Chirp! - plant watering alarm

(25 Reviews)

Plant watering alarm - chirps when the soil dries out. Based on capacitive moisture sensing.

Designed by Catnip electronics in Lithuania

This seller is taking a break. Sign up below to get an email when they're back!

$15.00

On A Break

Plant watering alarm - chirps when the soil dries out. Based on capacitive moisture sensing.

Review Breakdown

Average Ratings

Product: (4.86)

Documentation: (4.10)

Shipping: (4.48)

Communication: (4.62)

Chris | April 4, 2022

Slow response makes it less useful

When Chirp detects that the soil is dry, it start chirping (it sounds more like a clicking than a cricket chirping to me). But then when you water the plant, it doesn’t stop. So you keep watering, trying to shut it up, and overwater the plant. It might help if we could water near it, but the manual says not to. I imagine it takes some time for moisture to spread through the soil to the chirp. Maybe we need a way to mute it for an hour? Pressing the button resets the set point, so that’s difficult. The led is useful in working out which plant needs watering, that wasn’t documented.

Roletta | March 2, 2021

What a lovely item!

We received the Chirps and are very pleased with these helpfull waterreminders. A nice modest chirp sounds when at first the plant is thirsty, no annoying sound, just a little chirp. If you ignore it, it sounds a littler louder and the interval decreases so it urges you to want to water your plant.

Love it!

For us, not so technical people, a little user manual with pictures would be nice. But nevertheless we managed to figure it out :-)

Franco | Nov. 19, 2020

Very good till now

I have received the sensor for about a month. The first few days I had to do some wisely to find out how to place it and how much to wet the plant, now it is working regularly, it seems to me to be regularly warning me when it's time to water with a nice cricket cry.

Ernestas | June 9, 2020

It is more than just a water sensor

Feels like plants started to talk to me with a delicate chirp.
Nice and well thought out device.
And plants are happier.

Rik | June 2, 2020

It really works!

I intentionally waited quite a while before posting a review, because often it is pretty easy to build something that functions one week, a month.. and then it dies.... The good news is, in this case this is not er... the case (sorry I'm not a native speaker)
This little thing does what it needs to do without any hassle, it does so predictably and it's golden it shuts off when it gets dark (really really nice addition.)
One small niggle maybe is it misses a little scap of paper in the package that shows the orientation of the battery. I can imagine inserting it the right way is puzzling for some people.
Other than that: PERFECT!

Ors | May 20, 2019

Works perfectly out of the box

Very nice plant watering alarm device. Just followed the instructions and got it working right away. High quality components and stable functionality.

Jonathan | Nov. 19, 2018

Great product and service

I ordered a few of these and liked them so much I ordered more. The seller stands by the devices and replaced one unit that I sent back to him because it was defective - he told me that he tests all the units and defective ones are rare. Communicating with the seller was quick and there were no language barriers. I've had no issues with the remaining devices, and they operate as expected. The only complaint I would make (if I had to make one) is that it takes a fair amount of time to receive the orders, but to be fair, I am in British Columbia, Canada, and these devices ship from Lithuania. I would gladly take the longer time rather over paying more for shipping, but be aware that it can take some time to receive these if you are in a hurry or need them in time for a gift. There's no documentation provided with the devices, but I would recommend printing the information from the device's website to keep for reference as it contains all the detailed information. you need there. I imagine I will be ordering more of these again in the future. Thanks so much for a great product and outstanding service.

Christian | Nov. 6, 2018

Simple and works

Not a lot to add. It works, is simple to use and well documented.
I can only wonder why such a thing only exists as indie electronics.

J | June 5, 2018

Nice toy to 'annoy' others in there homes.... :)

This is a way cool toy to 'annoy' friends. I bought a couple and have placed one in a plant at my friends place. She hates small animals like crickets. So that was fun when something is chirping in there house :P. But also, as she does not know yet, the plant needs water.

But I have another non issue. I have real crickets in my house, and now I am thinking that all my plants are dry :P. The sound of the Chirp is that good compared to the real animals. So I have to listen good from where the sounds get to make sure it is the plant. :D

Further, the hardware looks very good and solid. I have used other and, yes cheaper devices, but they are way worse compared to this. So spent a bit more money, but you will get better stuff and more fun!

Frieda | Oct. 31, 2017

Amazing tech!

Extremely fast and safe trackable shipment, very good quality, nice documentation and amazing support!

Eirik | Oct. 14, 2017

Does not work as advertised

UPDATED: Catnip Electronics were quick to respond and send me a new unit. Very happy with their service. Having used my new Chirp for a couple of weeks, I am happy to report that it works perfectly. Accordingly, I have changed my product rating to 5 stars.

I've tried to use the Chirp as described here - https://wemakethings.net/chirp/ - without any luck. The CR2032 fits very tightly on the Chirp, the fit is so tight actually that the battery is damaged (a small dent on the - side). After insertion of the battery the Chirp keeps on chirping instead of making two sounds as described in the the manual, and setting a new dry point does with the push button gives the same negative result. Have tested the Chirp on several plants, and it is quite clear that it does not work for me.

Response from Catnip electronics | Oct. 16, 2017

Hi,

Your unit might be faulty. Happens sometimes. Please PM me your order number, I will ship you a replacement!

Ekaterina | Feb. 26, 2017

Chirps as advertised!

It is hard to write any kind of verbose review here. The thing just works : )
I'm travelling a lot and rent my place while away. And chirp is infinitely better then bugging people about watering my plants over emails, for everyone involved.

Teodor | Nov. 19, 2016

Great product

Easy to use. Just pop-in a 2032 battery. Put in the soil, push the button and here you go. Plus it's smart enough to not wake you up.

Kaspars | Nov. 9, 2016

Simply great and effortless

Yesterday was the second time Chirp reminded me to water the plants. I love how it chirps "Thank you!" once you've done it.

Benjamin | April 19, 2016

Cool gadget

Cool little gadget to monitor soil moisture and chirp when it is time to water the plants! Will buy more

T | Dec. 1, 2015

Amazing product

Great value for money, this tiny system just works. Once you know how to get the battery in and have set the moisture level, you are good to go. I will order more of these for my other plants. Great work!

It would be great if it had a plastic casing which can protect the electronic part with the battery. A small manual (if it is given as a present), is more than welcome.

Philip | April 19, 2015

Works great

Using this product to help me remember to water the plants on my desk at work. The subtle occasional chirp is enough to annoy my co-workers into watering the damn plants even when I'm away just to shut that damn thing up.

In summary, excellent idea, and both I bought have worked flawlessly.

Sean | April 4, 2015

Makes Plants Happy In Their Pants

I ordered two for some frequently-forgotten plants along with two of the sensors (without chirp) to make Arduino automated watering systems. There is no indication which way to put the battery in, but if you're clever you should be able to get it figured out in two tries. After a day, one of them started a constant clicking noise. If this happens to you, it's because the battery is near death; replacing it made it work normally again.

Dennis | Feb. 9, 2015

looks good - should encase the exposed parts in plastic

To prevent water erosion. Next version should have preset dryness measures

Greg | Dec. 1, 2014

Simple, elegant product that solves one problem really well

After using my first one for a few weeks I just ordered several more as gifts. Chirp is inexpensive and works reliably - just wait for your plant to reach the point where you'd water it, then push Chirp into the dirt and press the calibrate button. Next time the soil reaches that level of dryness you'll hear a chirp that repeats every few minutes. Chirp is smart enough to only chirp when the room is lit, so it won't drive you crazy at night. Water the plant and a distinct sound lets you know that the Chirp has reset itself and it's silent until next time you need to water. It's a very elegant approach.
The only improvement I'd suggest is adding the battery type (CR2032) on the silkscreen. Right now you have to navigate to the support website (which is very thorough) to find out what type of battery to buy. The device ships from Lithuania, which adds a little time to the shipping, but wasn't expensive. I paid $7 in shipping to have 3 sent to the US, which took 2-3 weeks to arrive.

Jonathan | Sept. 2, 2014

Nice device

Works really well standalone for plants that always want moisture, and I look forward to connecting them up to a bigger controller to manage dry periods for my cacti and succulents. Thanks for a well thought out sensor.

Anton | April 25, 2014

Great little device

Works great! Nice note mate :)

Mal | April 4, 2014

Nice Practical Unit whether using as Chirp! alarm or senor

So, I am very new to the world of Making and "hacking things", so when I saw that the Chirp! could address one of our needs (keep my wife's Orchid's alive!) AND give me a chance to try out my Arduino with I2C for a small price - I jumped at the chance.

I managed to solder some headers to the I2C interface and successfully use the Arduino example Mic supplies on the website to get the Chirp! working as a sensor. Mic was very helpful when I eventually did ask some questions when it came to the I2C interface readings. All in all the device and assistance is very cool as now I have the Chirp! talking over Wifi to Xively and can keep a track and display charts of the state of the plant. Who says an old dog can't learn new tricks. :-)

This is a great little device and the option to use as a standalone Chirp! alarm, or turn into a sensor so easily (my very first I2C attempt on any hardware), is even better. Very pleased with the results (surprisingly efficient on battery use, nice work). Now I just need to understand the sensor data a little better for the plant. I plan on ordering more.

Highly recommended!
Mal....

Roger | Feb. 14, 2014

My plants live longer!

This is a neat little gadget, just stick in the soil behind your plant, and it will beep when it needs watering. It's designed not to beep at night, so as not to disturb you. The device could benefit from a little minor tweaking, but it works well enough now, and the developer is friendly and responsive.

Response from Catnip electronics | Feb. 18, 2014

Thanks for a nice review. What tweaking do you have in mind?
BTW firmware and hardware are open source and I'd be happy to process some pull requests ;)

Michael | May 22, 2013

Fast shipping and cool support

So, my Chirp just arrived today, only 7 days later and I'm in the US and they ship from DE. Got really fast and friendly support on a question I had. Haven't put the device to use yet, will try to remember to update once I've used it a bit!

+ Show 20 more

$15.00