Me personally i have a UGMO ProHome ground moisture sprinkler system. How the UgMO ProHome Works you may ask? It is a cost-effective, wireless water sensing "watchdog" the smart sensors are placed underground in each sprinkler zone to measure soil moisture and temperature at the root level (the most important part of the plant) up to 12 times an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. These sensors will wirelessly transmit data in real time on a zone-by-zone basis to my UgMO ProHome base station that was installed next my existing irrigation timer. Acting as the "brains" of my irrigation system, the base station determines when the grass and/or plantings have reached their optimum moisture level. If the ground is sufficiently moist, UgMO will automatically interrupt the sprinkler in that zone, turning it off before any water is wasted. It will still work even when it rains. Plus it has a zone manual overide"Plus Not only is this an easy install for contractors, but it is a simple technology for me too. So i Set it and then forgot it, and then i watched my water and $ savings accumulate. I.m.o it saves alot if hassle. The only drawback to the installation is i had to dig up slices of turf in my beautiful Bermuda lawn to install the sensors.

sj, Are you watering from a well or low flow source? What is your water source and flow rate from that source? What is the corresponding water pressure? How much area are trying to grow at one time? What are the sprinkler heads you are using? 25 minutes is a long time to irrigate seeded mulch at one time if you are just trying to maintain moisture in the mulch. I guess I am missing something. Why not establish grass in smaller areas at a time instead of the entire area. You will have to explain in more detail how you want your system to operate. It seems a little too elaborate as I read it. Aloha

I've got one, and it deters me :) I have a way of forgetting it's there and walking withing range...and yes it does get the 'mover' quite wet, wet enough to want to change clothes. I don't know how long it would be effective for persons not otherwise distracted, unless the noise it makes and their startled scream would embarrass them to the point they would stay away unless invited....I really haven't heard of it being used in that application - intentionally. My neighbor tells me it evoked a loud profanity from the utility meter reader the day she walked unknowingly in front of it and I wasn't home :) It is very effective on wildlife and neighborhood cats, but I find even deer seem to have short memories. When you put it away, they are back again - but during the time its set in place it does protect from browsing and digging.

There are two kinds of "moisture" sensors used in dryers. The older/cheaper technology-type works solely by temperature and mechanical controls. This is sometimes called "thermostat auto-dry." When the heating element (or gas burner) is ON, the machine's timer is OFF ... that is, the timer is stalled and doesn't advance. When the heat source turns OFF, the timer turns ON and begins advancing toward end of the cycle. A simple heat-on/timer-off and heat-off/timer-on control system. Wet clothes and evaporation of moisture tends to keep the air temperature inside the drum down, so the heating source runs more often or for longer periods of time, and the timer runs less. As the clothes dry, the heating source runs less to maintain the target temperature (125°F or 135°F or 155°F or whatever it may be), and the timer runs more, so it advances more quickly toward end of the cycle. The other method uses an "electronic" sensor, which is just a low-voltage feedback circuit as jamesk describes above, and is usually called "moisture sensing auto-dry." This method can be used with either mechanical controls or fully electronic controls. With mechanical controls, the feedback circuit serves the same function of stalling the timer motor when moisture is sensed, and allowing the timer to run when no moisture is sensed. As the wet clothes tumble and brush against the sensor bars, the timer motor rapidly turns on and off, so it doesn't advance very quickly. As the clothes dry, less stalling of the timer occurs, so it begins advancing more quickly toward end of the cycle. With fully electronic controls, basically the same thing happens with the electronic control software and timing algorithms advancing the cycle toward Off. Machine with mechanical controls and an "electronic" moisture sensor generally (but not always) tend to be a bit less accurate and less consistent in performance than dryers with fully-electronic controls and a moisture sensor. A mechanical timer coupler with a moisture-sensor MUST travel the physical distance from its starting point in the cycle to the off position. If loaded with dry clothes, they tend to run a bit longer than machines with electronic controls, which can more quickly determine that the clothes are already dry and shut off. But to more directly answer bmgeorgo's question, yes it's quite possible for the machine to keep heating for a while longer than really needed. Some of these auto-dry machines are oriented more toward *drying* the clothes, and some are more conservative in the target dryness levels. One just has to get accustomed to the quirks of the machine. If you find that the "Regular" dryness setting is too dry for particular loads, experiment by setting the controls more toward the "Less" dry end of the scale. Simple as that!