No power socket near the valve, a far corner of the garden away from the house, a buried valve box: none of this is a problem. A battery-powered controller paired with a latching solenoid valve waters automatically, without running a single mains cable.
The principle in one sentence
A latching (pulse) solenoid needs only a very brief electrical pulse to open or close the valve. This low power consumption lets the controller run for many months on batteries.
The battery-powered controllers in our shop
- Rain Bird ESP-9V: from 1 station to 6 stations, for DC latching solenoids. The ESP-9V kit with DVF valve supplies the controller and valve together.
- Rain Bird ESP-BAT-BT: Bluetooth controllers from 1 to 6 stations, powered by 4 AA batteries, IP68 casing, controlled with the Rain Bird 2.0 app.
- Hunter NODE: the NODE-100-VALVE-B (1 station, factory-fitted to a valve), the NODE-200 and the NODE-400, plus their Bluetooth versions, the NODE-BT-200 and NODE-BT-400.
- Solem: the BL-IP and WooBee IP68, programmed with the MySolem app.
Compatible valves and solenoids
- Hunter PGV-100G-B DC latching: 1″ valve designed for battery-powered systems.
- Rain Bird 200-PGA 9 V: 2″ valve with a 9 V latching solenoid.
- Rain Bird K80920 latching solenoid: turns a Rain Bird DV, JTV, PGA, PEB or BPE valve into a valve for a battery-powered controller. It works with TBOS, TBOS-II, TBOS-BT, ESP-9V and WPX controllers.
The key thing to watch: compatibility
A battery-powered controller operates a DC latching solenoid, not a 24 V AC solenoid. Each brand has its own references:
- Rain Bird ESP-BAT-BT controllers use the TBOSPSOL solenoid listed on their product page.
- The K80920 works with TBOS, TBOS-II, TBOS-BT, ESP-9V and WPX controllers.
- Solem BL-IP controllers are designed for 9 V latching solenoid valves.
If in doubt, check the product page or email info@arrosagepro.com with the model of your valve.
A real-world example: watering 2 zones without a power socket
- 1 Rain Bird ESP-9V 2-station controller
- 2 Rain Bird 100-DV valves, one per zone
- 2 K80920 latching solenoids to replace the original 24 V solenoids
- Alkaline batteries: Varta Industrial 9 V, AA (pack of 4) or AAA (pack of 4), depending on the battery type shown on the controller’s product page
Batteries: simple tips
- The battery type depends on the model: 4 AA batteries for the Rain Bird ESP-BAT-BT, for example. Check the controller’s product page.
- Rain Bird quotes up to 5 years of battery life for the ESP-BAT-BT-2, depending on the watering schedule.
- Get into the habit of checking the batteries in spring when you restart the system, and keep a spare set to hand.
Official source: Rain Bird DV/DVF valve datasheet, which accepts the TBOS latching solenoid for battery-powered controllers (PDF)