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Had to pick between a solenoid valve and a float switch for my backyard pond auto-fill
I spent last weekend trying to keep my goldfish alive while I was away for 4 days, so I rigged up a hose with a timer but the water level kept going wonky. Ended up going with a float switch from Home Depot for $18 because I figured simpler is better, and it actually kept the pond within an inch of full the whole time I was gone. Has anyone else tried to automate something simple and had it backfire with the fancy option?
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mianelson2mo ago
Oh man, you're speaking my language here. I used to be all about buying the most complicated solution for stuff like this, thinking expensive meant better. But last summer I tried one of those fancy float switches with all the bells and whistles for my bird bath and it jammed up within a week. Swapped it for a simple $12 model from the hardware store and it's been running perfect for eight months now. Your experience totally backs up what I've learned, sometimes the cheap and simple option just works better because there's less to break. Take it from someone who used to waste money on overcomplicated gear, a basic float switch is honestly the way to go for a backyard pond setup.
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price.ray2mo ago
Swapped to a simple float switch myself after a fancy one failed on my pond, @mianelson, and it's been flawless ever since.
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