ECOWITT WH51L Soil Moisture Sensor with 1m/3.28ft PVC Wire Probe, LCD Display, Needs to Pair with Wi-Fi Gateway, 915 MHz

I just installed an ECOWITT system to monitor the soil moisture in our yard. While we recently were on an extended vacation, both front and rear drip irrigation systems stopped, and we nearly lost several mature palm trees and other plants in our beautifully landscaped yard. I purchased the Ecowitt GW3000 Wi-Fi & Ethernet Weather Station Gateway and two ECOWITT WH51L Soil Moisture Sensors; one for the front yard and backyard. This system was by far the easiest home automation devices/system that I have installed and worked with across an extensive set of devices and systems throughout our home and yard. It simply was “plug and play” with very good instructions. The Gateway was easy to link to my Wi-Fi and the sensors were automatically added as I powered them up. Everything was in great working order right out of the box. You test the sensors in the ambient air and then a glass of water to make sure that they are reading and transmitting correctly. I wasn’t sure what the range would be since I was placing the two sensors at a diagonal across the yard with the gateway inside the house. Each one is approximately 40 ft. from the gateway and has no connection. I’m powering the sensors using Procell Alkaline Intense Power AA, 1.5V Batteries which are designed for high drain professional devices (like my door locking systems). The sensor is not a high drain device, just trying to get the longest operational duration per battery. If necessary, I would try Lithium batteries next (different voltage drop curve than alkaline batteries). Since I’m not looking for exact soil moisture measurement, I can’t speak to the accuracy. It was 0% in the air and 100% in the water. Current readings are 46% and 21% giving me a baseline to work from when programming the sprinkler systems. I’m super happy with the value for my money. The entire system is far, far less that me having to replace one tree or major planting due to lack of water.

I have deployed a few of these with my new bare root fruit trees to get a more accurate measure of moisture content at the depth that matters for the trees. It was easy to setup and the probe seems well made. The display is nice, but I use the app much more often. One hint, if you need to find the sensor ID look inside the battery compartment. So far these have worked perfectly, consistently sending data back and I did check calibration and it is consistent.

I purchased this version with the longer wire and LCD Screen as I was having WIFI reception problems with my Ambient in-ground soil moisture sensor. I felt that getting the transmitter two to three feet off the ground would enhance my transmission / reception. This along with the antenna on the Ecowitt GW3000 solved all my reception problems. In short, the extra expense was a good choice. Installation of the sensor was straight forward. My only less than favorable comment is that I wish the sensor housing were some other color than stark white. Black, brownish or green would be preferable for my use.

Hit or miss with these Ecowitt devices. Some are better than others. I have eight and about 1 in 4 doesn’t read accurately.

I’ve purchased 3 of these sensors and they work great when paired to one of Ecowitt’s IOT devices like the water timer. I have these set to turn on the water when the soil gets too dry and off when it gets too wet. The sensors seem accurate.

Had about 6 of the green ones before and the kids/dog kept kicking them and breaking them easily - Mounted 3 of these across the yard and buried the wire about 3-4 inches in the lawn - Worked right out the gate, going multiple months now - Ecowitt has a nice API so was able to pull this into a custom front end python site to link it up with the Rainbird sprinkler system for scheduling watering - Solid!

Works great

The attached meter makes checking soil levels quick and convenient. You can either bury the probe for a deeper reading or just stick it right in the top for a quick accurate measure. Can be linked to a station and have had issues with function or batteries

Does what it says it does and is great for deeper readings! Highly tecommend.

Works great

It does measure moisture, but the range is very bad. If you bought a console - forget about it. Best to buy soil sensors with an irrigation system manufactured by adults.

100% recommend.

Better than nothing but inaccurate and not in the league of a German tension type water meter I was replacing 2in the same pot read wildly different Ok for a “relativity” water scenario but each meter at the same soil moisture level reads differently One never changes hardly at all even after watering and reads 43% out of water Garbage can time as I ordered something that works ….the German tension type carrot meter I used to use