LinkTap G1S Wireless Water Timer & Gateway – Cloud Controlled Smart Tap Hose Timer & App, Remote Irrigation for Garden, Weather Awareness, Manual Control & Digital Lockout, 2 Year Battery Life, IP66
DO YOU EVER WISH WATERING YOUR PLANTS WASN’T SO MUCH WORK?
Designed in Australia, LinkTap G1S wireless water timer & gateway allow you to use your smartphone, tablet or computer to easily control your garden watering from anywhere you have internet access. Through LinkTap’s powerful and user-friendly mobile app or web app, you can set up watering schedules or turn on and off water immediately with just a few clicks on your smartphone at any time, either home or away.
Simplify your watering with the LinkTap G1S Wireless Water Timer!
The LinkTap G1S is the enhanced version of our highly successful G1 water timer, and it uses the same gateway as the previous model. If you already own a LinkTap system and are thinking to expand it, you can just get the add-on G1S or G2S water timer. Save your investment!
For first time buyers, a LinkTap Gateway is required. One LinkTap Gateway can control up to 15 LinkTap Water Timers simultaneously.
2-Minute Setup
Setting up the G1S is easy and straightforward with our step-by-step guide inside the box. Connect the gateway to your router, register the hardware in the app with a simple QR code, and you’re ready to go!
High Flow Rate
The LinkTap G1S water timer has a typical flow rate of over 32 L/min (8.5 gal/min), making it a perfect candidate for an in-ground sprinkler system. Since no wiring is needed, you could easily save thousands of dollars by avoiding the labour cost of a complicated installation.
Rugged and Weatherproof
The solenoid valve can withstand high-pressure and ensure your water timer remains operational for years. Plus, the UV-safe exterior and IP66 waterproof design protects it from harsh weather conditions. Designed for every type of climate, the LinkTap G1S is robust, sturdy, and reliable.
Use LinkTap in Your Smart Home
Have your hands full? LinkTap timers can be set or controlled remotely throughout your smart home by speaking with Alexa or Google Assistant. Just give the command, and LinkTap will take care of the rest.
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Weather awareness | ✓ | ✓ |
| 2 times the range of Wi-Fi | ✓ | ✓ |
| 2 year battery life | ✓ | ✓ |
| 6 watering modes + ECO + batch watering | ✓ | ✓ |
| Up to 100 watering cycles per day from 3 seconds to 24 hours per cycle duration | ✓ | ✓ |
| IP66 waterproof | ✓ | ✓ |
| Manual on/off with digital lockout | ✓ | ✓ |
| Real-time watering status & Rain Skip notifications | ✓ | ✓ |
| Real-time fault detection & notifications | N/A | ✓ |
| Real-time water flow rate & usage notifications | N/A | ✓ |
| Weight: | 460 g |
| Dimensions: | 10 x 7.1 x 10.5 cm; 460 Grams |
| Brand: | LinkTap |
| Model: | TP-1BS, GW-02 |
| Dimensions: | 10 x 7.1 x 10.5 cm; 460 Grams |
Surprisingly easy for this non-tech savvy 50s year-old to set up. I use it to turn on my faucet, using the manual feature on the app, from several hundred feet away. Works great!
The Link Tap is clearly the best hose/faucet, Wifi timer out there. I recently tried and returned the BHive thing. that is an ill conceived nightmare in every way. The Link Tap has great range, easy software, accurate notifications. It cannot get any easier. I gladly paid the premium price for this premium product.
Je ne donne que rarement un avis, mais l je me devais de faire savoir.
Excellent produit, fiable, facile installer et a utiliser. Peut tre un peu plus cher que d’autres produits mais a vaut vraiment le coup d’investir, comme moi, vous ne le regretterez pas !
Il fait le job
Facile installer
Facile utiliser
L’application mriterait d’tre plus conviviale mais elle fait le job
Die Logik von Linktap lsst keine Wnche offen. Fr die Montage habe ich (Oma mit 79 Jahren) einen kundige Helfer gebraucht, weil die Simensionen des vorhandenen Schlauchs nicht gepasst haben. Das lie sich aber rasch lsen. Die Einrichtung der App (Android) war ein interessanter Lernprozess. Es ist alles da, was man ber seine Anlage wissen will. ber die Langlebigkeit kann ich noch nichts sagen, die Anlage ist erst 1 Monat alt. Die Abstimmung mit dem Wetterbericht ud das berspingen bei Regenansage hat tatrschlich funktioniert.
Einziger Schwachpunkt ist die geringe Reichweite des Gateway. Die angegebenen 200 Meter sind Illusion. Aber man kann sich helfen. Ein Mesh-Wlan bringt bei uns das Internetsignal hinaus in den Garten.
Eindeutige Kaufempfehlung!
LE VEO LA PEGA DE COMO UNIRLO A UNA TUBERIA DE PVC NORMAL YA QUE SU ENTRADA Y SALIDA DE AGUA EST MAS PENSADO PARA GOMAS DE RIEGO, PERO ENTIENDO QUE ACABARE ENCONTRANDO LA FORMA DE ADAPTAR LAS TOMAS AL SISTEMA NORMAL DE TUBERIAS PVC PARA PODER USARLO COMO UNA ELECTROVALVULA QUE ES MI OBJETIVO
Really versatile timer. I liked the fact that you can set a daily watering schedule with as many time slots as you want. Most timers I tried only allow for a twice a day schedule. It was a bit tricky on the initial setup as the communication between the gateway and the water timer is not the best. I ended up getting a 40 foot Ethernet cable in order to move the gateway in really close proximity of the LinkTap unit or it would constantly disconnect. The LinkTap team should definitely improve the signal strength between their units.
Top Gert! Schnelle und einfache Installation und es funktioniert seitdem reibungslos und absolut zuverlssig! Das wirklich schne daran ist, dass man auch hier, wie bei anderen Smart Home Anwendungen von berall Zugriff hat und Bewsserungsplne verndern! ergnzen oder ndern kann! Wir bewssern mit diesem einen Gert eine groe Garten Terrasse mit mehreren groen Pflanzksten, diversen Terracotta Tpfen und einen Ziergarten Bumen, Rosen und viele anderen Pflanzen zuverlssig und gut! Die automatische rechtzeitige Bewsserungsab- und Einschaltung der Bewsserungsplne ist eine geniale Untersttzung und damit haben wir erstmalig endlich eine ausgereifte Technik im Einsatz mit der wir auerordentlich zufrieden sind!
This is so much better than hozelock!!! Hozelock lasted max 2 weeks on set of batteries and the watering could only happen every second day. This one is watering for three weeks now everyday except when it is raining (4days) and the batteries are at 66%. I can finally go for holliday and not worry about watering!
I bought 4 of these for my drip irrigation system. Setup was easy and the app is intuitive. A couple suggestions for similar buyers: use Teflon tape for all hookups and buy a couple 6″ houses extenders. I use a 4 port manifold and the hose extenders give me the necessary space to fit them all. I recommend this product. That is all.
Easy to use system for remote watering. App tells you when the system starts and finishes, so provides a specfic confirmation that is is working when you’re away. Useful to be able to program various watering interval profiles.
Ottimo prodotto. Si installa e configura facilmente, seguendo le istruzioni. App completa e con tantissime modalit di irrigazione. Facile da usare.
Para empezar, los adaptadores a la caera son muy robustos. Con los de otros fabricantes haba prdidas por mal ajuste o por ser de plstico blando con lo que se iban estropeando.
La programacin es sencilla y permite todo tipo de posibilidades.
Se puede controlar remotamente sin problemas y te avisa de cualquier incidencia (fallo, batera baja, etc.) adems del inicio y fin de riego.
La nica pega que le encuentro es que la tapa de las pilas est situada en la parte de atrs y se abre y cierra con tornillos, por lo que de pende de donde est situado, puede que sea dificil acceder a ella.
Pero en conjunto, un excelente temporizador.
Pratique et bien conu, exactement l’outil adapt l’arrosage programm et contrl !
Installed it and been using it for a couple of weeks. Easy to install and so far it hasn’t missed a beat. I bought it has a replacement for a hozelock cloud controller. That after a few years started to jam and eat batteries. Only time will tell if this linktap will suffer with the same issue. I’m hoping not as it seems to have a solenoid controlling the value and not a geared motor. So fewer moving parts. The app isn’t great, perfectly functional, but not a great design and overly complicated. It is more interested in you posting promotion and feedback for it than actually controlling the water flow. Too early to tell if the battery life is good.
This thing is awesome. I have only had it a couple weeks but it is working great. The set up is super easy and the app is very intuitive and easy to use. I liked it so much I already bought a second one. Really great product if it lasts long. We shall see.
Trs bon produit, contrle et rglages distance trs pratique. Permet de grer soi-mme les plans d’arrosage, plus besoin de solliciter une tierce personne
I wanted the ability to turn on a sprinkle remotely for a short time when my dogs start barking incessantly at our horse when he goes to water trough. Found the unit works great, bought another separate tap and plan to get another to fill a water trough further from the house. I always leave water on too long when filling troughs and this allows me to set how long water runs and cuts off. Plan to use with a garden which will definitely help during hot dry parts of summer. It will be nice to set a watering schedule and be done with it. Lastly, I did have a 4 way brass valve connected to the unit and found that the unit broke off at the top where it connects to faucet. Connected customer support via app email so it had my account info included in email and I had a response back same day. They did request pictures and sought details about angle/how it was mounted to better design product but most importantly replaced the unit. Customer service rep notified me that they were out of the basis version that I purchased but planned to send me the upgraded version that was in stock to prevent waiting. For this reason I 100% recommend this product and company. They could have blamed me for hanging too much weight on it or delayed me getting the same model until back in stock but in both cases they choose to put customer first! Good to see a company appreciate their customer who took a chance and spent their hard earned money on their product!
My wife and I bought our house about 5 years ago. Our backyard was beautiful when we bought our house, since the previous owners worked in their backyard a couple hours every day. An in-ground water feature, lots of rare or exotic plants, and some really nice special touches. But my wife and I work full time and we don’t love gardening or tending to all those things. Over that time, paired with our neighbor’s oak tree that rains acorns every fall, our backyard became a literal jungle.
We finally hired a landscaper this year to remove the water feature (we have a dog that liked to jump in there when was iced over in the winter, and we now have a toddler, so it was a safety issue, not to mention the mosquito attraction) and redo our backyard so it was simple with minimal maintenance. The landscapers recommended we water our yard daily for about 10-15 minutes to ensure all the new plants rooted nicely. We suck at remembering to do things like that, so I looked up options for setting up a sprinkler to be used automatically.
We found a few options that would work with our home automation, but, to be honest, I didn’t really care too much about that. I kept seeing good reviews about LinkTap. And, though it’s expensive for literally one sprinkler in a small backyard, I bought it.
Gone are the days where we forget to water the yard, getting soaked by our temperamental sprayer, or even watering unnecessarily when it’s going to rain later that day. LinkTap has been awesome. It just works. Well… if you can figure it out.
Getting the hub and the water attachment paired was super easy. Getting it connected to the outside tap – also, fairly easy. But the app… the app really could use an overhaul. It works, but it’s not really clear what’s actually happening. There’s no way to quickly say “please stop watering now” without straight up deleting your schedule. There are icons that represent functions that don’t make sense or aren’t very logical. And setting up schedules is an awful experience. The app works (which is more than I can say about some home automation stuff), but it’s a frustrating user experience. If it had Hubitat integration, I would delete the app altogether, but, alas, it doesn’t.
Honestly, if the app was even halfway decent, this would have 5 stars immediately. But it really, really needs work. Otherwise, the product is solid and works reliably without issue.
Needed something to water flowers while we went away for a week. Got the idea of putting a timer on a sprinkler and putting all the flower pots on the deck. This worked perfectly. We didn’t get fancy and link it to weather as you can do, but watched the weather on the phone and easily deactivated the watering one day when it rained. Got home the flowers look great. Just put in an order for another G1S (without the gateway) to set up a sprinkler on the front lawn.
I became so frustrated with my Orbit BHyve sprinkler timer that would no longer connect properly, communicate with the app or vice versa, and that was on top of the very frustrating rain delay feature which was haphazard and ticked me off on a regular basis.
I did some research here and at the App Store, and I decided that Link Tap definitely worth a try. I have to tell you I was not optimistic, but they made a believer of me. Let me start by assuring you that I am 73 and have a definite ceiling when it comes to tech. I’m okay and can follow directions, but if I have to start figuring things out for myself, I’m lost. The directions for Link Tap are clear and understandable. I was able to set the whole thing up with our WiFi and program the app in a surprisingly short time. There was one hiccup, which turned out to be my fault (I copied the wrong number), and then I was good to go.
There are infinite choices to make your timer work exactly the way you want, including programming how you want the rain delay feature to work. I live in Florida, and this can be a process, believe me. I’m still adjusting it, but that’s actually a positive because I CAN adjust it. The information syncs perfectly between all my devices (phone/iPad/laptop) so I can access it from anywhere.
The company actually reached out to me to make sure everything was going well, and I was assured if there were problems, they were there to help. This means a lot, given that Orbit ghosted its BHyve customers and are apparently permanently unavailable.
I recommend this timer 100%, thumbs up, 4 stars! I only deducted a star because the interface on the app is very busy, and I can see a lot of people my age going cross-eyed with confusion at all the options.
This little device is excellent. It is easy to set up, easy to programme, the app is well designed and so far it has worked flawlessly.
Awesome bit of kit, kept our veg patch watered whilst away for two weeks
I have 2 gateways in my household due to the size of property and provides me with great control over my garden and greenhouse watering. It’s been very reliable for me and will continue to expand and upgrade.
Have used this for a garden watering system. The wireless hub needs to be connected to a network socket (or wireless extender) and this needs to be reasonably close to the device. Easy to program via the app with lots of flexibility. Particularly like the option to cancel if more rain fallen or expected (via weather reports).
Cannot recommend this product hight enough , i have two to take care of watering duties and a third to top up my garden pond and stream remotely from anywhere .
Hardware is bullet proof and the software/app reliable and simple ..It just works flawlessly .
I have two timers, and I use them to provide timed watering for raised beds on each side of my patio. You can add as many periods of watering per timer as you want (up to 100, but who really needs more?).
As I have limited mobility, not having to go back and forth to the spigots to turn them on and off is a big help, and these were certainly worth the money.
First impression out of the box: Engineered. This product is not just another big name plastic box. Battery case (4 AA) is sealed with multiple screws, which are seated in metal threads. The valves are bigger than most, but have a very solid feel. This is a product that will last. Setup of gateway was easy. Be aware you do need a wired ethernet connection and power outlet for the gateway. I have mine hooked to a satellite on a mesh network. It connected out of the box through the online app with no problem. The valves connect wirelessly to the gateway. Mine sit between 20′ to 70′ away with no connection issues. Adding valves is a few simple buttons and scanning a QR code on your phone or mobile device. I purchased these for the flexibility in programming multiple valves. I run one as a misting system for multiple 1 minute intervals during the day, 2 for 2 day interval greenhouse watering, and 2 more for once a day garden drip system. All work flawlessly. Currently, we are going through a heatwave (2021) in PNW, US at 101+ F, and these have saved my garden plants. I can turn any of them on/off while at work for extra watering as needed using my phone remotely. There is a manual on/off button too on each valve. Each unit will text or email messages when they water. Watering schedules for each valve are easily added, deleted, activated/deactivated, or edited remotely from the app. These were exactly what I was looking for. The old Orbit timers are now sitting in the shed. Thank you Link-Tap.
Brought this to replace preset timers and Dawn to dusk units that kept having issues with no back up or knowing they had stopped working.
Can preset this unit with ease for time and duration with confirmation on my phone of start and stop so know when my garden and green house have been watered. Need to get an add on unit now.
This timer is used to control watering off my front and back gardens in parallel with another electronic timer
(Bib and braces)
The product offers on Amazon are not clear that you have to purchase both Gateway and the Link tap. I ended up having to purchase the extra item rather than return and repurchase the correct one so I am out of pocket – lesson learnt!
Tried the system many times before going on holiday and found the system reliable and robust. Does exactly what it is supposed to do.
Having the Gateway hard wired to router makes it much more reliable than relying on Bluetooth.
Easy to setup – sensible operation that just works and works!
Well built; great battery life; and an app with a host of useful features.
Certainly much better than other wi-fi controllers I’ve had.
The customer support is also fantastic. They sent me a replacement for an out-of-warranty unit that stopped working for free. Then the unit started working again, I told them, and they generously let me keep the unit. I have four of these at two properties, and will use these for any future setups.
Great purchase that easy to install and set up and was working in about 10 minutes. A lot of features around the timing capabilities on the App and we love the feature to automatically skip watering should rain occurred in last 24 hours for the forecast for the next 24. You can decide the parameters for this and many other features. Cost a little more than the standard timers but we consider that it is worth it just for this feature and the richness of the other schedules that you can build. This will be very handy once we can travel again and if required we can remotely override the sessions.
From seeing this product on Amazon I made contact with the seller to understand its capabilities some more. The responses were immediate and clear. I purchased the product and received next day delivery through Amazon Prime. Setting up the systems proved to be extremely easy by following the instruction and scanning most of the information onto my iPhone. Using it again is simple allowing me to set up appropriate watering cycles. It means when I am away I can adjust to take account of local weather conditions. An excellent product and would highly recommend
It’s a bit OTT to have WiFi smart garden watering systems, but I thought I’d give them a go.
Can run to a schedule, every day, every 3 days etc. Session length, time etc configurable
If the internet says it’s rained or will rain within 24hr, it can miss out a session.
All in all brilliant. We’ve got two, one front, one back. Expandable system.
Odd to be asked about warmth. Gave it 5 stars for that, as it’s a cold tap, but it could be warm!
Got this so I didn’t have to go outside and walk around the side of the house to turn on and off the water, and it works! I almost went for another solar powered smart timer, but the other timer only wakes up once an hour, where as this timer is always on – much more convenient for just turning it on on a whim with the app. I also like the fact it auto shuts off after a certain amount of minutes, so no accidentally flooding the lawn.
Only surprising problem I found was that LinkTap doesn’t show up in the “Works with Google” list in the Google Assistant app, and the link on the website to connect it to my Google account didn’t work either, with no success using the “Talk to LinkTap” voice commands. Hopefully they make it easier to set up with Google home devices soon.
Easy to install and is extremely good with the rain skip function so you don’t overwater.
This is wifi controlled and notifies you via the phone app each time the watering is activated. There is a facility for the watering to skip if rain is forecast.
so far it has been very reliable. There are various programmes to set.
The only criticism is setting the programs is not straightforward, there is a bit of trial and error involved as I didn’t find the instructions self explanatory, but I’m not very tech minded, someone else could have been much quicker .
Now I have my LinkTap connected to the main on the ground floor, and then connected to a 3 way diverter which feeds the hose on the ground floor for the car park, the hose that snakes to the backyard, and the hose that leads up to my balcony.
Now when I want to water I simply tap activate, I have it defaulted on a 12 minute timer so if I forget to turn it off it will do it for me.
While I wish they supported Homekit so I could use my HomePod to turn it on when my hands are full, or an Apple Watch app for the days I forget my phone on the stand. But I’m still very very happy with the product.
In the almost 2 years I’ve been running it I’ve only had connection issues once, but that was the massive AWS outage that took down half the internet so I don’t really blame LinkTap.
It’s been an amazing product and I am super happy with it.
Added few photos of what is in the box.
So far it works as per the description – No issues to report.
Excellent device
Tap link seems to be a brilliantly designed device-easy to set up and expandable… Might I suggest a sunshade/ rain shield clip over: all such devices ultimately need excellent waterproofing and shade from 38 c temperatures for longevity Excellent, brilliant, inexpensive- my Best Buy this year!
Amazing product and app made even better with Dark Sky integration allowing to set/pause schedules and skip when rain is forecast. Our lawn this summer has never looked better!
After sales customer service is also exceptional, responding to an email query within 20mins!
Easy installation. Good app. Works better than expected. I am using it in Greece and did not expect rain delay to work but it does work perfectly. I definitely recommend it.
I’ve tried many different automatic watering systems over the years. This is without doubt one of the best. I’ve used it for two summers now, and it has worked flawlessly. One suggestion for an improvement would be the addition of a manual on/off on the unit itself.
Works really well. We set this up with a Gardena 1187-20 six point water distributer and could monitor watering adjusting on and off durations with timings to adjust watering large garden. Web set up easy – no harder than your phone. Fab piece of kit that is not cheap. but well worth it. not seen anything like it. Other timers need on site adjustment. You can configure messages to let you know when the cycles start and finish etc
Excellent bit of kit that works as advertised. The app is a little quirky to find your way around, and has a couple of limitations, but overall I am very pleased with this.
Great product but only 4 stars as it does not have a flow sensor so if you mistakenly don’t turn on your tap or if the water supply fails, it tells you it’s all watered when actually it might not be.
I couldn’t be more pleased as this works exactly as described. I have 1 Gateway(plugs into internet router) and 3 Linktapers (Screws into the spigot and connects wirelessly to the Gateway). My spigot in the front yard has a Y splitter. I connected the Linktaper to one side along with a hose and sprinkler and the other side I have a hose for other watering needs. My spigot in the back yard has a Y splitter. I connected a Linktaper to both sides along with hoses and sprinklers. This setup maximizes my water pressure as I run one sprinkler at a time which is what I needed to cover the size of my lawn. When I run 2 sprinklers at the same time My water pressure wouldn’t cover my lawn. This is not a LinkTaps issue but just the water pressure at my house. I’ve had 0 issues with these products. I spent a long time researching multiple products and this works perfectly. I bought this for my 2nd house which is 3 hrs away. I planted seed in bare patches on my lawn and needed a solution to water. I set daily schedules for each sprinkler so the sprinklers rotate and I don’t have to do anything. No leaks at all. I recommend using plumbers tape to help seal but not sure that’s needed. Make sure you screw on straight. If not you’ll see leaks so Just unscrew and put on straight. My seeds are coming in after a few days and I couldn’t be more happy with this product.
Bought this little gem recently. Brilliant product. I self installed a 6 head pop up Rainbird sprinkler system for my lawn about 18 months ago and was using the Rainbird timer that came with it which was very basic. I came across this product after looking for a wifi timer. I had one hurdle to overcome before installation – how to get Wifi coverage up to the tap at the top of the garden, next to my steel garden shed. Wifi signal from my house was not strong enough to reach the top of the garden. I posted a few questions on Amazon and got answers from the LinkTap crew. I used Powerline adapters to get internet upto my shed, and then put a small cisco hub splitter into the shed. I plugged the LinkTap gateway into the Hub switch and all worked perfectly. It was total plug and play. The unit has worked solidly for a few months now. Loads of versatility in programming options through the app. The Rain Skip element is great, where it monitors the forecast in your local area and doesn’t activate if rain is imminent. Great unobtrusive design for the timer in the garden. The timer unit sits on the tap splitter, doing its work, without anybody knowing. Rock solid unit. It will be interesting to see how it fares through the cold months of the winter, but superb so far. LinkTapp should actually team up with Rainbird!
Ich hatte bislang zwei Schaltuhren des Herstellers mit dem groen G am Anfang in Betrieb, wobei eine 6 Zyklen fr einen Wasserverteiler mit 6 Kreisen derselben Firma steuert und die zweite Schaltuhr zwei Kreise fr Beete und Blumenkbel steuert. Fr meine bisherigen Ansprche war das vllig ausreichend. Schwierig war es bei Abwesenheit, da ein Fernzugriff so nicht bestand und die Bewsserung entweder immer aktiv oder eben inaktiv war.
Was war das Ziel dieses Kaufs?:
Ich wollte zustzlich, zu der bestehenden “Konstruktion” aus der Ferne die Bewsserung ein- oder ausschalten knnen. Die bereits vorhandenen Bewsserungsuhren sollten nicht ersetzt werden.
Bonus wre, wenn die Wetterdaten zur automatischen Steuerung mit herangezogen werden
Entscheidungsgrundlage:
Nach lngerer Recherche habe ich mich aus Kostengrnden fr den LinkTap entschieden. In den Rezessionen der anderen Hersteller wurde unter anderem von deutlich reduzierter Durchflussmenge berichtet und auch die Akkulaufzeit wurde teils bemngelt. Da hier deutliche Preisunterschiede fr hnliche Produkte bestanden, habe ich Risikominimierung betrieben und ein vermeintlich gnstiges Gert gewhlt.
Fazit:
Akkulaufzeit und Langzeitverhalten kann ich noch nicht beurteilen!
Akkus lagen nicht bei. Das kann man jetzt schlecht finden, wenn man das jedoch wei, kann man sich gleich nach den eigenen Vorstellungen die richtigen (4 AA-Alkaline) Batterien besorgen. Der Hersteller verspricht ein Lebensdauer von 2 Jahren. Wir werden sehen.
Das Paket kam pnktlich an und der Packungsinhalt hat der Beschreibung entsprochen. Zuerst war ich noch irritiert, da der Poweradapter nicht passte und ich das Schild (siehe zweites Bild) nicht gleich wahrgenommen hatte, dass der korrekte Adapter unter der inneren Verpackung beiliegt. Also doch noch alles gut.
Die Installation verlief vllig unspektakulr. Kabel am Gateway anschlieen (1x LAN und 1x USB) und Batterien in den LinkTap einlegen (Schraubendreher fr das Batteriefach liegt bei), einschalten und nach Anleitung einrichten –> fertig.
Fr die Einrichtung muss man sich die App LinkTap aus dem Appstore herunterladen und ein Konto erstellen. Die Einrichtung des Kontos wird durch das Hinzufgen des Gateway abgeschlossen. Mann muss da auch keine Nummer der Gerte eintippen, sondern einfach den QR-Code scannen. Ist das Gateway (das Tor zum Internet fr den LinkTap) eingerichtet, kann in der App der LinkTap ebenfalls via QR-Code hinzugefgt werden. Dann wie gewnscht anschlieen und ausprobieren. Ich habe mir ein Intervallmodus eingerichtet, welcher Freigabezeitrume fr die vorhandenen Schaltuhren vorsieht. Sollte sich das so bewhren, werden ich die bisherigen Schaltuhren durch den TapLink ersetzen. Positiv finde ich auch die Mglichkeit, via Wetterdaten die Bewsserung automatisch steuern zu knnen und auch die Bedingungen dafr durch den Anwender bearbeitbar sind.
Fr mich ist das ein sehr gutes Produkt, wo ich persnlich auch gern darber hinwegsehe, dass die bersetzung der Wochentage in der App nicht 100% fehlerfrei ist. Normalerweise bewertet man auch nicht die App zusammen mit der Hardware, nur ist das in diesem Fall so, dass das Gert ausschlielich mit der App gesteuert werden kann! Das wusste ich vorher und somit kein Problem.
Das Produkt hat alles, was ich fr meine Zwecke bentige und bisher funktioniert es tadellos. Sobald ich eine Aussage ber das Langzeitverhalten machen kann, werde ich das hier nachholen. Bis dahin volle Punktzahl.
This is a revised review once you understand how it work it is very good and customer services is the best around LinkTap has had several updates which change the way it works but they haven’t updated their manual to take into account of this which is a shame as the man in Australia on customer services I dealt with is very good. I found it missed water if rain was forecast and was very good at that.
L’application fournie est facile utiliser depuis n’importe o, donc vous pouvez ajuster les paramtres depuis votre Smartphone pendant les vacances.
J’ai test le mode “pas d’arrosage en cas de pluie” : il a bien fonctionn et neutralis l’arrosage vu qu’il y avait un orage.
Les +
> Beaucoup de paramtrage possible dans l’application (autant de finesse qu’on veut dans la frequence, le calendrier par semaine, par jour ou tout ce qu’on veut en fait)
> fonction “ECO” qui altrne les priodes ON/OFF pendant un arrosage. Ca sert rendre l’arrosage plus efficace
> on peut facilement dtourner la fonction ECO si on couple ce systme un slecteur automatique GARDENA https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B006MWDQGA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (si on veut un temps d’arrosage identique sur toutes les voies (pratique pour arroser la pelouse par exemple si vous n’avez pas assez de pression pour faire tourner tous vos sprinklers en mme temps)
> la fonction “mto” ne ncessite pas d’abonnement et semble fonctionner
> la porte du rseau semble ok : le boitier “routeur” est branch sur mon routeur l’tage de la maison / le robinet est dans le garage et le signal semble bon
> trs facile configurer/installer
Les moins
> Pas de fonction pour que l’arrosage se coupe tout seul en cas de coupure rseau. Bon normalement vous avez un robinet juste avant mais si vous n’tes pas l faut esprer que le rseau revienne un jour … Je ne crois pas non plus qu’il y ait cette fonction sur la concurrence ceci dit. C’est ce qui lui cote sa 5e toile.
> Pas de fonction wifi sur le routeur. Vous tes oblig de le brancher directement sur votre box ou sur un routeur maison. (ceci dit, vu le point du dessus c’est peut tre mieux :))
Je recommande !
Brilliant product. Manages the watering without issues and skips days when rain is forecast. Mobile app easy to use and setup the schedule.
Exactly as says on tin. Plugged into home network and works a treat. The messaging to phone confirming if watered or not is excellent. Overall a great product and it’s use of local weather info is excelle
Every Gardener’s dream. Have been looking for one like this for years.
Very easy to install and set up the app.
The power lead (micro USB) and either net lead are both fairly short. But as both are easily available this shouldn’t be a problem for any one.
I’m really keen on making life simpler. When the water butt is empty I have no choice but to water the garden with a hose. My garden’s not big by any strech, but can take around 20 mins per day to water the pots etc. Having an automated system that I can work remotely from anywhere in the world that doesn’t come on when there’s been rain (or when it’s scheduled) is what I’ve been waiting for. All connections and links to bridge work perfectly. Only issues I’ve had are having more that one schedule per day set up (I’m sure this can’t be a restriction, just haven’t figured it out yet) and I had an issue getting a really tight fit on the tap which meant I had some leakage. This was frustrating and had to use a plastic covered plumbers wrench to secure it with some PTFE tape. Sadly this ‘chewed’ up the plastic connection so now I’m a little worried what will happen if I have to remove it. Hopefully I won’t need to but with my plans to extend the watering system to the front garden in the near future it seems like a possibility. An improvement would be to have a more solid tap connection (Maybe brass?) for future iterations of the product to give it longevity. Otherwise great and looking forward to making life even simpler and saving time by getting my irrigation system extended shortly. Thanks
great waay of automating watering the garden very simple to connect to wifi network and use remotely via a smart phone Grass looking great well watered at all times and if it rains will automatically stop watering
1. There is no manual override on the unit. If you want to use a hose or fill a watering can you can use the manual override on your mobile device but this can be a bit fiddly. I used a tap adaptor to get around this which works very well and I don’t get my phone wet any more (see pic).
2. If the unit is in direct sun it can overheat. It worked fine for 2 weeks with a low signal (16%) but the day I went away the temperature hit 27C and the connection failed. This caused a bit of a panic as I was 300 miles away and had to call in some favours, but by early evening the connection came back. This may have been partly because of the poor (but workable) connection so I have added a Wi-Fi extender to my network – one that has a network socket for the controller unit to plug into (see pic). I have also shaded the unit to avoid direct sunlight.
Despite these issues I am pretty impressed with the whole product and looking forward to adding a second unit to the system.
Customer service amazing too. I had thought a piece was missing so I emailed the support address in a Saturday evening and they replied immediately! As it turned out the piece was there all along.
I was surprised that the base unit required being plugged into a router but it was no big deal as I had plenty of open ports and a cable comes with the device. In my situation, my router sits beside my cable box so I just ran the usb power cord to a USB port on the back of the cable box for power. Anther port that until today was completely useless. Lol.
You enter the codes for both base station and water box unit, put batteries in the other box and viola they connected. It knows your geo location and after first watering test I got an alert on my Apple Watch that the watering had completed. Very cool!!! I can only hope it continues to work but it seems a solidly built outdoor box so I’m hopeful!
Update: we had a decent amount of rain this afternoon so I was curious to see if rain delay would work and it just txted me as promised right before my 8p cycle that it was skipping it. Perfect!
Update 5/2020. Stored indoors for the winter. Have changed WiFi password since which is usually a nightmare for remote connections like doorbell, garage door, etc but I plugged LinkTap back into the router (still love that I can use USB port on back of cable box beside it for power) and viola after a minute of syncing with nothing needed from me it was back up and running. Just did a test instant water and all my notifications are in tact and watering as directed. Great product.
Can’t fault this product. Is very simple in concept with what it does – turns water on or off – but it allows you control with different timer schedules and also control directly via your phone. I now have two using a suitable splitter- one for a lawn sprinkler and one hooked up to a cheap microdrip system. All works brilliantly together. Took a bit of setting up but relatively straightforward. Recommend Wholeheartedly.
Great item, connectivity is better than others I have tried, battery lasts well
This is the third wireless system I tried. I had to return the other two because of failures in communication between the router and water switch and also dropping signal with different problems trying to reconnect. This system was so easy to set up and the only thing I had to add was a wireless extender because of my desired location of water distribution points. The reporting system is faultless so that no matter where (on the planet), I am, I can see exactly what’s going on. Weather reporting is very good too. So far, faultless and I intend to extend it for a greenhouse and another garden area which I was going to ignore. Would recommend this any time anywhere.
Great innovative product, easy to setup, just install the gateway in your LAN, register the gateway and Linktap inthe application with the builtin QR code reader and you’re set to go! The range is really great, much better than WIFI and Z-Wave. You can control watering from anywhere in the world and the water saving feature is really great! The only downside I could mention is that it is not compatible with any standard home automation protocol, like Z-Wave or Zigbee, so cannot be integrated into your home automation network.
Connect the hub to your router with a ethernet cable, and connect the valve (control box) to the water tap. download the app, update the firmware (if required) and away you go. Easy.
If you have a large garden or the router is at the front of your house and the tap at the back, you will have to get a AP or range extender/plug in extender. The range between the hub and the watering valve (control box) has to be line of sight i.e. not too many walls and not more than 20m or a combination of both. If the hub keeps dropping the connection to the valve or cant connect it is too far away or too many objects in the way.
Quick and easy installation. It does exactly what the product description says.
I bought and installed three of these before a long trip. They worked perfectly throughout, no glitches. I’m very happy with this product.
Using Link Tap on my veg patch and it works very well. I have it set for every 3 days and if the weather is raining before or after the due date it will skip that watering day. Great piece of kit.
Gardens and poly tunnel watering now fully automated. Great investment. Good support too from our Oz buddies.
* This product actually works exactly as advertised
* It is of solid build and good quality
* It has a 2-year warranty
* It costs only a fraction more than other primitive non-wireless, standalone sprinkler timers
* It lasts more than a single season
* It is almost obscenely easy to use
* It is cheaper in the long run (anything longer than a year) than any other sprinkler timer (and I’ve tried most of them)
NOTES:
I have the largest lot in my neighborhood. And I’m on bedrock with just a couple of inches of topsoil. It gets really hot in summer and below freezing in winter. The quotes for installing an in-ground sprinkler system were so many thousands of dollars that I opted not to do so. I tried all manner of timers from all the mainstream brands and they were all a) junk, b) didn’t work, c) lasted *at most* a single season, d) were all standalone (no connectivity), and e) cost almost as much as the LinkTap product. The wireless connection range of the LinkTap is fantastic and the connection 100% reliable, even at the large distances dictated by my yard size. The software for using, viewing, monitoring and controlling/scheduling each of these devices is stellar (I’m a software developer – I know good from bad). It is absolutely well thought out and designed for people and the things they need to actually do. And it doesn’t crash, hang up or have that lame excuse other software vendors use of experiencing “a glitch”. No such thing – this is a quality product all round – no excuses, no compromises.
I searched the internet every few weeks for three long years to see if anyone had released a product that would do what I needed. Out of sheer desperation I capitulated and tried other products and each time I was disappointed. Then suddenly one day, LinkTap appeared in my search. I purchased one Link-Tap valve and the gateway, expecting to be once again disappointed. Wow, was I surprised. I literally installed and scheduled the device in just a few minutes, using no tools at all and it just worked. No leaks, no disconnects, no confusing or user-belligerent app to battle with. After about 6 weeks of use I ordered three more LinkTap devices and haven’t looked back. There’s nothing better out there. Get it, and save thousands of dollars. To the LinkTap company – thanks for delivering old-time quality in an era when all other products are total junk.
Easy install, solid build. After numerous failures and replacements for the Hozelock equivalent, decided to look for alternatives. This ticks all the boxes
Short review:
This is an excellent product and just what I needed.
So far it’s reliable with excellent wireless connectivity and long battery life.
I can now remotely control my watering or follow various types of schedules.
My wife and I are both very happy with this purchase.
If you need a retirement gift for someone this would be an excellent choice! Peace of mind while they’re off enjoying their new life. At least that’s what it is for us.
Longer review:
My wife spends a lot of time creating beautiful flower and vegetable gardens and I maintain a nice lawn. My job is to keep it all watered when we’re traveling. I’ve used quad port timers from Orbit for about 10 years now and while they work I’m constantly replacing timers or valves and I don’t know if they’re functioning when I’m away from home. Now Orbit no longer makes the model with external valves so I had to find a replacement. In addition, finding a device I could control remotely was very desirable. I researched several remote control hose timers and read every review I could find. Those reviews generated performance questions. Jack at Taplink answered all of my questions and the other vendors I contacted didn’t bother to respond. After extensive testing Jacks answers have proven to be extremely accurate.
I really like the Rachio controller that my daughter has at her home and its remote control capabilities but they don’t make a hose timer version. The Taplink device gives me similar remote control functionality with my hoses.
I’m so glad I chose the TapLink device. It’s everything I hoped it would be and more.
For a new setup you need to buy a Gateway and a LinkTap valve. After that you can buy more valves and link them to the original Gateway. My system is very extensive and I have 12 valves on one Gateway (pop up sprinklers, drip lines, soaker hoses). This is more than TapLink shows as the maximum and is the result of recent improvements they have made (partly at my request). Check with Jack at TapLink support for the new limit.
Setup is super easy. I question the two minute claim for your first one because you will have to download their app and create an account. Then you’ll need to attach the Gateway to your internet router with an Ethernet cord (you should have at least one unused port available). Then you need to find four AA batteries and remove 6 small screws, install the batteries and reinstall the screws. The second, third, etc will be very close to two minutes but the first one is going to take a bit longer.
Setup consists of opening the App, selecting Gateway/Add new Gateway and pointing your phone camera at the Gateway serial number. The App will tell you when the Gateway is ready to use and LED’s on the Gateway will indicate connection success.
Then you can add the TapLinker by selecting TapLinker/Add new TapLinker and pointing your phone camera at the TapLinker serial number. Again the App will tell you when the TapLinker is ready to use (and the device LED’s will indicate connection success).
I have had no problems installing two Gateways (in different states) and twelve TapLinkers.
It is possible to have 3 Gateways and (currently) 15 TapLinkers on each Gateway. The Gateways can be at one location or multiple locations. I have homes in two different states and a single account lets me access and control both locations.
I now have remote control of my watering and can run my system via schedules or manually no matter where I am using my phone, iPad or laptop. It’s fantastic!
If you create a schedule you can activate it or perform a manual watering operation. You can also create multiple watering schedules and activate one depending on the situation. For instance you could create schedules for Spring, Summer and Fall watering needs and activate the proper one as the year progresses. There’s also a skip feature so you can automatically save water if a scheduled run time coincides with a rain event.
So far the hardware setup has been very good with no leaks, excellent wireless connectivity and flawless valve ON/OFF operation. The software has some room for enhancement but overall it’s very good and has nice features. Using the camera to read the serial numbers is great! There are a couple of design flaws in the software but I’m accepting how they work for now. I don’t like how Instant mode fails to activate the prior Activated schedule if I stop instant mode early. I think that’s something they’re going to fix.
I’ll be adding more technical details and pictures to this review later on but for now I just want to say I think I made an excellent choice! It does cost more than the Orbit timers I used previously but it should be more reliable and now I have remote access!
I have some scheduling feature changes to discuss with Jack. I think they’ll be useful. And I hope they get incorporated in the software.
Technical review will follow later. This is my second attempt to do a review on the TapLink products. Somehow Amazon lost the first one and I’ll have to do it again and I’m out of time for now.
As all customers for smart outdoor devices in middle east our most concert is the IP rating for dust and max. operating temperature. This products worked just fine under direct sun light and a temperature of +50 Celsius. very easy to install and setup. I wish they had one with multiple outlets though
After using Hozelock system and three times it was replaced I thought I would try LinkTap the quality is very good the setup was straightforward. The app is very good, the water saving feature works very well, it’s been raining a lot lately and app stopped the watering programme and resetting when it stopped. I liked the feature where you can put pause during watering ie: because I have clay soil so I water for 3min and pause for 2 min allowing the water to sink in . Programming is straightforward I can’t comment on the life of the battery as I’ve just put it in .
Company customer service team emailed me back instantly. I sent video of problem. Turns out I needed to use additional washer that was supplied. All works perfectly now.
Can’t fault this at all. Doddle to set up and works a treat. A great time saver and one of those things I wish I’d invested in a long time ago. I think it would have paid for itself given the number of plants I’ve let die due to lack of watering.
Easy installation, works exactly as described – True Wi-fi connectivity (not just Bluetooth) which means you can truly use it via the internet anywhere in the world. Works really well with Amazon Alexa. Excellent.
Pros:
Plenty of watering cycle options
Long battery life
Wi-fi connectivity
Rain delay – matches local weather conditions
Personalisation
Security
Alexa works well
Cons:
None so far
Wish it had features:
The geek in me would love it to have had a flow metre to see actual water usage.
A manual override on the unit so you can wash your car etc without having to fiddle with your phone.
Other than that a robust unit – does what it says on the tin for a reasonable price.
Eazy to install. An array of possibilities for water timing. Currently set at twice a day for my polytunnel 0430hrs and 2130hrs for 2mins. It is West Central Scotland in early June after all.
The Australian-designed Linktap Wireless Water Timer and Gateway comes with a device that is connected to your internet router via a cable. This device is the gateway that can control multiple water timers. My water timer is located about 30 feet way away from the gateway. But, the wifi connection is very strong at the water timer.
The package comes with a handy screw driver to remove 6 small screws in the battery compartment. You will need to install 4 AA batteries. The timer needs to attached between the faucet and the hose. See picture. You will need to use a plier or wrench to tighten the top cap to prevent leakage.
The app is very smart and intuitive. It has a built-in weather forecast that gets localized rain fall amount in 24 hrs. See picture of the weather forecast. If there is rain in the forecast during your scheduled watering cycle, you can select the option of rain skip to forego the watering.
And the tech support is very responsive and prompt. Jack helped me resolve my leakage issue within a few hours of my inquiry. I am very grateful for his tech support.
I have only had this unit for about a week but I am very impressed with this smart water timer. I will no longer need to manually dial to skip rain in the unit. I can change my water cycle, frequency and duration from the comfort of my home.
Way to go Linktap!
Thank you to everyone that left a review of this device, it made purchasing one very easy.
I’ve had it for just over a week, it was a doddle to set up and has provided ample opportunity to set very granular schedules for watering. It’s very much a device you can set, forget and be confident that it’ll water when you ask it to. Rain skip is a great feature, one worth experimenting to get the most benefit from.
It’s so good, I’ve ordered an additional add-on timer.
I live in the UK and am lucky enough to own a holiday home on the Costa Del Sol. As we only visit the house in Spain for holidays, we needed a way to water a number of potted plants and trees that we have on our sun terrace. The LinkTap was very easy to set up, (I’m not at all techy), and it now means that I can water the plants while at home in the UK using my phone. I’ve set the timer to water the plants using the “interval mode” and it works perfectly. Even skips watering if it rains! I can highly recommend this product.
After reading the reviews here and tired of replacing all other timers that fail after 1 year, I decided to give TAP LINK a try and I am glad I did. As far as price goes, it will take only 1 to 2 years to “recoup” your investment based on the price of all the other timers that WILL fail on you. TapLink has a 2 year warranty and I doubt I will have to use it because they are so well built.
Installation was a breeze and very similar to a Nest Camera in the sense that you have to scan a QR code. The app is very well designed…I did have to turn the individual units off and on again to get them to display on the app correctly but once connected properly (via ZigBee not WiFi), they function perfectly. I particularly like the local weather data that gets pushed to the hub and the app so it automatically halts sprinkling when it reports rain. The app also reports the battery level and connectivity level (signal strength) of each unit. After installing the batteries on one of the units, it reported battery level was low and to replace them. How could that be, I installed new batteries? Opening the battery cover I saw that I had swapped the polarity of one of the batteries…
And that is my only (minor) complaint: the battery cover; it is held in place by 6 tiny Phillips head screws. They do give you a small screwdriver (or you can use jewelers screwdriver) but I wish the screws were bigger or the cover was tool-less. Since the batteries last 2 years, not a big issue and not a deal breaker in any way.
Very happy with this purchase…they are clearly well built and designed and even my wife can program the app (she is not computer literate).
The box arrived and in it I found a wireless gateway, Ethernet cable, USB power supply & cable, and water valve. LinkTap thoughtfully included a screwdriver for the very small screws that retain the battery cover on the valve. There is also an extra screw in the battery compartment in case you lose one. The gateway connects to a wired Internet port on your router via the included cable. If you don’t have a wired Ethernet port, you can install a cheap WiFi extender like the Netgear EX2700 (about $25) which has a wired port. The Ethernet connection allows the gateway to communicate with the phone or web app via the company’s free web server and it works even if the phone & gateway are not on the same local network. Once the valve has been programmed it will continue to water on schedule even if you lose the Internet connection.
You might ask why the gateway does not use WiFi to communicate with the Internet. I think it is because the gateway-to-valve communication is done over the ZigBee protocol on the same 2.4GHz ISM band that is used for Wifi, and it would be difficult to manage both in the same box without interference. The instructions suggest that you don’t install the gateway immediately next to a wifi router, likely for that reason.
Once the Gateway is electrically installed, you can install the phone app. You can also use LinkTap’s web app from any computer if you choose. I installed the app on an Android phone, and I have also used the web app, but I can’t speak for IOS. You need to create an account the first time you use that app, which can be done from the phone app (swipe down on the “Sign In” page) or from the web app. Then enter the gateway ID (looks like a MAC address) either directly or by scanning a QR code printed on the gateway. Same process for the valve ID, and setup is done. If you wish you can use a custom name for the valve(s). After that, just install the 4 AA batteries in the valve, and connect it to your water tap. That’s pretty much it.
I found the system very easy to set up an install. It did not leak and appears to be built well. The connection to the tap is designed so you can still rotate the valve after it is connected to the tap so there is no tendency for the connection to loosen. The gateway runs on an included USB power source while the valve runs on four AA batteries. The company claims the batteries will last for 2 years before needing replacement. The battery voltage is monitored from the app so you can tell when it’s time to change them and if you allow the batteries to go completely flat the valve is smart enough to turn itself off before they’re completely gone. The system also monitors its ZigBee 2.4 GHz wireless connection. There is a wireless test function, and a signal strength indication on the app. My valves are located about 60 feet from the gateway through one wood framed outside wall (each) and I’m getting about 80% signal strength. Since much of the RF loss occurs through the wall to the outside I would expect you could go 100-150ft from the gateway to the valve without issue. If your building has brick, stone, or steel walls it will be less, perhaps much less. So it’s best to mount the gateway on an outside wall close to the valve, or centered between multiple valves if you have more than one.
The app has numerous ways to control the watering schedule, everything from instant on-off to a watering schedule that can be set for multiple on-off periods every day, every other day, a weekly schedule, or a monthly schedule. It optionally monitors local weather so you can set rain limits (time and rain amount) to prevent it from watering when it has rained, or is about to rain. I did not find any need for more control over the scheduling than is supplied by the app. The app is also very straightforward to use, unlike some other (cheaper) products.
Once you have the first valve installed you can install up to nine more water valves on the same gateway. Each valve can be separately scheduled and controlled. You can also have multiple gateways on the same local network, though if you need more than 10 valves, this is probably not the best solution for you.
I installed two valves about a week ago and I could not be happier. They work great and do not leak. They system solves both my immediate problem of germinating grass, as well as watering the grass, flowers, and vegetable garden while we are on vacation. This is not the cheapest wireless valve, but I think it is one of the best. Get one, you won’t be sorry.
Note: I paid for this product myself. I have no association with LinkTap or Amazon, and I was not compensated in any way for this review.
Setting up the app on the phone i found the most difficult, once this was achieved the system worked extremely well. i have now tested the system 200 miles from home which worked perfectly. Such a load of my mind knowing I can water my greenhouse from miles away. If help is required I found the technical help excellent.
Excellent piece of kit. I tried s few other smart irrigation timers and they were all rubbish, either failing or simply not working ( yes that’s you Elgato Eve …..Bluetooth only ). The link tap has been in two weeks now, had s solid connection to its dongle which is s good 20m away. It’s watered as expected and skipped when it’s rained using the Dark Sky weather data. My only issue is that it’s cloud based so becomes a brick if the company go out of business , the app is a web app do it’s a bit clunky and there is no decent HomeKit integration although I have managed to get it connected in a basic manner via my Raspberry pi homebridge.
Firstly, using a remote higher-powered bespoke transmitter means the device can ‘see’ a signal when in the garden, some distance from the hub. Wifi solutions often fail to provide coverage and Bluetooth systems can’t be remotely accessed.
Secondly, a stated two year battery life avoids the need for external power.
Thirdly, the controlling software does everything – multiple operational modes, rain awareness, near-immediate manual control and watering history all supported.
We use this with a Gardena Octopus, and it drives it perfectly. I have been searching for such an item for years, with a box full of other devices that did only provided some of the necessary functions. This solution dies everything – it works.
I spent two frustrating years trying to get two Hozelock controllers to work properly. The app is really flaky and hasn’t been updated in the two years I’ve been using it. You have to wait up to 20 minutes if you want to manually start or stop a program, the controller and taps are constantly losing their pairing and need some arcane repairing process which means you lose all your timing schedules, and they go through batteries like there’s tomorrow.
I’ve struggled to find any other battery powered systems that do the same thing until this popped up as an Amazon recommendation. Set it up this morning and couldn’t be happier. The pairing process is easier, the app better designed, manual overrides are instantaneous, it just seems so much better thought out. Can’t comment on battery life at the moment but they claim two years – it uses Zigbee protocol which I understand uses much less power than wireless (which wasn’t really designed for this kind of application).
Also loving the idea of the automatic rain skip feature, again not used in anger but if it works will mean an end to waiting 20 minutes for the sprinklers to tun off while it’s pouring with rain!
I was gifted a LinkTap Timer & Gateway, and after researching, installing and using it, it’s fair to say I’d be happy to have bought one myself. My research showed that there aren’t many options on the (UK) market for timed, app-controlled, self-watering systems. The price might seem costly, but considering it’s one of only a few similar systems, which doesn’t operate with flaws, it’s worth it. Set up is quick and straight forward. I opted to try LinkTap and I was really impressed, it was exactly what I wanted. In my case, it’s perfect for a small urban garden with lots of pots and beds. As you can imagine, pots dry out quickly in the sun so having the ability to control watering via an app on my phone is a dream. 9/10 for this product. It would be a wonderful gift or it’s a must-buy for serious hobbyists or those hoping to grow their own fruit and veg on a long term basis.
Seems to be a well made product. Good instructions, and easy to set up and monitor on the computer. IP 66 for outside use. I use it to water the garden 2 times a day through a 6 port distributor, meaning that there are a large number of settings required to switch the water on and off to allow the distributor to move to the next port. It does this reliably.
Any technical questions are dealt with very quickly by Technical Support (in my case a guy called Jack). I have just fitted an “Extender” to give me more WiFi range and Jack gave me advice on the product and how to set it up with Tap-Link.
So far so good for the LinkTap. Very simple setup and range from router to tap seems better than others I have tried which is good. Just seems to work, when the app tells it to water it is working and starts quickly. Battery life is also looking far better than others I have used.
Per fortuna ho un altro rubinetto a circa 3 metri (sempre oltre la portafinesta) e qu devo dire che funziona molto bene.
Il sistema austaliano e quindi per alimentare il gateway utilizzano le prese di corrente anglosassoni non compatibili con le nostre italiane. Ho fatto presente questo al venditore che mi ha consigliato una qualsiasi alimentatore per cellulare (magari non fast charge per evitare sovratensioni) che ho provato con il loro cavo e funziona bene direi. Si era anche offerto di rimborsarmi 10 euro per la spesa, molto gentile.
Passando al software devo dire che pensavo di poter far partire e fermare l’irrigazione manualmente ma invece il sistema permette solo l’invio della quantit di minuti di irrigazione desiderata. In effetti molto pi sicuro cos, se ci fosse un problema di rete non riuscirei pi a spegnere l’acqua, un disastro insomma. Un altra cosa che manca la possibilit di far partire manualmente l’irrigazione dal temporizzatore, in pratica devo sempre prendere in mano il cellulare e usare l’applicazione. Chiaramente il software mi permette tutti i tipi immaginabili di programmazione automatica ma a me serviva principalmente per le ferie per garantire la giusta acqua ai miei bonsai quindi ho installato una telecamera e ogni giorno visivamente posso decidere quanta acqua dare. Finite le ferie smonter il tutto proprio perch dovrei attivare sempre da cell. anche per l’irrigazione manuale.
Thankfully all the reviews have been positive (other than home network issues) and the hardware and software seem to work as they should for most people.
So I took the plunge and bought this – and have recently added a second tap unit.
Setup is a breeze, the app speed response almost instant for direct watering control, and the ability to set schedules simple. If there’s rain forecast in the watering location the app knows how much – and it it is over a threshold that you choose then it can skip a watering session if you switch rain skip on.
The on-off solenoid seems to be a better design than the whirring valves in my experience- an old solenoid gardena timer lasted for ages and having all of the hozelock whirring valves fail in their kit I’m happy with the concept and the LinkTap units seem bulletproof.
So far I have had no issues. The app is excellent and responsive – even logging historical watering use. The hub connection hasn’t lost once so far (unlike the previous hozelocks) and I have just easily connected my second tap unit.
Flaws in my opinion are very very few, but the 6 screws for the battery compartment are very fiddly (tho they do give a spare) and I would not like to change the batteries in situ connected to a tap for fear of losing one or two.
The inability to give names to the tap units seems odd when naming the hub is permitted – knowing which tap units are being programmed is more helpful than which hub is being used especially as most users will only have 1 hub and might have several tap units – EDIT – I have found you can rename the tap units – use the right arrow to go to the watering options and choose ‘device options’ at the top.
The hozelock app had a nice feature for timed watering at dusk or dawn – which doesn’t seem possible with this app – you need to keep the same times each day.
And the physical on-off switch on each tap unit is a worry- knocking it is possible, and anyone can access it. Switching it off if water is flowing through the unit means that the tap remains flowing until the unit is switched back on, or the tap is turned off. Unlikely, but offers the possibility of mischeif.
Overall – very happy – quality, instructions and execution seem first class. If anything changes I will report back.
I am using it connected to a micro-irrigation system that is feeding my roses in my garden plus a hanging basket.
The watering interval is set to every morning and evening for 10 or 15 minutes.
Tip : If you make your own micro-irrigation system it’s very easy, but make sure to buy adjustable flow dripers otherwise your flow will decrease with the length of your PE Tubing.
Delivery: Next day.
Installation: As long as you are able to remove and put back 4 small screws(they provide a small screwdriver), insert 4 AA batteries(not provided, recommend alkaline ones ), install an app on your phone , and plug in the gateway to your main as well as the router you can’t fail. It took me a probably 10 minutes to get it work but that includes everything from unpacking to literally using it. Tip: Because the gateway connects to your router with a wire you might find that is better to buy a WiFi extender (15-20) with a UTP port and put that closer to your tap and connect the gateway to it. In this case you will get a very strong and stable connection between your tap and the gateway and probably it will help you saving the tap batteries.
PROS:
– The app is very intuitive and easy to use.
– Notifications on your phone are brilliant.
– Eco mode: Basically if you want to water your plants/garden for 10 minutes you can activate the ECO mode and the tap will be open (by default) for 1 minute and closed 1 minute. This will allow your soil to soak the water better. Note: For a 10 minutes watering cycle with ECO mode on it will actually take 19 minutes to finish because the time when the tap is closed is not counted.
– It works with Alexa. I just installed the skill asked the question and it worked straight away.
– Rain Delay: I got it only 2 weeks ago, but I have to say that it worked perfect when it rained, and by that I mean it skipped the watering. I would expect this feature to fail from time to time because it’s based on a forecast.
– After 2 weeks the batteries level is still at 100%
– Wireless Signal between the tap and the gateway is 100%. In my case I have the gateway behind the wall where the tap is fitted so I would expect to get a good Signal, but not 100% .
– Very good customer support: basically you contact them on their Facebook page and they will respond very quickly
Cons:
– If your internet connection is down you can’t control the tap or configure ( I think the intervals that you have set will be executed).
-If their servers are down the same thing (it happens once since I have it and they apologized an said it was the first time when this happened. I will come back to edit this after 1-2 months of usage)
– The biggest Con in my point of view is the lack of a manual button on the tap where you just go there and switch it on/off. This would be useful because of the things I’ve mention above and also if you are in the garden and want to get a short burst of water from your tap you can’t do it unless you get your phone.
Overall it’s a very good product and even if I found a couple of cons it’s still a 5 stars product from my point of view and I am considering to buy the second tap.
I bought this to prevent myself from forgetting to turn off the water because I’ve exploded hoses by doing so… More than once
… and the last time I flooded out a bit of hillside and killed some grass, plus the bf was rather peeved at me. So I thought this would be a good solution, until I realized I needed two. One to turn on the water, one to drain the water out of the hoses after use.
Anyways, I had it set up in minutes. The hardest part was finding working batteries. I have WiFi extenders with Ethernet ports throughout my house and one happens to be in my office right next to my hose port. I did test the range out of curiosity and it said “28% signal” on the far side of my hose through numerous walls. So not bad! Seems to work well though time will tell how it holds up.
I will say unless you have a downward slope from your hose port I’d recommend buying two, which is a real bummer with the cost! I’ll attach pictures but I set up one for my hoses and one to be a drain, because if I leave water in my hoses they will burst (as mentioned). I’m going to set the ‘drain’ linktap to run for 1 minute (the time it takes to drain) after I use the hoses.
I do have concerns about the unit itself failing and flooding the surrounding area because the water at the tap needs to always be ‘on’. However, I emailed the company and got a message back within 12 hours saying these have been selling in Australia (a sunny area lol) and have had no reports of the units failing, even when used in direct sun (as the person who responded uses his). So, that’s great that they respond quickly! He did mention they’re working on a version two with more unique features to make people feel safer about using them though, which is cool, but honestly bums me out a bit seeing as I just spent over $200 on version 1’s proper setup.
Bottom line – these are super cool, and I hope they hold up as well as the seller says they will!
Early days but I’m very impressed. Good hardware and well designed app. Very easy set-up.
I also have a degree in Engineering and have seen a lot of terribly designed products. Well, these are Not one of them. These are Very impressive!
Here are my parameters…Certainly yours will differ!
1. No matter how/where I place my Gateway, I have to go through a floor and/or a brick wall for two of the locations. A floor doesn’t seem that bad;
but, brick walls will degrade signal; not to mention the variable of distance (See below.)
2. Signals depend upon distance through these substrates. My signal strengths are 76%, 80%, 93% and 97%…(From the Software!)
These percentages correspond to approximately 41 ft, 40 ft, 9 ft and 8 ft, respectively.
3. I have tried many other Gateway locations using even a powerful repeater; but, it doesn’t matter!
Relative to signal strength, I always have the same two issues my locations:
a. I must go through a brick wall on two of them l.
b. The angle of the Linktap Box is determined by its limited 0-1 inch proximity/closeness to the outside brick wall which makes up the perimeter of
my house;
i.e; The Boxes attach in only one way and therefore in only one rotational direction. And, it can make a difference of up tp 5%.
Well, it turns out that even with all the above requirements/issues, they all work perfectly.
The programming for scheduling is excellent and they have worked perfectly…All of them. All of the time. For the last 3 weeks.
I have had to increase my water pressure to get water to all areas; so, I’m running @~120 lbs.
Despite this, no problems; the valves work in microseconds with no leaks.
For how long? All I can say is the build and function look to be of the highest quality.
TLDR; Amazing product, fantastic customer service from the developers, just click buy already!
I’ve been working with LinkTap since the first week of June (as I write this we are now into July), and this timer met and exceeded all of my expectations. My house runs 90psi at my hose bib with nothing pulling water, which is a fairly high water pressure. I found that high of a pressure frankly destroyed the valves in the cheaper competition out there. (I actually completely destroyed a Melnor unit’s valves on the first use). Turns out you really need to dig through the fine print on timers to know if they can handle your water pressure. Orbit’s Hyve couldn’t even do it. When I contacted LinkTap on Facebook prior to purchasing, I got a near immediate response. (Keep in mind, they are in Australia, so if you’re in the US the time zone thing will come into play, but I’ve never once had to wait for a response more than twenty minutes outside of regular business hours in Canberra.)
My taplinker is set up to control my drip irrigation to my vegetable garden, and it was critical it worked during the week we were away on vacation. Set up was quite easy to my network, and the app (I use the Android version) has been flawless. The device communicates flawlessly to my phone even when I’m not on my home network, and with a quick call to my neighbor to check on things I was able to adjust my watering schedule with a coupe of quick clicks and my garden thrived while we were 400+ miles away.
I do have my gateway on the same side as the house as my taplinker, but given my network coverage I wouldn’t hesitate to put it on the other side as well and plan to get a second to convert the flower beds over to drip next year. Living in a very arid climate, drip is the responsible way to irrigate my property, and we look forward to adding to our system. The Eco Mode really helps me use a single program and make sure all my water gets to my plants instead of running off to places it’s not needed.
Anytime I’ve had a question or concern, reaching out to LinkTap has been painless, and the resolutions fast. You know your concern matters to someone when you do the time zone math to realize they’re reaching out to you at nearly midnight locally for them because there’s a nagging issue they just can’t step away from. (Turned out it was a bit of user error on that one 😉 )
So frankly, all in all, yes….you are paying quite a bit more to get started with LinkTap than some of the “competitors” (but frankly, there really is NO true competitor out there) and it’s worth every penny of not having to throw out and replace inferior technology multiple times an irrigation season.