Better than automatic watering...

October 21, 2008 3:30 PM

Automatic watering tanks/reservoirs? (not necessarily for plants)

I have several items that use water regularly that require filling every 1-2 days. (ie. several earthboxes, several indoor Venta humidifiers). I'd like to extend having to add water to at least a week, and I'm already at the largest sized units.

I was wondering if anyone knows about some kind of water detection/water pump + water storage device that I can use to refill these. I know about using gravity driven tanks, but I'd like something that doesnt have to be mounted up so high, more discreet, possibly smarter.

posted by wongcorgi to home & garden (2 comments total)

The humidifier attached to my furnace ductwork is connected directly to the household water supply. A shutoff valve is clamped onto a copper supply pipe. Turning the handle of this little shutoff valve drives a needle into the pipe, piercing it so that water escapes into the valve body. A length of flexible plastic tubing goes from this valve to the humidifier, and in the humidifier reservoir is a float valve that controls the water flow. An arrangement something like this would be the easiest way to go; the hardware might be a little tricky to find, but it should be cheap and easy to install. Messing around with pumps, float switches and wiring would be pricier and more complex.
posted by jon1270 at 5:22 PM on October 21, 2008

Salt water aquarium folks have to deal with this a lot (evaporation changes the salinity), so there are a lot of different auto top-off solutions out there, typically in the $50 - $150 range, which can be adapted for most any similar need.

You can find a range of do-it-yourself components and instructions at places like www.aquahub.com and autotopoff.com, plus some turnkey systems at the larger mail order vendors, such as marinedepot.com
posted by nonliteral at 5:29 PM on October 21, 2008