Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Best Gardena water timer for weekday watering

Updated: 23 October 2026

The best Gardena water timer for one outside tap that should water on chosen days is the Water Control Select. It is listed at £53.99 with 4.3 from 6,653 reviews. This page is from the Products Compared editorial team, updated on 21 October 2026. We used the amazon.co.uk listings and Gardena's UK Select page, and we did not lab-test a valve. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices for the set are on the [Gardena water timer comparison](/hub/garden-watering/gardena-water-timer).

The best Gardena water timer for one outside tap that should water on chosen days is the Water Control Select. It is listed at £53.99 with 4.3 from 6,653 reviews.

Our top picks

Gardena Gardena Water Control Easy (01896-20)

Best overall

Gardena Gardena Water Control Easy (01896-20)
9.6/10about £28.82
View offer
Gardena Gardena Water Control Select (1891-28)

Rank 2

Gardena Gardena Water Control Select (1891-28)
9.4/10about £53.99
View offer
Gardena Gardena Water Control Flex (1890-20)

Alternative

Gardena Gardena Water Control Flex (1890-20)
9.4/10about £49.49
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The job this pick is for
  2. 2.What you give up with Select
  3. 3.Buy a different Gardena instead
  4. 4.Before you rely on it

The job this pick is for

You want the tap to open on days you choose, without a phone account. The Select stores three schedules, each with a start time, a duration and a weekday. Gardena's UK page puts the duration from 1 minute to 7 hours 59 minutes, and it lists Water Now, Safe Stop and an optional soil sensor. There is no app on that page. The 4.3 from 6,653 ratings is the largest count in this set. The Duo costs £106.27 because it has two outlets, which you will not use on one hose. The buying guide keeps every other branch if this job is not yours.

What you give up with Select

Flow is lower than an open tap. Gardena quotes about 0.5 to 12 bar, and the Select manual wants roughly 20 to 30 litres an hour through the valve, so a lively sprinkler can look feeble. Run one cycle while you watch, and do not force the nut with pliers. The housing is not frost-proof. UK reviews describe leaks and split casings after cold nights. Store the controller and the valve dry, enclosed and frost-free, with the battery out. If the control head comes off while the valve is open, the manual says the valve stays open. Safe Stop only skips a later cycle.
Gardena Gardena Water Control Easy (01896-20)

Testsieger

Gardena Gardena Water Control Easy (01896-20)
9.6/10about £28.82
View offer

Buy a different Gardena instead

Skip the Select when the job is smaller or larger than three weekday schedules. The EasyPlus, at £39.99, offers 69 presets and still does not let you write Monday and Thursday yourself. The 1169-20, at £31.99, is only a 5 to 120 minute countdown, and several UK reviews describe a mechanism that stuck open. Buy the Duo for two zones on different programmes, and the smart Dual, at £136.95, only if you also want the app and a separate gateway. Programming steps stay on how to programme a Gardena water control.

Before you rely on it

Fit the 9 V cell, mount the unit vertically with the sleeve nut upward, and set the clock and today's weekday before you touch a schedule. Run one cycle while you watch the bed, the joint and the hose. Replace the cell when the battery symbol flashes, and take the unit off before frost, including a late cold snap in spring. If the pipe hammers when the valve shuts, or the tap has no double check valve, that is a plumber's job.

Common questions

Why Select and not the 4.7 smart model?
The smart Water Control's 4.7 comes from 99 ratings, with two UK reviews, both positive. The Select's 4.3 comes from 6,653 ratings and matches weekday schedules on one tap without a gateway. The smart listing can be the better buy if you will programme from a phone and you accept a separate gateway. For this job, the thin star line does not overturn the larger sample.
Why not the cheaper Easy?
The Easy is £28.82 and it is the best value listing when a preset is enough. It cannot store a start, a duration and a chosen weekday the way the Select can. If your week is every day for 10 minutes, a knob may be all you need and the Select is spare money. If the days differ, the cheaper dial does not grow a calendar because you wish it would.
Is Select a good holiday timer?
It can run a stored schedule while you are away, which is what the manual describes it for, provided the battery is fresh and you have watched one full cycle. It will not turn itself off if the valve sticks open, and Safe Stop only skips the next planned run. A countdown timer cannot start the first morning at all. A neighbour who can reach the stopcock still matters, and a hosepipe ban can still forbid a sprinkler.
Who should buy Flex instead?
Buy the Flex for balcony and terrace pots that need several short drip cycles, down to a one-second run on the UK page, rather than three named weekdays. It is the wrong swap if you need Monday and Thursday at a set hour and you will not be there to twist a dial. Check the adapter, because UK reviews say the pieces in the box did not always fit a standard outside tap.
Does Select include the soil sensor and the battery?
No. The listing states a sensor connection and does not list a sensor in the box. The amazon technical table does not state a battery type. The manual calls for a 9 V alkaline cell. Until a sensor is fitted, rain does not pause the programme. Budget for the cell before the first season, and take it out for winter storage.
Is "1 in Watering Computers" a test result?
No. That line is an amazon.co.uk Best Sellers Rank inside Garden, not a lab score and not a UK water-regulations approval. Rankings move. The useful figures on the day we read the listing were £53.99, 4.3 from 6,653 reviews, and three schedules with a weekday. Use those, and the faults in the reviews, rather than the rank badge.

Related pages

Gardena water timer for a holiday

Frost and winter storage

Gardena water timer

Which Gardena water control should you buy in 2026

How to programme a Gardena water control step by step

Sources

Manufacturer pages, the Select manual, and UK public sources for bans and backflow. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines saved on 19 October 2026. This is not a lab test.

  1. Gardena UK Select 1891-28 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  2. Gardena UK Easy Plus 1897-28 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  3. Gardena UK Flex (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  4. Gardena UK smart Water Control 19033-20 (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  5. Gardena Select manual (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  6. Thames Water temporary hosepipe ban legal notice (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  7. WaterSafe — double check valve on an outside tap (retrieved 19.10.2026)
  8. Water Industry Act 1991 s.76 (retrieved 19.10.2026)