Automatic Plant Watering System From AliExpress - Unboxing, Testing, Teardown, Faultfinding
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- I bought this very cheap automatic plant watering device from AliExpress - sadly, it did not quite live up to expectations...
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*Afterthoughts & Addenda*
*Refund* - after I submitted the additional picture of the device not working, nothing happened until the time limit on the refund query ran out (about 3 days or so), then Aliexpress gave me an automatic full refund. I was not required to return the faulty item.
Aliexpress is crazy with their refunds. I never had any kind of issue. They weren't even really interested in any reasons. Rather keep a customer than save $2
That's usually how it goes.
Yeah. The only time I've gotten something bad from one of their sellers, the seller got me a full refund anyway, because they likely knew that Aliexpress would do a refund and just bill them for it.
The difference between them and your experience on Wish is night and day.
You noticed the leak now, still nothing can be done? Or you already repurposed it?
I have learned to start by contact the actual seller for refunds. Only if they stall do I get in touch with Ali’s customer service, with variable success. But in maybe 6 years of buying all sorts of stuff, I have mostly been very lucky, with only 2 partial refunds offers, which I turned down in favour of a PayPal dispute. Which worked. Also I flood them with pictures and videos. Most of the time they all show the same thing but I have found that the more pics you send, the quicker and surer the refund.
My father was a mechanical engineer who specialised in irrigation and combustion. His favourite thing to do was to take things apart. Watching this has been like watching him potter but with full commentary. Thank you so much. I miss him so very much, and I can see him rn dissembling something holding the arm of his spectacles in his mouth.
That's a lovely story and I'm glad these videos bring up fond memories!
Great trip down memory lane.
I appreciate that you always try to reuse and salvage anything you can, whether it be bits of chicken fat or bits of silicon. Your approach to zero waste is really inspirational, I hope that you are able to successfully repurpose the circuitry!
I agree with the principle but I wonder if the more sustainable thing would be to not buy cheap in the first place.
Me too, I have gotten so much inspiration from him in how to reduce food waste and how to be more frugal with the food I have it has significantly helped my budget. Like a lot. It's crazy how much we waste just on a habitual level :(
Like the bits of chicken fat you mentinoned. That stuff is just pure gold in any stew or sauce.
@@TheNixoy Yeah sometimes it's true. If you buy a good quality leather jacket it can last you a lifetime plus it can still decompose (and faux leather can't because it's plastic)
@@Jhud69 Leather doesn't really compose, it's not skin it's tanned skin. That whole process is about preservation (and sometimes quite toxic!)
More easy idea:
Buy a water pump for aquariums and a timer for the outlet. There are even timers, which can be set for different weak days. I use such a system for my garden, when I‘m not home ( or too lazy tbh) and it never failed me once. It draws the water out of a rainwater tank every two days. I think pump, timer and tubing was under 25€.
That's a great idea. 👍 Worthy of testing out.
Thanks dude. I had this idea last year and have been on the fence about whether or not to actually implement it in my indoor garden. It’s good to know It works. I’ll get right onto ordering the bits.
That's a cool idea.
Or if fancy. Wifi enabled timer so you can control with your phone. 😀
Can the timers be set to different strong days though?
Here's a cool possibility: To prevent yourself from having to refill the supply bucket, you could set it up to draw from your toilet tank (or use a spare toilet valve in a bucket) to allow it to run from the city water supply.
That is an excellent idea. I can see that working well for an extended absence - houseplants could be moved into the bath or shower tray so even if the machine overwatered them, it would just drain away.
Unfortunately the greenhouse where I want to set this up has neither mains water or power, which is part of the reason for choosing this sort of standalone pump, but your idea is a great one for other situations
Very interesting. I have two of the exact same product and have been using it daily for more than two years. They water my balcony flowers very reliable and I only have to refill a large water container every 7 days. The battery life is is as long as described and does not seem to suffer from being outside in colder nights. I saw it on a German Instagram add and it arrived 3 days after ordering.
I think if that's the case then wherever these are being made might just have really poor QC, which... wouldn't surprise me, tbh.
Ordered the same product and it works pretty well. Guess it's really QC
Yeah, I think this is just bad luck on my part. I've received the second unit I ordered now (not unboxed it yet though), so we will see
It is good that you got a German made model. You cannot go wrong with German quality and engineering. They make good stuff.
@@AtomicShrimp today I have found your video online I have the exact Pump It Works reliably for over 11 months but today it stopped I opened it up and had to see that it had heavily corroded also I remove the oxidation from the motor changed the new battery hold it up looped it up clean to the bit and for now it seems to work again. Thank you for your video very helpful
You may be able to salvage the pump by filling the leaky nipple completely with adhesive silicone caulk, then trimming off the tail that connects it to the star shaped plate, effectively disabling the broken 1/5 of the pump.
I was trying to think of ways to fix the leak without blocking the chamber but this is probably the smartest way to do it
@@Terrible_name Honestly, @MarcBerm , I think using silicone to fix the leak could allow that part of the pump to start working again. Edit: Of course, if that doesn't work, then your idea could still work.
Fellas, it's a disposable part from China. Jesus give me strength
Honestly, this instantly came into my thoughts to solve the problem without reading your reaction. The chambers are too small and the wall is too thin to glue, and on top of that constantly moving when pumping, so filling it up and cutting off the nipple will work, although 1/5 less speed, but you can live with that. In theory even slightly less than 1/5 speed loss, as the motor has less power to deliver, so rotates slightly faster. You will not notice that slight difference, but I always see things like that happening in my mind (and am very happy with it).
Wow, a "Head Automatic Watering Pump Controller Home Sprinkler Drip Irrigation Device, Pump Timer System Watering Device Garden Gadgets" video popped up just when I needed it . The algorithm truly is wonderful mysterious.
The man who can truly unbox anything!!!
I imagine this is what idubbbz would have become had companies never sent him actual products to review lol
My husband bought a slightly heavier duty watering system from Menards (here in the US). It works well years later. Always interesting to see you logically work thru stuff. ❤
Always a good Saturday when a new Atomic Shrimp video drops.
So every Saturday then? 😂
Drips
Fill the defective silicone valve pocket with silcone .Less pumping capacity but hey just set the run time for longer
Still, the motor probably isn't going to be long for this world.
My thought also. It would reduce the throughput by 20%, but you would have a working system.
This is a fire hazard. I’m not sure I’d even trust an initially working unit.
@@0xbenedikt maybe that's why they included a free leak to extinguish any electrical fires
@@0xbenedikt So true.... Atomic shouldn't leave the house on holiday with that left unattended 🤣🤣🤣
I love these tinkering and break down videos you do, they are relaxing and informative. I particularly like your purchases from aliexpress, it’s always interesting to see how good or bad these quirky and knock off items are.
I never thought I would find watching an automatic plant watering system video so riveting! I would go for a full refund only in my case. It is the principle that matters!
And the principal was at issue in this case 😀😀😀😀😀
JoeCrystal But it would cost you most of the refund to ship it back to China!!! And now that is opened up.... it is moot.
I think I'm right in saying that Chinese shipping is HEAVILY subsidised by the government and that China currently enjoys very cheap international postage rates because they are treated as a 'developing country' by the UN. I believe there is an ongoing legal case at the UN where 25 countries are trying to get China stripped of it's 'developing nation' status and put onto the same international postage rates as the U.S, E.U etc. So I wouldn't worry too much about the seller's share of postage.
Yes, i wanted to comment this as well. There is a video made about it by Serpentza called: "How the hell can china ship for free to your door".
That would explain a lot
I wonder if Big Clive would be willing to dig further and diagram it out -- a collab of my two favorite most chill channels would be awesome. :)
was waiting for "one moment please"
Great idea!
I love your videos! There is something so fascinating about you tearing down objects and seeing how they work inside.
My company never charges for returns. No matter if the ware is defective, wrongly sent, or customer doesn't want it - if it's within a month timeframe, or right after delivery, the returns are covered by our company. It deals in a bit different merchandise, but nonetheless, we ship all around the world. It should be industry standard.
A company that is proud of their product, will do that. Or, in case of AliExpress, one that doesn't really have manufacturing cost and doesn't care about losing a tiny bit of money.
@@rebel4466 aliexpress is not the company which makes any of this shit, it's just a marketplace same as amazon.
people will just buy items and send them back, it encourages people to waste resources
@@JustinKoenigSilica hence the not having any manufacturing costs ...
@@bta7658 some people will always buy and send it back. Or try to scam you in various ways. The only way is not accept returns but then nobody will trust you
I have this exact same pump, but from banggood. I've had it for more than 2 years, and I use it to water my balcony flowers when I'm away for a few weeks. I think the amount of watering heads waaaay too much for that little pump, and also impractical, you can't physically bunch together that many pots, the precut tubes are just way too short. I have 2 of those pumps, 1 for each of the pots I have at the moment. I use it in the summer every month for 1-2 weeks
This is why I love this channel.
There is everything here :D
Fascinating! Your varied content is quite refreshing.
Thanks for making this video. Unfortunate that it didn't work as expected, but I appreciate that you investigated the issue and shared what you learned. I've subscribed to your channel and looking forward to learn more from you!
I love how Shrimp reads the whole product name. Reminds me of gaming in 2008 calling someone their tag actually saying the x's and underscores.
I used to have a solar powered pump for my balcony (they’re hard to get) and it was FANTASTIC for about a year or two, until the plastic in front of the solar section vitrified under the sun and it couldn’t get power anymore. When I went to get a replacement they were selling for $150.
So, clearly in demand while also not being easy to get. A real shame.
There are really good options even without power (Blumat for a product name of many to google). Or even something like an Olla. But as I've seen you solder a keyboard, you might want to go the DIY route. Little microcontroller, time module if you want to be extremely accurate and a pump connected to a relay. There also are nice little high pressure solutions that use a pump from an espresso machine. You can use spray nozzles with that for misting, if you need something like that.
Edit: As you mentioned in the video, you could use the electronics with a little pump of an indoor fountain (like 5 pounds) and a relay.
That teardown was really interesting! I had no idea how these pumps worked
Quite an interesting mechanism, almost like a swash plate pump with far fewer moving parts🤔 It's a shame the silicone was ripped, but then again, we wouldn't have seen inside it if it had been intact👍
Glad you got the full refund. I think some of these companies sell things they know are faulty knowing that between the price point and the hassle most people won’t bother asking for the refund. They are just filling up the world with garbage because most people don’t have the ability or desire to repair something so cheap. I have a lot of deep thoughts about it 😉 if only we were all taught something truly useful like how to repair things the world would probably be in better shape. But watching your videos always has me thinking “what would me shrimp do” when things don’t go as planned and that’s a step in the right direction.
15:51
That thing has been sitting in a very damp enviornment for a while. No wonder the manual was the way it was. I'm amazed the box wasn't moldy but maybe they repackaged it.
“Enough waffle…. Maybe” an unexpected gem
I like keeping track of watering my plants, it's a skill to know when your plant is thirsty for water or nutrients aswell. I guess this could come in handy with going on a trip for holliday and foodplant setups though, maybey even a "grow op" :D
I bought a similar pump unit from a vendor here in Denmark, and it failed in a similar way. Luckily I had an older pump of another type that I could refurbish and reuse, so my plants won't suffer.
Now I am keen on taking the defective pump apart to see if it is the exact same error...
You introduce me to things in our world I did not know i had an interest in. From birds singing in a tree to angry scammers you are an amazing content creator.
bigclive did a teardown of a diaphragm pump like that, showing the inner workings. Worth checking it out.
If I pay for a product that is supposed to perform a function, or is supposed to at least arrive unbroken, if either fails to happen I don't think I should bear any of the cost of the item. They didn't say ; "Purchase at your own risk. If you purchase this it may or may not work, or it might not arrive in one piece". I'm no lawyer, but I believe there's an implied contract that I should be delivered a non defective product or if not, I should be given a full refund. That's how I feel about it anyway. I'm sorry this didn't work. It looked like it could be useful. I'm glad you were made whole again.
If you just keep pushing Ali-Express, harassing them with the clear evidence, they usually will provide a full refund (always buy with free shipping for this reason!). There are heaps of garbage on Ali-Express, but there are a heap of good vendors too.. really you just need to stick to the obviously major vendors. Even so, sometimes you can get lucky with the smaller stores, but it is 50/50, often sometimes you might need to fix it yourself, or ready yourself for an Ali-Express battle. For me Ali-Express has provided access to some great products at mind blowing prices, and this has enabled me in projects that would have otherwise been impossible. So do I enjoy the occasional scam that I need to battle with Ali-Express about, definitely not. But is it worth the hassle?, sad to say, but undeniably yes. It's not for everyone though! Great videos by the way.
Welcome to a very special list, Mike. I cant wait for the Attic greenhouse conversion video next!
I like the colourful sound deadening panels in your studio, especially the purple one (purple is the best colour!)
Shrimp has officially become my favourite UA-camr
Came for Atomic Shrimp, stayed for Big Clive
The Printing out of the item listing reminds me of "Big Clive". Great Video.
Please make another video showing us how you fix it. I think some clear/scotch tape and store-bought waterproof silicone would be able to fix it, and it would help you advance the saga of this pump. I think this would work very well with a gravity-fed drip-irrigation system, with this motor pumping the water into a bucket at an elevation, and the difference in height between the bucket and the plants would power the drip irrigation.
I love how curiosity gets you. Keep it up!
I bought the identical unit a year ago - worked fine! The black hoses were shite for sure. I soaked them in hot water a while, then rolled them flat... it helped. A bit. Added some more fittings with a large 'cross over' hose to feed a 2nd planter. Also added a 'clunk' (keeps the inlet hose at the bottom of the water tank) with filter on the inlet. Too bad yours didn't work. :(
Perhaps you could send Ali Express a photograph of it in the queue at the Job Center, so they can see it's not currently working?
In past cases like this where the fault was missing parts, they asked for photographic proof of the missing parts. I just sent a picture of an empty table top
I love these kinds if videos.
one idea, I think the circuit board would be perfect for a simple DIY ebb&flow hydroponics system, just add two of those stackable IKEA "Trofast" storage boxes, a cheap aquarium water pump and a relay. I am tempted to buy it just for the PCB for this purpose.
A cheap aquarium water pump that runs off a lithium cell? Or use the output to energise a (5v?) relay for a mains pump?
@@Shaun.Stephens yeah I assume a relay to power a more powerful (mains) pump
@@Shaun.Stephens I was thinking using the output from the PCB to energize a mains rated relay to switch on a mains water pump.
What you have there is a tiny swash pump, the same idea is used in some high pressure diesel fuel pumps, interesting design but in theory very reliable.
Notes on the solenoid operated watering system, hopefully will save you some trial and error time. Unless you have an exceptionally high head of water on your gravity system, it won't work, because most solenoid water valves are Pilot Operated, so they need a fairly high pressure to operate the pilot component.
Ah yes, "goes squish". My new favorite way to describe things.
being asked to provide a photo of something _not_ doing something reminds me of that time a tech support person asked me to turn on my computer so I could run a diagnostic for them...when the complaint was that the computer wouldn't turn on. I don't know how many times I had to tell her "It won't turn on! That's the problem! Yes, its plugged in!" When I finally got them to take it back to repair, it turned out that the problem was that the power button was broken. Everything else was fine, it just wasn't getting the boot signal.
It really shouldn't be up to the customer to prove that their device is defective, especially when that often requires disassembly, a process that (in untrained hands) can often cause more damage. Provide a reliable product or accept that you're going to get refunds all the time. But then I, personally, believe in holding companies accountable for their products.
the battery being on a connector is useful for reuse... changing the motor out and just putting the pump on an arduino with a wetness sensor is also a possibility.10 ppounds might be a bit expensive for "extra parts" but my DIY heart loves it. if you can just buy the pump component alone for a couple bucks, that would be useful!
Interesting stuff. Thanks for the upload Mr. Shrimp!
Hey bud, I really enjoy all your various content. Thanks for your efforts. Glad I happened to still be awake for this upload. Usually I catch them the following morning.
Also anytime I'm driving or walking my dog, I always listen to replays of your scambaiting videos. I've seen them all several times. Hope all is well my friend. 🤜🏻🤛🏻
It’s always good to see it from a seller side too. It still costs money to manufacture, keep in stock, package and ship a faulty product. Most of this cost cannot be recovered even if the product was shipped back. A 50% refund is not necessarily terrible at these really low prices. I’d probably start complaining at 30 GBP+.
I’ve certainly had issues too at higher valued products from China via eBay, where I received a damaged customer return sold as new and unopened for 150 GBP. This was high enough to have me unsuccessfully try to get back my money for two months via the seller, PayPal and eBay. Considering that, I’d have been happy about a 50% refund instead of losing it all.
Mine worked fine for around months it got wet and I think frost caused the buttons to stop functioning, but up until then it was fine. I have a second one ready to go for the spring but I’ll keep it dry this time.
You may already be aware but Lidl in the UK has some weird stuff in a can contenders at the moment. I picked up some assorted pepper soup from the italian range, and a stout can of some sort of Okra stew from the Greek range.
Get a 5 gallon water jug, drill a hole in it and install a bulkhead fitting. Connect a 0 psi water timer on the jug and bulkhead fitting. Connect your drippers to the timer. Gravity feed it. That's how I do it. It works.
You can even use the parts fromm this pump :D
I have heard of a couple of people who complained to the seller of a defective product and were told to just keep it and a replacement was sent to them. One was told to send a picture. In any case you have a similar water pump to my old Toyota Yaris which needs topping up with fluid every six months or so. It is much cheaper to just keep filling it up than to replace the water pump. Especially since its remaining lifespan is probably measured in months not years.
Its crazy how a tiny cut is enough to entirely ruin something that is -- *deep breath* -- a battery, a pcb, a microcontroller, an electric motor, a plastic case, and was manufactured halfway across the planet, but arrived in a month.
None of that existed a relatively short time ago and it all fell apart in this instance because a soft thing got nicked a bit.
for a similar thing for my indoor plants I got an aquarium pump and the timer you use for electric heaters that have lots of pegs so I had it run and drain for 30 min a day every day, it's not perfect but it will work for a week's holiday especially in a greenhouse
Ah, nice, nothing like a new Big Clive video on Saturday morn… wait a bit… and where are The Schematics?!
Was just looking around for a watering system, good timing
Glad you got the full refund. If something isn't "fit for purpose", regardless of whether they get the faulty item back or not (or even if you can use the parts for something else), then it should be the responsibility of the supplier to cover that cost.
Another great video. Here's hoping the Wobble Dog makes a cameo appearance once in a while? 😂
May I suggest a timed treat dispenser for Eva using the parts? Loving the vibey tunes on the outro, Mr Shrimp!
Absolutely brilliant video. I have the same unit from Aliexpress. It works but the instructions are abysmal. I was hoping to find how to use it correctly. Any info would be most welcome.
Maybe after this experience you can challenge yourself to make your own pump for similar cost or not to exceed say double the cost for a more robust unit.
I'm always torn on returning things to China for a full refund, like the odds that they would ever refurbish anything seem slim to me. This is one of the reasons why I generally try and avoid buying from China.
@Peters6221 or in a big store house, where its either gonna be repacked an reselled as you say or most probably, dumped in a hole and buried with another 10tonnes of similar crap. There's a whole industry dedicated to it
Who else had goose bumps and shivers when he scratched the motor with his fingernail? 😊
I think I found that more interesting than if it had been a fully functional one.
wake up babe atomic shrimp did literally anything
Very interesting seeing the workings, and diagnosing the fault. Where would we be without plastic!!
Had this in service for about 2 years until it stopped working. Works not badly actually, when it does!
Are you planning on doing another budget challenge? Those are the best!
Perhaps a foraging only video?
Automatic plant watering would be like sending your children
to the neighbours and watch them grow up from a distance..
without the nuisance, eh.. wait wut..hmmm. 🤔
Don't put any stock in that circuit board at 16:46 it shows the solder mask coming away from the pcb traces the lightest green colour seen on the left-hand cut-out and again around the top of the right-hand button.
It has had a lot to drink while energized so I don't know what would be worth salvaging 7 seg and a tossup on the batt as the water may have been the cause of the discharge but the switches and some SMD components will be NFG in no time
Havnt used this unit, but i have used a few of the motors. they only handle a few days of use tops before leaking. they always break they way yours did.
My housemate installed a tubing system to feed water from the electric pump to the garden and near the house. One "winter" later, we can't use it, because it leaks everywhere.
The lession I had confirmed many times is: "Buy cheap, buy twice".
Shrimp flexing his bit collection makes me feel insecure. I only have ONE screwdriver at home - mostly used to open jars. ;)
I'm not sure if you've worked with arduino or electronics at all before but systems like this are HUGE in the DIY community and im sure if you're willing to put in the time you could have a system thats fully yours and customizable etc etc...
> 16 heads
> shoots water around
> not called "hydra"
disqualified!
The problem with the refunds is people take advantage so honest people get punished with policies to reduce the loss from people scamming. For a few years I used to buy broken laptops, fix them and sell them on Ebay. Unfortunately I had to give it up because of the number of times people would contact me, tell me it didnt work and after I tried to help them diagnose it over email they would return it and the "broken" part was the fact they removed the hard drive/RAM or both. Nearly 1 in 5 of the laptops I sent out would be returned like this and I know they worked because I always gave them one last test before removing the battery and putting them in the box to send. With such low profit from the sale of each fixed laptop I ended up paying out of pocket for all the thefts of the hard drives etc.
10:10 love the anthusiasm!
Really interesting and informative. Thanks for the info and video
I made my own system and it worked great for about 9 years till the plastic rotted and it was too expensive to replace. Buy the raw materials not the kits. The system I built used the flow of the water to charge the battery. there are far better watering timers at your local shop.
Perhaps you could could fill the leaking 'cylinder' with a little blob of silicone sealant and retest.
Regarding returns:
Professionally I have to do with industrial goods that occasionally are claimed not working in the application. It really depends on your relationship with the customer. They obviously have a reason to complain; it's a hassle for them as well. However, if you don't make them ship the product back (It's higly customized, and at that point basically just raw material), you may promote a business model that uses the rejects in new application (which they very well could do.)
Now the whole internet business to consumers of course has spawned a slew of "ship cheap garbage to gullible people and make money off of the proportion that does not bother to complain" outfits.
Yeah, in one commercial application, if things smelled like that, we'd often go "the extra mile" and send someone out onsite to personally deliver a replacement and investigate the issue/make things right. If it was legit, the customer was thrilled with our customer service -- and if it was bogus, they'd backpedal quickly and usually not do that anymore. Win win for everyone except the cheats.
in this case a full refund with no return could be used to gain usable hosing and connectors and maybe even lithium batteries... even without the functionality you would be hard pressed to find 2m of silicone hosing + hose T connectors + 16 plastic watering nozzles + whatever length of hosing is on the nozzles + a lipo + 4 digit 7 segment display for a tenner...
even if we disregard the 7 segment as this requires desoldering you actually get quite a lot of value for your money even if the device does not work at all.
Given the possibility of water inside the packaging, I wonder if the unit was returned or something already. Probably just part of the pot luck you get with cheap items. I've had a couple of fans die after less than a year, but a more recent one (same make, similar model) has lasted for 4 or 5 years no problem. The difference between getting lucky and not.
It's great video thank you so much. I bought just now and I was wondering how does it work.
I like the new outro music! Very bubbly.
I don't know about AliExpress policy, but eBay will always give you a resolution, even if the seller won't offer a full refund.
For vendors that do business in Australia the cost of postage is covered by the seller for legitimate returns. I've never had to pay the postage for returns on AliExpress, eBay, Amazon.
"If the business confirms that the product does have a problem, it must reimburse the consumer for any reasonable return costs they have already paid."
could you plug the hole in the diaphragm with silicone caulk?
Poor little water pump. I don't know why, but I always feel badly when something is actually working fine and it's just some minor "oops" that is preventing correct function. As if the pump is saying, "What? No! I'm doing my job! Don't throw me away!" Maybe I'm a little too eccentric. Either way, it makes me glad that you take things apart to find the real cause for error and repurpose things as best you can.
You could repurpose that timer to trigger a relay to run a 12v windscreen washer pump. or a headlight washer pump, they horse water they do.
About the water shortage protection, I dont think they want to claim that it detects being run dry, but that it doesnt break if it runs dry, as it doesnt use the water for cooling or lubrication.
Waterproof adhesive is more expensive than that entire pump😂
Atomic!!! AliExpress??!!! £12 ??? I hate to say it... but you get what you pay for AND where you buy it from. Interesting video.... I hope you make a lot more on monetization than £12 👍👏
I never knew that pumps this simple (in theory) existed, very interesting!
Mr. Shrimp, have you ever thought about installing a Hydro- or Aquaponics system at home or in your garden?