General Question

seeweed's avatar

How can i control 4 sprinkler valves so that they actuate sequentially every 2-3 minutes, one at a time?

Asked by seeweed (1points) December 23rd, 2008

Common sprinkler controllers only offer 4–6 hour or more intervals and i need 1/100th of that. also, using programmable relays are causing overlaps and pressure irregularity (i need to push water into only one valve at a time to retain pump pressure). We are designing budget off-grid food production methods for the 3rd world which minimize electrical and water usage… thankyou for your thoughtful reply.

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2 Answers

jholler's avatar

Rewire the timer circuitry on a rainbird?

jholler (2389points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
aaronbeekay's avatar

Is this a set solution: i.e., will this always be four valves, or will you need to be able to add valves on-demand?

If you don’t need to add more valves, it would be a pretty simple job to wire up a microprocessor, like the Arduino, to a series of relays. Once that’s done, you could simply program the Arduino to close one relay every so many minutes, thereby activating the sprinkler valve. The whole setup wouldn’t cost more than $20 in parts.

If you need some more info, just ask—I’ll be happy to give some more details.

aaronbeekay (295points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…

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