I am not familiar with those "smart plugs"! In fact, no clue at all. That actually is not very descriptive, except for implying ( to ME, at least), that it is positioned at the end of a power cord and connects to a standard mains power outlet.

 

I am not familiar with those "smart plugs"! In fact, no clue at all. That actually is not very descriptive, except for implying ( to ME, at least), that it is positioned at the end of a power cord and connects to a standard mains power outlet.

Surprising.
I've been using them, along with smart switches, for about 10 years, and probably have at least a dozen in my house to control various lights and appliances (and got rid of all my other mechanical/electronic power timers).
Yes, the plugs plug into an outlet and connect to your WiFi network.
You then, of course, plug into that whatever light or appliance you want to control.
You give each plug a unique name to show what's being controlled.
Their cell-phone app can then control them manually from anywhere with cell service, or have them go ON and OFF at programmed times.
The app shows the ON / OFF status of the plug.
You can also control them with voice commands using Alexa and Google Home modules.

So welcome to one aspect of home automation.

Example of smart plug below from Amazon:

 

Just an update on the time switches that I suggested in post #20 and Danko suggested in post #24. I have one of them that I bought a few years ago but never used. I got it out and connected it up to a 12 volt power supply to to charge the internal battery. I found that the internal battery was not holding a charge. I took it apart expecting that the internal battery would be a single cell Ni-Mh but it was CR2032 lithium cell. I could not find any rechargable CR22032 cells on ebay. I think the one in this timer is just a normal non rechargable cell.
Les.

 

The programmable plugs I have don't have batteries but instead a super capacitor. I've seen it hold a charge for several months. Once when it was left in the drawer for about a year it had to be plugged in so the SC could take a charge. Then I reprogrammed it. Now I plug the two I have in at least once every six months whether I'm using one or not. But typically one is in daily use running my evening lights. No battery, just a SC.

 

Just an update on the time switches that I suggested in post #20 and Danko suggested in post #24. I have one of them that I bought a few years ago but never used. I got it out and connected it up to a 12 volt power supply to to charge the internal battery. I found that the internal battery was not holding a charge. I took it apart expecting that the internal battery would be a single cell Ni-Mh but it was CR2032 lithium cell. I could not find any rechargable CR22032 cells on ebay. I think the one in this timer is just a normal non rechargable cell.

In timer #24 internal battery is 1.2V rechargeable battery:

 

Quite interesting indeed!! My activities are not so repeatable day to day that a timer for lights would be a benefit very often. The one exception being the one that switches on the outside lights for the drive and the front walk. Motion sensors control the entry-way lighting to conserve power and assure light when it is needed.

 

The one exception being the one that switches on the outside lights for the drive and the front walk.

Yes, I control the outside LED lights, as well as the inside accent room lights to go on in the evening.
For those I use WiFi smart switches (Amazon example below):

Note that these switches say they require a neutral wire for power, but some of my switch locations didn't have a neutral so I cheated and used the safety ground wire for that.
The control current into the ground is very small (perhaps 10mA or so) so I doubt there's any kind of a real safety hazard, although it's technically likely a code violation.

 

I always wonder just how secure a WiFi connection actually is. At least, in theory, it is possible to receive and record a transmission and know just what was sent. And even an encoded transmission could be received and recorded, and re-transmitted again.

 

These vids may help.

 

Why are we carrying on with this? The TS hasn't been back since Saturday, August 8th. We have no details to work from.

Unwatched!

 

Why are we carrying on with this? The TS hasn't been back since Saturday, August 8th. We have no details to work from.

Unwatched!

It is an interesting discussion is why! Timer applications are common to what a lot ofpeople do. That is the basis for the responses, at least as Isee it. "Other opinions may differ."

 

I don't mind helping someone who's trying to help themselves. But when they sit back and watch - - - . Or worse, they walk away. I've seen it enough to suspect this is just one more person who asked a question without any real desire to accomplish a task. Maybe the TS does. But by now (s)he knows we need more information. Either it's a top secret project or the TS has lost interest. When that happens - I lose interest.

 

Hi Guys,

Please keep On-Topic.

Moderation

 

Dozens of flavors available as garden irrigation timers; when battery powered, will keep time after outage to energize a solenoid ----> https://search.brave.com/search?q=garden+watering+timer&source=desktop
Or canibalize a VCR display.

 

I've designed one a long time ago using 4060 IC w/ a watch crystal. It' going to take me a while to find it though.

https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/threads/need-help-48-and-72-hour-timer.34864/

 

I have a few similar to that. Only mine are in 30 minute increments. Almost two decades ago I set up a garden in the basement for my wife's outdoor plants. When winter comes the plants are brought inside and placed over a tote full of water. Using a 12 volt pump and 12V power supply the water would run for 30 minutes once a day. That didn't last long as the pump burned up. It was a windshield washer sprayer pump, meant for intermittent use. Running for 30 minutes was too much for it. I later took a dish washer drain pump and attached it to the outside of the tote with an overhead tank and drip tubes for the plants. Again, running for 30 minutes was tough on the pump. Its original meantime was on the order of maybe 5 minutes. After a while that pump failed. My wife's plants died, so the whole rig sits in the garage, likely never to be used again. But since I have a few programmable timers I could set it back up once again. Unfortunately I don't have the desire to do so. Her plants now go dormant during the winter and come back in the springtime.

This is exactly what i need the timer for
I need it to run a pump to water the plants when i travel
I am not good at things that need programming or complicated techniques so i asked if it is possible to build a timer with simple electronic circuits but if it is not possible i guess i have to buy a timer

 

The suggesion by Wendy of using a 32760 hz watch crystal and a cd4060 (2^ 15 counter.) is a good way to start. That would give a 2hz output. To get 1 cycle per minute you divide that by 120. Next you divide that by 15 (to get 1 pulse every 15 minutes.) Next step is to divide by 96 to give you 1 pulse per day. If you work out the cost of the ICs to do that it will probably be more than the type of timer that I (Post #43 ) and Danko (Post #45) suggested.
Les.

 

I need it to run a pump to water the plants when i travel

If you are watering plants for 15 minutes daily then you are likely over-watering the plants. This will encourage plant diseases. What you need is an irrigation system based on water need, not time.

Why water the plant if the soil is already wet from rain, for example?
You need to water based on soil water content.

 

This is exactly what i need the timer for
I need it to run a pump to water the plants when i travel
I am not good at things that need programming or complicated techniques so i asked if it is possible to build a timer with simple electronic circuits but if it is not possible i guess i have to buy a timer

Now that we know what the project is, there is nothing you can build that will be more reliable, easier to configure, or less total effort than a lamp timer powering the power source for the pump.

The lamp timers I use have little tabs that slide in and out, one tab for each 15 minutes. For you, the total "programming" effort is sliding one tab. That's all. Not sexy, not geeky, no buttons, no LCD displays - and not complicated.

ak

 

If you are watering plants for 15 minutes daily then you are likely over-watering the plants.

Depends on the flow rate. In a 100% controlled environment, I would think that adjusting the water source to prevent over-watering would be pretty simple.

ak