report water level in flower box

[SentinelAeon]

I am trying to make an easy way to alert me when i need to water a plant - a red led light. For now i am trying to do it without external power or solar panels - batteries only. I have everything figured out except the element that will detect when contact between 2 points in soil no longer conduct electricity and switch on the led light powered by battery.

I could do that using a relay, but relay consumes a lot of energy, it would drain a battery very soon. I would like to keep the energy usage zero or minimal unless the led light needs to shine. In a way i would need 2 elements:

1) something like relay, but made for small currents that uses very little electricity
2) a negation element of sorts - because lets say i have a relay, when current can flow between 2 points in soil (water level OK), it can therefor be used to switch on the relay and the led light will turn on. But that is not what i need - i need the exact opposite, i need the relay to turn on when current cannot flow between 2 points.

The solution is probably very obvious to most with knowledge, i hope you can direct me in the right direction.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

If you're doing it with an ESP8266 (or ESP32) check what current the modules takes - if it's a module with a built-in USB/RS232, converter then that takes a fair amount of current all the time, and DRASTICALLY reduces battery life. With the absolute minimum of extra parts, and the ESP in sleep, you should have no problem getting over a years battery life.

I use the ESP32/SIM800 modules at work, and found the easiest way is to use a PIC micro-controller (in sleep) to do all the timings and only power the ESP up when needed - even though the ESP32/SIM800 module has it's own battery connection it's current draw in sleep is far too high.

Basically the PIC does everything else, and just powers up the ESP32, and then sends data to it when required.

 

[tepalia02]

I think the most convenient option is to use a water level sensor or a soil moisture sensor(anti corrosive), An Arduino and a DC 6V Micro Pump Motor for watering. You can use a 1-channel 6V relay between the motor and the Arduino. Here is a similar project that you may like to see:

FlowerPot Monitor - Share Project - PCBWay

Abstract Growing and maintaining a flower or plant can be difficult. It takes time, dedication and care, but the end result is almost always worth it. However, if one forgets to water their plant, all...

www.pcbway.com