System of automatic watering and spraying of plants. Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering

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I bring to the attention of my favorite magazine the system of automatic watering and spraying of plants developed by me, which has proven itself both in the room and in the greenhouse, winter garden and flower garden. It includes two interconnected subsystems: "sensor - water supply" (Fig. 1) and automatic electronic control (Fig. 2). Moreover, if the first is easily assembled even by beginners, then it is better to entrust the second to those who have sufficient experience and knowledge in the field of electrical and radio engineering.

Rice. 1. Subsystem "sensor - water supply" for automatic care of indoor plants: 1 - tank with water; 2 - elastic pipeline (silicone or rubber tube); 3 - electrically controlled pump; 4 - tee; 5 - water solenoid valve; 6 - drip irrigation ring; 7 - nozzle (atomizer from an aerosol can); 8- self-made humidity sensor; details 3 ... 5 - from the washer of the VAZ-2109 car; number of parts 2,4 ... 8 - in place; a - double-sided foil fiberglass; b- electrode (graphite pencil rod, 2 pcs.); c - contact wire winding; d - output (wire type MGSHV, 2 pcs.); e - protective cover (compound or piece of vinyl tube)

Rice. 2. Schematic electrical and functional schemes for controlling automatic spraying and watering, taking into account the individual characteristics of plants

Initially designed to serve three (valuable for the author) plants, the system can also be used as a multi-channel system. All channels are absolutely identical, which greatly facilitates their installation.

The system operation algorithm is such that most of the time the automation (with the exception of the photorelay on duty) and the sensors are de-energized. This was done in order to increase the efficiency of the equipment, not to provoke stress in plants with a current constantly flowing through the soil, and also to prevent the so-called electrochemical polarization, which leads to false operation of automation.

With the onset of daylight hours, the duty photo relay is activated, which turns on the power supply and supplies 5-volt voltage to the pump motor for 7-12 minutes (time interval set by the main timer). He begins to fill the "hydraulics" with water and spray the plants, bleeding off excess water through the nozzles, which in this case perform the functions of a safety valve.

The same 12-volt voltage is supplied through its own time relay with a delay of up to 15 seconds to the measurement subunit, which is responsible for the accuracy and correctness of soil moisture measurement. And if the latter is below the required level, set individually for each plant, then a high-level signal appears at the output of the circuit, which is fed to the trigger input of the control subunit. When triggered, it opens the solenoid valve for a time determined by another time relay, the shutter speed of which is set depending on the intensity of irrigation, the size of the growing vessel and other factors.

After the set time interval has elapsed, the valve closes and the water supply stops. Automatically, the main timer turns off the power supply, de-energizing both subsystems with the exception of the photo relay, which remains in standby mode until the next morning. If the soil moisture is normal the next time it is turned on, then watering will not occur. The system will reduce its guardianship of plants only to the mandatory morning spraying - when the photo relay is triggered at dawn.

Now about the features of the "sensor - water supply" subsystem.

The humidity sensor is a probe made of a strip of fiberglass, from which most of the foil has been removed (only about 10 mm is left on top). Two pieces of a graphite rod from a pencil (each 15-20 mm long) are tightly wrapped with 10 mm wire and soldered to the foil of the fiberglass strip from opposite sides. From above, wires are soldered to the stylus and the entire structure is sealed with a compound.

The irrigation device used electrovalves, flexible transparent tubes, plastic tees, as well as a windshield washer motor from a VAZ-2109 car (the capacity of the washer tank is small, so it’s better to take a 25-liter plastic canister). In the electric motor, to reduce noise and reduce current consumption, the brush clamp is loosened.

A watering ring is folded around the plant from a tube and small holes are pierced along its inner side. If the landing is row, then the tube can not be folded into a ring, but stretched between the rows. Spray nozzles are taken from aerosol cans. These parts are located above the flowers on a U-shaped bar and are connected in series.

Sometimes, when plants are stunted or have few leaves, spraying can affect the dipstick readings. In this case, it should be covered with a conical cap, which should not come into contact with the soil. If the device is used on a large area, then several probes located in different places can be connected to one measuring unit.

Now about the operation of the circuit diagram. When the sensor VR1 is darkened, its resistance increases, which leads to the closing of the transistor VT1. On transistors VT1-VT2, a Schmitt trigger is assembled to provide hysteresis with a slow change in the input signal and achieve a clear operation of relay K1.

When voltage appears at the VT3 gate, relay K1 closes the load circuit - a 12-volt power supply subunit. In order for it to be turned on for a limited time (5-7 minutes), a VT4 transistor with an R8C1 discharge circuit is provided. As soon as the capacitor C1 is discharged to the threshold value, then VT4 opens, closing the VT3 gate to a common wire, and relay K1 turns off. In this state, the scheme is until the next evening.

Subsystem "sensor-water supply" for automatic care of indoor plants

During the day, capacitor C1 is discharged through resistors R6 and R8. This means that the next time the sensor is illuminated, the relay will operate during the time interval specified by the values ​​of R8 and C1.

The device is powered by a transformerless circuit - to reduce energy consumption. In standby mode, it consumes a current of the order of 30 milliamps.

The 12V output subunit also has a time limiting device similar to a photo relay. But the limitation time is already different - 15 seconds, set by the parameters of the R14C7 circuit.

The measurement circuit is assembled on a comparator, the threshold of which is set by a tuning resistor R19. Under the adjustment knobs R17 and R19 are paper washers - a kind of scale with divisions.

The trimmer engine R19 is set to the middle position. The probe is placed in soil with the required moisture content. By turning the knob R17, the moment of operation of the relay K3 is selected. The adjustment is made for each plant (each channel) separately.

The trigger on the DD1 chip ensures the clarity of the operation of the K3 relay. To limit the duration of its retention (and hence watering), a limiter is introduced, the time of which is selected by the values ​​of the resistor R24 ​​and capacitor C12. For more convenient debugging of the equipment when changing one plant to another, these circuit elements are made in the form of a removable module. It is useful to have several modules at hand, configured for different times (from several seconds to several minutes).

Almost all information about the details is contained in the circuit diagram. It can only be clarified that the fixed resistors are of the MYAT type, and the trimmers are of the SP-3-19 type, and R17 and R19 can be replaced with fixed resistors after measuring different levels of soil moisture. Capacitors C1, C2, C4-C12 of the widely known types K50-35, and C3 - K73-17 for 500 V. Any relay will do, as long as their winding is rated for 12 V, and the contacts work reliably at a switching current of 0,6 A .

The transformer is ready-made or home-made, with two secondary windings capable of delivering 12 V to the load at a current of 1 A (stabilized for electronics) and 8 A (normal, for powering electrovalves and the pump motor). The parameters are named with some margin, providing for the expansion of the device and the connection of new valves at the rate of 0,4 A per valve.

Author: S.Savlyukov

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