Under control: automatic watering is easy with an inexpensive battery-operated timer - Garden

Sunset, August, 2002 by Lauren Bonar Swezey

In the dry-climate West, watering lawns and garden plants is often our biggest challenge during summer (it's vacation time, after all). To keep plants irrigated automatically, you could install a highly efficient, multivalve automatic irrigation system. But there's a simpler option for small or isolated areas of the garden that can be irrigated from a single hose bibb: a battery-operated timer.

Unlike an automatic controller that must be wired to automatic valves, a timer attaches directly to a hose bibb (between faucet and hose) and can operate a soaker hose, a simple drip-irrigation system for beds or containers, or, in some cases, a mist system.

We tested several brands in a home garden last year and found that all are reliable, as long as you follow the basic operating guidelines below and care for them properly. Prices given are approximate.

Timer tips

* Use alkaline batteries, not rechargeable ones. Change them once a year.

* Program the timer before attaching it to the faucet or hose.

* To prevent damage, avoid excessive pulling or tugging on any hose attached to a timer. Remove the timer from the hose bibb if temperatures drop below 320.

Where to buy timers

Timers are sold at home improvement centers, some nurseries, and irrigation supply stores. You can also order by mail from these sources. Amazon.com. Sells Gardena, Gilmour, and Melnor. www.amazon.com; search "Tools and Hardware." DripWorks. Sells DIG, Gardena, Orbit, and Rainbird. (800) 522-3747 or www.dripworksusa.com. Lee Valley Tools. Sells Arzin. (800) 871-8158 or www.leevalley.com.

Urban Farmer Store. Sells Gardena and Orbit. (415) 661-2204 or www.urbanfarmerstore.com.

RELATED ARTICLE: Dial timers

* Easy to operate, with only two dials to set

* Cost between $25 and $70; manufacturers not shown include Melnor and Rainbird

Run-time dial

How long the water will run in minutes-from 1 minute to 120

Frequency dial

How often, in hours or days, the water will turn on and off

Digital timers

* Allow the most flexibility in programming

* Cost between $35 and $90

Basic

To program them, press a few buttons to reach the preset watering times and schedules of your choice (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 5 A.M. to 6 A.M., for instance). Manufacturers not shown include Gardena ($50) and Melnor ($35).

Advanced

Designed for flexibility, these models allow you to make up your own schedule. On Melnor model 3060, for example, watering times can be scheduled to run for as long as 3 hours and 59 minutes on any day of the week. Because of this flexibility, timers can also be used to mist plants, using short cycles that repeat once or several times during the day. Most of these timers also offer preset schedules. Not shown are DIG ($40), Gardena ($85), and Orbit ($50).