Watering my veggie garden? What smart devices are compatible w/ Smartthings & Alexia?

This year I’d like to be able to water my veggie garden using Smartthings? What smart devices are compatible w/ Smartthings & Alexia? Any suggestions? I know I can replace my sprinkler box with Rain Maker but my veggie garden isn’t connected to my sprinkler system & I’d have to pay a chunk of change to have that dug & installed. I was thinking more along the lines of something that could be connected to the facet outside and have 2 hoses maybe connected to it with above ground sprinklers connected to the end. Is there something like this on the market?

  1. if you get a nonnetworked sprinkler that has an electrical pump that plugs in, you can just plug that into a smart pocket socket. Simple, easy, and about $50 or less. But if you don’t already have an electrical system, you have to go to something that does so you can turn it on and off.

  2. Spruce has a good SmartThings integration, but I don’t know if it fits your budget:

  1. Anything that has an IFTTT channel can be used with Echo (with or without SmartThings), but those will likely be the more expensive options as they’re networked themselves.

  2. Are you looking for a build it yourself kind of option? That would likely save you the most money, but you would have to be willing to do a bit of electrical work. WeMo Maker has a good example project. (this assumes you already have a powered irrigation system, you just want to add smart control to it)

http://www.wemo.com/sprinkler/

Here’s one specifically for SmartThings, but more complex than the WeMo project since it allows for multiple zones:

I’m sure there are other members who’ve done projects like this, so hopefully they’ll chime in.

I’m not really sure what I’m looking for as far as build it yourself or not. Guess it depends on how much it does & if I can justify the cost in my mind or not. I can call an electrician or plumber if needed. I’ll check out the links you posted and start researching ideas. Thanks!

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is the Spruce an in ground system?

Spruce is an controller for the system. Usually inground but could be drip or other. Anything that uses 24v valves should work.

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Hi,

I have a basic sprinkler system already in place and connected to the water tap and I added a 3/4 inch solenoid valve from eBay, around $10. Make sure you get the Normally Closed type, that means when it receives power it will open.

This is attached to the GE z-wave outdoor module like this:

The really nice thing is that module is re-purposed from its winter duties controlling the Christmas lights.

Regards
David

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I believe the Iris Orbit hose valve connects to ST and can be set as a switch, which would then show to Alexa.

Yes, but the Orbit valve is unreliable. Sometimes it fails to open or close even though the command was sent. It’s a physical device failure which you can replicate with manual control. Unfortunately these are not reliable enough for unattended use.

That’s actually where I first got the idea. Was when I was in Lowe’s looking at the Iris products. I should revisit that.