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Some Site Updates, Scott’s PatchMaster, Lasers, and Helicopters

JonC — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:08:42 +0000

It’s raining tonight again. It’s really been crazy, like it should be Spring right now and not summer. For the last two weeks we’ve had almost non-stop rain, perhaps one or two days without it. The Scott’s Patchmaster is doing great, but it’s not really getting a chance to get it’s roots deep in the ground and form a solid mat due to all of the available water from rain, as a result the ground is a bit squishy over there still. I keep a jar out on one of the planters so I can see how much it rains. In one 24 hour period I measured almost 3 inches of rain! Crazy weather!

There’s a few changes coming to the Thaltech.com website, it won’t affect this blog for the most part, but is part of me wanting to unify all of my various hobbies into something easily manageable and search-able.

I’ve started updating some of the other pages on this website. My most visited site, my current Jon’s Homebuilt Lasers , is slowly being transitioned over to Jon’s Commercial, Industrial and Homebuilt Lasers which will me in the format of a new CMS / Blogging style which closely mirrors the appearance of this site. I plan on getting some things going with that hobby in a month or two and wanted a site which was easy to update, as well as I am interested in merging appearance and access on my websites.

Also in transition at this time is my current Jon’s Helis website. I also be converting my rocket site over as well as creating a new one specifically for my high voltage projects and experiments.

When all is said and done I will replace the main Thaltech Webpage with a blog type interface as well which will receive general ‘stuff’ type posts and also receive updates from each of the partitioned sites. This will allow me to have all of my projects and work and hobbies and such indexed on the main URL for my website, providing for my own little gateway into things.

You may ask why I’d want to make everything completely separate, rather than just running one giant blog. For one I want to individually theme each site towards people who have interest in those specific items, without them having to dig through a ton of unrelated content. Additionally I like to keep things segmented for my own purposes.

Some Options for Sprinkler Timers

JonC — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:27:57 +0000

Having had to grow a new lawn in 2 areas covering around 2000sq ft we really needed some sort of sprinkler timer system. I had actually spent some time searching online to see what it would take to put an in-ground system in at one point. Although most of the components are extremely price friendly, there are a couple which are not. The first is the sprinkler system timer, and the second is the back-flow prevention valve which can run up to $300 in itself on top of the rest of your system. Add in the additional digging and modifying your plumbing, etc, it’s a lot of work and perhaps a job better after settling in for a couple of years.

Vigoro 3015V Water Timer / Sprinkler Timer (also known as a Melnor Electronic Water Timer 3015V)

We ended up going with some garden / home improvement store variety water timers / sprinkler timers that you just hook your hose to. The first one we purchased was a ‘Vigoro Model 3015v’ (same as Melnor) branded item which had a lot of programming flexibility, manual override and, in this package, the moisture sensor. The water timer without the rain sensor function is $26.30 at Amazon. (not the number of ‘review stars’ in the amazon popup when you hover over that link) The one with the water sensor is pictured below.

Overall this seemed like a pretty good timer. It has a lot of flexibility in the programming schedule. You set the current time (in hours only) and set the start time (in hours only). You then program how often the timer will open the valve in hours or days to water your lawn, and for how long it will do it each time, in minutes, or hours.

We used this unit at first on four oscillating fan type sprinklers. I noticed right away that the water pressure to the sprinklers was very low when they were ran and series (VALVE –> SPRINKLER –> SPRINKLER –> SPRINKLER –> LAST SPRINKLER) type setup. I bought a 4 way splitter valve and then split the hose 4 ways to the 4 separate sprinklers. This evened out the pressure much better (and is called a parallel configuration)

While the water pressure had improved with the 4-way hose splitter it was still weak, this of course is not the sprinkler timers fault but just additional useful information if you’re trying to water a large area with multiple sprinklers.

The rain sensor / moisture sensor did a reasonable job, and lets you adjust how sensitive to ground moisture it is. The setting varies from 1 water drop to 3 water drops to tell the system how wet you want your ground to be. If the moisture sensor detects that your lawn is wet, to the level you selected, the main unit will bypass any sprinkling times until your lawn dries out enough to require watering again. The rain sensor is great as it prevents the system from watering your lawn when it has rained recently, saving you money and possibly sparing you the dirty looks from your enviro-conscious-neighbors if your sprinklers happen to turn on during a torrential downpour!

Special Note: Attach your hose to this unit before attaching the wireless receiving antenna. Speaking from experience it is much more difficult to get the hose on when the antennas is attached!

Model: Vigoro/Melnor 3015V Water Timer / Sprinkler Timer w/Wireless Moisture Sensor
Cost: $24.95 (excluding moisture sensor feature)
Pros: Simple to setup, manual override, reliable, easy to read.
Cons: Splits hours evenly. a 6/noon/6 schedule is not possible, you only get a midnight/6/noon/6 schedule, and I didn’t want to water our lawn at midnight and I didn’t want to water too early in the morning, or too late at night like I could achieve with an 3 x 8hr schedule. This unit has received terrible reviews in general.

Orbit 4 Zone Water Timer / Sprinkler Timer

After messing with the Vigoro sprinkler timer and having the water pressure problems as well as the ‘watering at midnight’ problem due to limited timer configurations with that unit I decided to go to Lowe’s and see what they had in the way of a timer with multiple zones. Well, there wasn’t a lot available other than this Orbit ‘Complete Yard Watering Kit’. In all honestly it didn’t come with the 300 feet of hose or 5 25 dollar sprinklers so I’m not sure how ‘complete’ I would say it was. It did come with a 4 way valve manifold, the timer module and 2 electronic valves, expandable to 4 (additional valves are 12.95, mail order only from Lowe’s site and rarely in some stores).

This timer seems pretty well built, and it’s pretty easy to setup. It is somewhat the same parameters as the Vigoro module above with the addition of individual zones. As an added bonus, they seemed to know you did not want to water your lawn at midnight, and it allows you to set a schedule for 6am, Noon and 6pm, and to skip any overnight watering possibilities. GOOD IDEA!

With the addition of multiple valves, you have multiple sprinkler zones. I split the sprinklers down into 2 watering zones for the main peninsula lawn and set the timer to run both sets of control valves, one at a time, for 20 minutes during each watering period for the new lawn. It works great and reliably.

I like this timer much better, but it has it’s own problems as well. While the programmable portion of the timer is pretty great. The fact that you have to buy additional zone valves via mail order only is kind of a lame, but not impassable barrier. Additionally in manual mode it would have been a nice feature to be able to set individual times for each zone. With this module you can turn on one sprinkler zone for X minutes. Or alternately you can turn on all zones for X minutes. You cannot set Zone 1 for 10 minutes, Zone 2 for 20 minutes, Zone 3 for 10 minutes, etc.

Model: Orbit Complete Yard Watering Kit (Model #: 91591 / 27752)
Cost: Spotty Availability, cheaper version now available for around $49
Pros: Very flexible timing options and multiple zones. Expands up to 4 valves and is reliable. While discontinued the additional valves are still currently available.
Cons: You can only buy sprinkler zone control valves through mail-order. I have received and viewed some reports regarding the reliability of the reviewed unit in a poor light and in fact when I changed the batteries the unit died on the spot but in general Orbit has better product reviews than the Melnor products Vigoro re-brands.

Summary

I wasted so much time and money with these sprinkler timers that we might have been better off trenching and putting in our own sprinkler system. By the time we got everything taken care of working right, the amount of money spent on sprinklers, hoses, timers, watering at weird hours, etc could have just been resolved with a real sprinkler system with an indoor based multi-zone timer for a couple hundred more. Perhaps next year, things are working okay for now but not optimal. If you’re not able to do your own sprinkler system installation, then these may be the way to go, if you’re just being kinda lazy you may wind up regret it.

If you are looking for a short term solution for a sprinkler timer then I think these two models can provide you temporary relief. If you’re looking for something that is going to last you longer and multiple seasons, you might want to look at other sprinkler timers. I’ve found that while the particular multi-zone Orbit I reviewed has higher failure complaints, their smaller single zone units have a bit better reputation such as the Orbit 91213 or the Orbit 62001 which has been getting excellent reviews. If you want longer life from your timer, don’t leave it or the valves out over the winter. When you change the battery it may be beneficial to rub something like petroleum jelly over the rubber seal on the battery compartment to help it seal better. If you buy a unit that doesn’t have a sealed battery compartment, take it back.

If you liked this post, please see my other Lawn Related Posts and also my new article where I disassemble the Vigoro 3015v to see how the valve works.

I’ve tried to keep this post updated with recent information based on feedback from readers and information I find from other review sites and reviewers so that my readers can be better informed on their choices. I last updated this page on June 7, 2011. Best of luck with your lawns and gardens this Spring and Summer.

Memorial Day Weekend and Another Weekend Update

JonC — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:06:21 +0000

I hope everyone in the US is having or had a good Memorial Day weekend. So far I’ve been doing yard work and flying, and tomorrow will probably be grilling as well.

I’ve been a bit slow this week in uploading photos and updates on the new patch I put on the lawn on Monday, 7 days ago. The PatchMaster hasn’t sprouted up grass yet, but it should go in the next few days if all goes well and things should start to turn green. I bought the 15 pound bag for around $25 to patch this area and some others.

There’s some thunderstorms moving in as I type so the lawns have been getting plenty of water. There’s also a pick of the backyard lawn which we leveled and then planted seed with the use of a wood fiber germinating mat. The areas that grew in seem to be doing well, but unfortunately there seem to be good size patches which just never sprouted, and I’m not sure why. I mowed over that mat once, most of it stayed in place. I suspect we’ll have to put more seed down once the summer is over.

The big lawn project however, on the peninsula is doing well as you can see in that photo (with the 4 sprinklers, next to the barn). I trimmed back our Eastern Red Cedar on the peninsula (which is actually a juniper – Juniperus virginiana) so now it is not hanging on the ground. You can see the before picture, with the moss ‘lawn area’ in the forground, and the after picture with the now grassy lawn in the foreground. It looks a lot better being opened up like that and will make mowing a bit easier. I also want to cut back some branches from the acorn tree which are hanging over the front of the barn.

I also added a couple photo’s of a plant that I’m not familiar with. (Update: They appear to be Peonies) It has these big red buds at the top of the stem which have not opened up yet, I guess it’s still doing something in there before it bursts forth. There are a lot of tiny ants all over these buds that seem to be paying a lot of attention to them though. Either they’re waiting for what’s inside, or there’s some sort of plant juices they like there.

Yardwork Helpers – Auto Winding Hose Reel

JonC — Tue, 19 May 2009 02:52:48 +0000

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and was getting tired of winding the 100 foot hose back into a pile. We went to Lowe’s a while back and I was looking for a hose reel while Bryn was looking for herb seeds and such. I saw this thing and decided to spend the 75 bucks on it. My RA is bad at times and excessive work really brings it out, but I hate to quit doing things around the house because of it and will always push myself. One less workload every night after watering is great!

I was pretty sure this was a waste of 75 bucks, you always see stuff at the home center’s that looks great, but deep inside you know it’s complete junk. Well, I was wrong on this one and pretty happy with the results over the last few months. It winds 100 feet of hose in about 1 minute, pretty impresive. I put a video up with some random music for you to watch.

This particular product is of the ‘No-Crank’ brand, they come in a lot of shapes and sizes. I went for something ‘open’ so I could clean off the hose and.. well I just like to see things work. If I could buy this bad-boy in transparent plastic I would (and if they want to ship a transparent one to me, please use the contact form!) Each hose reel comes with a special code you can use and include in a link to earn credits. You’ll notice my link is a straight link without the code, I just think it’s a great product and wanted to share with some of my more challenged yard-work visitors.

Just remember, when in doubt, there’s a technology out there to make the hard stuff easier for us and I’ve been surprised with how well it works. If I run into any junk I’ll be sure to let you know.

I’ve started putting videos on YouTube, and will continue to do so, I hate to think people can’t watch the vids because it’s in some crazy ‘standard’ format.

No-Crank Hose Winder Video

Alternate video link

Lawn Watch 2009 tense music (1 of 2 posts today)

JonC — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:16:47 +0000

Okay, I bought some more Scott’s QuickPatch for part of the left side lawn I leveled off with topsoil and applied it tonight. I put the soil down a week or so ago and we had a major rainstorm which I helped level it out and make it part of the yard. I put weed and feed down about a week ago and was hoping that the weeds would be dead, but they’re not. Progress cannot be impeded, we’ll take care of the weeds later. I’ve sharpened up some nail clippers for Bryn so he can get the weeds.

Hopefully in a week there will be sprouts and in short time there will be lawn. I love how this stuff works, but it really really makes me want to build a home-owner sized hydro-seeder over the summer.

You can flip through the photos and see the stages from: Topsoil -> Crushing up the compressed quickpatch -> applied quickpatch -> watered quickpatch.

Oh please! contain your excitement, don’t crowd. The pics are as exciting as watching grass grow, but I’ll take photo’s twice a week and provide a post in about 2 months with all of the ‘progress’ photos together so you can see the lawn sprout, become infested with weeds, and then get razed with a large blowtorch!

Sorry about pics being out of order, my image viewer app plugin is a dimwit.

This Weekend’s Yard Report

JonC — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:16:29 +0000

Things seem to be going good all around out here. I mowed the peninsula lawn this weekend for the first time since planting the grass and it looks great. It’s still thin but now that it’s gotten more sun absorbing leafy surface area going and I added the starter fertilizer it’s really been picking up pace. With any luck this lawn will be established before the weather gets too hot, but I’m not sure. We’ve only been watering it every 2 days using the timer lately. It’s still bright and green and seems to be thriving. Additionally we’ve gotten rain over the past two weeks which helps save money on water, etc.

The lawn on the back yard hill is growing in okay, I was hoping it would have been thicker but that doesn’t seem to be the case. If I could have gotten this or the peninsula to grow in as fast and thick as that Scott’s quick patch (PatchMaster(tm)) stuff I’d have been happy. Maybe I need to look into hydro-seeding for any future lawn work ( DIY Hydro-seeder anyone? ) . The Scott’s quick patch is basically hydro-seeding ingredients minus the water from what I saw on the bag. I saw a spot down the road where the town had cut up some big 8-12 foot wide swaths of land to do fire hydrant work, then hydroseeded when done. That was 2 weeks ago and the grass is already growing really fast there.

I also have some more photos of the Iris flowers. The second one looks like it’s sticking it’s tongue out Say ahhhh!

Additionally are the photo’s of something special brewing in ‘Mom’s Sunshine Garden’ I was worried they weren’t going to come up, but they bloomed fairly quick. It appears something has been nibbling them, but with the number of bunnies I’ve seen around here, I hope it’s them and not bugs!

And finally you can see a couple of herbs from the garden planter. The first one is Sage and the second one is Parsley.

Side yard photos, a bird, and some flowers

JonC — Mon, 11 May 2009 00:24:14 +0000

Not much here for today, just posting some pics of the left side of the house, and some Iris’ flowers which have popped up here and there and a robin that has been helping with the ant population. I also did a panoramic photo ‘from the hip’ which is why they don’t merge so well. I’ll try to do some better ones with my tripod and see if I can get them to look like the R/C Field development photo’s I took and turned into a panorama over here.

My mom identified the flowers for me, they’re Iris flowers and maybe Crocus or Snap Dragon. Up until 30 minutes ago I just called them ‘flowers’ ! I’ll have more photos in the next few days as more bloom which should help ID things better. I looked at pictures of Iris’ and both flowers look similar so I’m thinking they’re just Iris. Time will tell *suspense music*. Feel free to post suggestions.

Here’s an interesting website I found for the Iris Species Database provided by The Species Iris Group of North America

Lazy weekend

JonC — Sun, 03 May 2009 00:42:14 +0000

Not much going on this weekend so I just have some photo’s from the yard and such. The one photo looking off into the woods, there’s a neighbors house in there, can you spot it? A week ago I could see this place plain as day, now it’s really hard to see. The lawn on the peninsula is growing great, I think I should be able to mow it for the first time next weekend, but I’ll make sure it’s at the right height before I do that. Check out the photos (Click images below for larger pictures)

Jon's Home Blog » Lawn

Some Site Updates, Scott’s PatchMaster, Lasers, and Helicopters

Related Posts

Some Options for Sprinkler Timers

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Memorial Day Weekend and Another Weekend Update

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Yardwork Helpers – Auto Winding Hose Reel

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Lawn Watch 2009 *tense music* (1 of 2 posts today)

Related Posts

This Weekend’s Yard Report

Related Posts

Side yard photos, a bird, and some flowers

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Lazy weekend

Related Posts

Lawn Watch 2009 tense music (1 of 2 posts today)