'Automatic' Watering System

Does anyone have a watering systems like the Hozelock one? I got one for my birthday earlier in the year and have just got around to getting it set up.

I am not sure what to think of it, it seems to just water part of the pot. I have only used one dropper in each pot with 2 or 3 pots 'linked' together. (hope this makes sense). Should I have used more than one dropper in each pot?

The system says it will water 10 big pots or 20 small ones. I am watering 11 pots of which I would say 7 are 'big' and the others 'small'.

There was a timer with the kit but I have not used that yet

 

I installed one just before going on holiday. Timers vary, but I set mine to come on for 10 minutes twice a day which is adequate for the pots with one dropper in each and the troughs which have 3 droppers in each.

It has the potential to do a lot more, but I won't use it on the garden until the hosepipe ban is over.

 

What sort of sized pots do you have and do you find all of the pots get watered fine by one dropper?

Do you have the droppers buried in the soil or lying on top of it??

 

I was thinking of a watering system for my pots on the balcony did not know iff it would work and i have not got an out door tap to connect it to so it would have to go through my kitchen window to my taps and the thought of pipes all over.
was worried iff anything goes wrong being on a top floor.

 

Rosa.We rigged up one of those self watering systems years ago in our greenhouse.Went away for a long weekend and came back to find the greenhouse drowning in water.One of the pipes had disconnected itself and water was just pouring out.
Good job we weren't on a water meter at the time.
We got rid of it all and never bothered after that

Kandy

 

Thought about it dont think it is a very good idea for the balcony. left message for you on runner beans kandyfloss

 

Definite no-no if there is no outside tap, as Kandyfloss has illustrated. I install loads of the things, they aren't perfect, but once set up they do the job which is to water when the (in my case client) owner is absent/absentminded/busy.

I won't install window-boxes in my gardens without auto-watering. The cost of a decent replant of half a dozen boxes is more that the cost on installing the auto-watering, and clients almost never water.

No 1 important thing to remember: take the 'computer' bit in before the frost. It absolutely knackers them, and take off the back, hoik out the batteries, and leave it somewhere dry for the winter. Pipes etc stay in place!