Summer is just around the corner and your green darlings want to be well looked after in your absence. This works well with the İrrigation System – you can get this from Cafago for €41.29.
- double pump
- solar panel
- App & voice control
A few months ago we introduced you to a very small and inexpensive irrigation system. Now there is a larger and also more expensive variant, which, interestingly enough, can also be charged using a small solar panel and operated using an app or voice control.
Irrigation system with double pump, solar panel, app & voice control Review, Specs & Price
- Irrigation system with solar panel & app
- Scope of delivery including solar panel
The scope of delivery of the irrigation system includes everything relevant for a speedy installation. In concrete terms this means: an electric pump module, a 6V solar panel, 10 meters of water hose, two spray heads, 8 drip heads, 2 filters, 10 fixings and 10 T-connectors.
Ideally, at least ten plants can be supplied with water via two pumps, depending on how cleverly you design the structure. Of course, it is always very practical with these sets that you can adapt them individually for your home. If the structure changes significantly, you can also buy the necessary water hose quite cheaply.
The connections are located on the side of the pump itself. The solar panel can be connected via micro-USB, but it can also be charged using a power pack with a suitable connection. These are joined by the two pumps already mentioned with their respective inputs and outputs. Splitting the water into two buckets (of course you can also use a large one) and two separate pump systems is smart, especially for more plants. In the app, which we will come to later, only one pump can be controlled if required.
The construction is then a little puzzle game, but if you know how many plants are there and which ones can be supplied with water via a pump, you can divide the hoses quite well and divide them up with a T-piece. The more plants run over a pump, the less water they get. That’s why in my experiment I connected two smaller plants to a hose and the large Monstera to its own, directly to the pump.
Rechargeable battery via micro USB or solar panel
What is particularly interesting about this irrigation system is the possibility of being able to operate it virtually wirelessly . The double pump has a 2,600 mAh battery that can be charged via micro USB or solar panel.
This is relatively small at 15.5 x 14.5 x 1.5 cm and has either a suspension or two integrated legs for placement. The cable from the solar panel to the pump is also long enough, at least for my use case.
Operation via display, app & voice control
Once you have successfully set up your irrigation system at the desired location, you can finally switch on the double pump. This is done via a power button on the side, after which the display is automatically switched on. Any settings can be made via this. There is also an extra section in the manual on how to operate the display, which doesn’t seem to be very easy.
I skipped this part of the test and instead downloaded the appropriate Smart Life app ( iOS / Android ) directly and registered there with a disposable email. To do this, I simply followed the QR code from the instructions.
This is also very well rated with 4.6 out of 5 stars and has already appeared in a few articles . I find the section of the privacy policy (middle) very cute, if you are a child, where you are still politely addressed. Next to that we see the normal app interface, where of course the possibility of voice control immediately catches our eye.
In addition, setting the watering times, interval and pump duration is probably the easiest and clearest thing in the app, there are also ready-made plans.
How well are my plants cared for?
First of all, I can say that the double pump emits a fairly quiet but high-pitched beeping sound in charging mode. If you are in the immediate vicinity, this can be annoying in the long run. If you put it in a magic position, the beeping will also stop, so just move it around a bit.
The double pump can output 550ml/min, so you should have enough buckets or other containers on site to keep your plants adequately supplied, depending on how long you will be away and how often the plants need to be watered. Since it can be difficult to care for all plants individually according to their needs, I think you should find a good middle point. The system is not intended for permanent use, but only when you are not there. Plants usually get by with a little more or a little less water for a few days.
I’m certainly not a green thumb expert so first of all I have no idea why there are two filter heads and two sprinkler heads extra other than to give you a choice. Maybe one of you knows that in the comments. Nevertheless, you can definitely take care of at least up to 10 plants.
Personally, I like the drip heads best as they are easy to attach closest to the plants. A little worry that you put something under water is always there. I have now taken the two filter heads to lower the hoses in the water bucket, since at the beginning they swam up and drew air.
Is the irrigation system worth it?
In my opinion, an irrigation system is worthwhile for anyone who is often away for a few days and does not feel like asking friends, family or neighbors to water the plants. In this case, the operation completely without a socket via the solar panel is also very pleasant. Especially if you want to water your balcony. Of course, it has to be said that the system is not waterproof, so it would still have to be set up in a protected manner.
Once you have figured out the structure and the system is in place, it is simply a nice support when caring for your darlings. The voice control is nice to have , but basically I only used the app, set everything reasonably suitable for my plants and just let it run. I am also positively surprised by the solar panel, which works perfectly and has always charged the pump nicely.
It would of course be interesting to see how well this still works in the darker months of the year, but fortunately there are other charging options via the cable connection. All in all, I find the system (and irrigation systems in general) super practical and can only recommend it to anyone who needs it.
