As technology progresses, items we use around the house and even in the garden change and improve. At least, improvement is the objective. If you’ve used a timer on your water hose, you likely feel some improvements are in order. Read more to learn about recent developments in smart hoses in the garden.
What is a Smart Hose?
The timers we’ve used in the past have seen improvements that led to the name of smart hose. They may also be called smart faucet timers, as the intelligence is in the timer. Smart garden hose uses can feature about a dozen various ways to manage your gardens. These are often used in pool upkeep as well.
The app for the smart hose is downloaded to your phone, working from your home W-Fi. Some use radio connections as well, if faucets are not within W-Fi range. Many adapt to Alexa voice control commands. Local weather is programmed into the timer to ideally manage such issues as watering in the rain.
Timers usually operate on alkaline AA batteries. You may choose to water more than once a day, such as needed on hot summer days. Some timers can be run through your laptop, or tablet.
The faucet timer may turn on and off on different days, per your command. You can schedule watering some beds every third day while others are watered every other day or even once a week. Length of the watering session is programmed into the app.
There are upgraded hose assemblies, such as the Smart Hose® Safety System with innovative fittings and valves designed to work with smart timers.
How to Use a Smart Hose
Set up the timer by first downloading the appropriate app on your cell phone. Most are compatible with both IOS and Android phones, but check before purchasing for this compatibility. One smart timer works only through the IOS phone.
Some timers work best with a kit that supplies additional information. This is sometimes called a bridge. More than one timer can be controlled by using this device.
Program the timer, according to instructions enclosed with the device. Soil type, plants, and whether the garden to be watered is in a sun or shade location must be input to help the timer work properly. Some even need to know about slopes you’ll be watering. There’s a Rain Skip feature built into most.
Select a work mode with which to use the timer. In most apps you can choose by the calendar, the month, by odd or even days or by the week. As many as 100 cycles may be chosen.
Once the app is installed, you can control your watering system from anywhere Wi-Fi is available. You’ll be pleased at the improvements in watering technology and garden management.