Customer Reviews

Self-Watering Probes - Vacation Plant Waterers - 5 Pack

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

We're snowbirds, splitting the year in half, and have always had to find someone to watch my wife's plants.
This year we decided to try these spikes. We put a couple plants on them for about 2 months, with good results, so decided to see if they'd make it until our return in November. We got some 18 gallon totes for water reservoirs (netting about 14 gallons). The test plants were in 10" pots with 2 spikes each and took about a gallon per month for both.
I'll try to remember to update this review on our return, but we are expecting the same satisfactory results.

Well, we had one of our friends check on things last week (mid Sept) and all of our plants are doing wonderfully. They added water to the totes. This is about 4-1/2 months after leaving them. It seems that if there is enough water, this could be an indefinite solution. We are very impressed and have recommended them to several of our friends that have similar needs.

Adding this to review - 04/01/2011: We had to boil out the tubes so that they would continue to work (per manufacturer's instruction). We have a fair amount of mineral in our water, so the deposits in the tube made them less effective. I think they made it 3 years before this happened, but in hindsight, I think we'll probably perform annual maintenance (boil and blow out) so that they don't get completely plugged. A couple people asked about the larger water reservoir and for that we just use the 18 gallon storage totes (Homz, Rubbermaid, etc.) that you get at the home center stores. I drilled little holes into the totes by the handles so that I could put the lids on to minimize evaporation. I have 5 totes with three tubes in each one. This could be adjusted for length of abscence and number of spikes, just do the math (for us, 15 spikes x 7 months x 1 gallon = 105 gallons). I'm a little shy on the total volume, but that has worked, so the actual demand might be a little less than a gallon a month.I am back getting some more of these, both for a couple additional plants and, due to the lack of maintenance a couple of the tubes are being difficult.

When they work, they're great. When they don't work, well...

First you can't use them in a clear container. Two you can't use them when your watering container is higher or on the same level as the plant. Three the cord is short and is very obvious.

IF you put the plant on a side table and the container on the floor, the cord can't reach the floor and there for can't reach the bottom of the container.

If you put the plant on the table and the water container on the table, the water will be too high and will over water your plant.

If you use a clear container it will grow algae and look gross, really, really quickly.

So dark container below the plant but not too far below the plant. Probe must be thoroughly soaked and full of water before inserting into plant. Check every couple of days to make sure that probe took (easy enough, check if probe is still full of water). Repeat process if probe didn't take.

Check regularly to see if probe is still working. If you accidentally let the water go below the end of the cord, you must redo initial process even if probe is currently full.

I'm not saying they are horrible, but if you plan to use them they do require maintenance.

I purchased these probes to keep plants alive while I was away from home on a 2 1/2-week trip.

They worked perfectly on plants in 6" pots. However, a plant in a 4" pot was over-watered and died.

I am extremely pleased with the probes, and I am relieved that when I go on trips in the future I do not need to impose on a friend or family member to water my plants while I'm away.

These work so well all you have to do is put them 6 inches from one another and they do everything for you, and all u need is something that holds water i just got a big tupperware and have the end going into it filled with water and a chemical fertiliazer. Very good if your going away and even if your not you never have to water your plants agian with this its saved me so much time because i always forget.

I admit it. I'm a complete retard.
I keep forgetting to water my plants and they die on me.

Not anymore, thanks to these self-watering probes.
I place a 2L juice jug next to the plant, poke a hole in the cap, drop the tube in, and stick the probe into the roots. Viola! the plant is watered for better part of 2 weeks.

It's much easier to remember to refil the jugs once every 2 weeks instead of everyday.

thanks to these probes, my plants are green and lucious!

I've been using these for a little over two weeks as a test run for when I travel for a month later in the summer, and they basically work like an IV for your plants. In that regard they do work as advertised. However, I have found that most houseplants do not do well on a continuous supply of water. I have a wide variety of houseplants, the only ones that seem to do well with these are the palms. Most of my other houseplants now have fruit flies hanging around them attacking the roots. 2 of my plants I had to actually throw out because the roots started rotting. I am letting my other plants dry out, hopefully I can save them.

So these are not the answer to watering your plants when away on vacation, unless you are gone for a week or less. I would not recommend them for a 2 week or more period, unless they are palms. For many plants a drip feed timed system would be better so that the roots can dry out sufficiently so they don't rot. I'll consider this a lesson learned, but in the future I will only use these for plants that I know will do well with constantly moist soil.

I tried other automatic watering systems, including electric ones. This is the only one that reliably works, and you don't need to plug it in.

We recently went on a 20 day vacation, and were concerned about our plants. Typically we ask our cat-sitter to check the plants and water them as needed, but that is an imposition we are usually reluctant to add to her pet-sitting chores.

I checked the local home improvement stores, but did not like any of the systems they had. I did some research at Amazon and came across these. As an engineer I like the principle behind them, and was curious if they would actually work.

A week or so before leaving I set the plants up with the self-watering probes and monitored them. They appeared to work as promised, but the proof would be in the performance while we were away.

I'm happy to report healthy plants, and the units working as promised. I had calculated the amount for the water reservoir based on the instructions, and when we came home the level was where I expected it to be. I think I will now use this as a regular watering system, even when we are home, as we live in Colorado, and moisture is always a problem. With this system I don't have to worry about when or how much to water the plants, and any little worry I can dispense with is a big plus.

I highly recommend this product.

Note: one thing not explained in the description is that larger pots require more than one probe per pot. The instructions say 15cmm pot (~6") one probe, 20cm (~8") two probes, and 40cm (~16") four probes. They also list an approximate flow rate based on the height of the reservoir relative to the pot, and the type of soil contained in the pot. I adjusted the number of probes and height of the reservoir based on the water requirements of the plant. I would suggest actual trials before they are needed, as over-watering is often as bad as under-watering, if not worse.

I received the item in really speedy time. I was going away for 3 weeks and needed to have time to test the product as well as set it up.

It worked. I just arrived home and all of my plants survived.

The Self-Watering probes worked perfectly. We lost several plants during our last vacation but none this time using the probes. Just make sure the water source is at the proper height in relation to the plant.