller-Compatible-Irrigation-SWV-NH/dp/B0D5B8S8N8?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=A2QBZNDSRNO1IV&th=1

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Useful, mine has not died yet I will wait until that day to buy the ones you mention and as per the automation, I don’t have any problem, should not be that hard using NodeRED?

I wound up doing a simple automation and worked with now problem. Plan on adding some sensors for ground moisture.

alias: Watering Front/Back Yard
description: Water front and back yard using SONOF timer switches
trigger:
  - platform: sun
    event: sunset
    offset: "+1:00:00"
condition:
  - condition: time
    weekday:
      - mon
      - wed
      - fri
action:
  - type: turn_on
    device_id: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    entity_id: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    domain: switch
  - type: turn_on
    device_id: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    entity_id: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    domain: switch
  - delay:
      hours: 0
      minutes: 20
      seconds: 0
      milliseconds: 0
  - type: turn_off
    device_id: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    entity_id: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    domain: switch
  - type: turn_off
    device_id: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    entity_id: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    domain: switch
mode: single
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And about 3-6 months after this post, they all died. One by one they stopped connecting to the wifi and then to the bluetooth. Then they stopped working manually. I think the Florida heat ruined them.

All my self builds (fraction of the cost of this b-hyve devices that die like flies :fly:) are still going strong, some have already 3 years of service :muscle:

Out of curiosity I checked our local (average) weather against some random locations in Florida. The temperatures swings in both direction (hot and cold) are much more elevated. @RayHollister not sure where you are but your yearly median is probably around 15 to 35°C or some other numbers in Fahrenheit. At our spot we have a range from around 0°C up to 45°C :fire: (still no reason for devices to die :wink: )

i had a bhyve faucet controller that died - or rather ran through a fresh set of batteries in a couple of days and then wouldn’t work again even with a fresh set of batteries.

I believe it was due to water infiltration into the battery chamber. I found it was wet upon opening and there was some early corrosion on the battery terminals – even though there was a gasket to keep a good seal.

Unforunately because it was past warranty, Orbit couldn’t replace it so I bought a different, cheaper timer and am looking at building one - at least then I will own the problem of durability…

They could, the only thing they would need is goodwill :wink:

Absolut, all my device still go strong despite being exposed to harsh environment. :sun_behind_rain_cloud: