Self Watering Plant Pot

Simple self watering plat pot with floating water level indicator.

Inner pot diameter: 8 cm.

The reservoir is designed to hold approximately 100ml of water. It is possible, though not recommended, to fill a bit more.

When using an organic/soil-based medium, a bottom layer of inert medium (perlite, pon, seramis etc.) is recommended to avoid waterlogged soil where the reservoir is in contact.

Printing Directions

These are the printing parameters I have used to achieve the product pictured above. YMMV.

All parts were printed as oriented in the STL files. No supports are needed (overhang for the pot and indicator is 45°).

The resulting print weighs a total of ~80g and takes roughly 11.5 hours for all three pieces.

Please feel free to upload your tweaked printing files for other printers and filaments.

Reservoir

Layer height: 0.2mm

Bottom layers: 4

Top layers: 4

Wall count: 2

Infill: 20%

Extrusion multiplier: 1.05

Pot

Layer height: 0.2mm

Bottom layers: 4

Top layers: 4

Wall count: 2

Infill: 100%

Extrusion multiplier: 1.05

Update 20 Aug 2023 - New file for pot with extra aeration

Indicator

As PLA has a higher density than water, the water level indicator must be hollow in order to float. I recommend printing this part in vase mode (spiralised outer contour).

Layer height: 0.2mm

Bottom layers: 2

Extrusion multiplier: 1.05