Free 3D model

Self-Watering Planter

A fluted planter for a houseplant from a 12 cm nursery pot, with a hidden 0.6 litre water reservoir underneath. Pour water into the funnel at the back; the soil in the slotted basket draws it up to the roots, and a yellow float shows how much is left. No wick cord, no screws, and every part prints without supports.

  • 6printed parts
  • 17 × 17 × 17 cmassembled (L × W × H)
  • ≈ 0.6 kgfilament in total
  • 163 mmbuild height needed for the reservoir; every part fits a 170 × 170 mm bed
Download all files ZIP · 0.3 MB

Free for personal use under CC BY-NC 4.0: print it, remix it and share it with credit to Shapekit. Please don't sell the files or the prints.

Take it apart in 3D · Parts · How to build it

In 3D

Turn it, take it apart

Every part as you print it. Pick colours to see what your filament will look like.

The 3D model (1.1 MB) loads when you get here.

Preview colours

Outer pot
Inner pot, basket and cap
Float

Drag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom

In the download

6 parts, ready to print

Every STL is already placed the right way up. Download them all at once, or one by one.

Reservoir

The outer pot and water tank: 30 flutes outside, a smooth closed cup inside with the fill tube at the back. Holds 0.6 litre up to the full mark.

Size
169 × 168 × 163 mm
Print
Upright, no supports. 4 walls and 5 top and bottom layers keep it watertight.
Filament
≈ 348 g
STL 0.5 MB: Reservoir

Inner pot

Holds 1.8 litres of soil: 145 to 152 mm across and 118 mm deep, so a 12 cm root ball fits with room to spare. Its flat floor stays 6 mm above the water, with drainage slots and a hole for the basket; a channel at the back slides over the fill tube.

Size
164 × 163 × 120 mm
Print
Upright, floor on the bed. No supports: the bevel under the rim is 45°.
Filament
≈ 203 g
STL 0.2 MB: Inner pot

Wicking basket

A slotted cup that hangs through the floor of the inner pot and stands in the water. Packed with soil, it is the wick.

Size
46 × 42 × 42 mm
Print
Upside down, flange on the bed. No supports: the tip is a 45° cone.
Filament
≈ 9 g
STL 0.1 MB: Wicking basket

Fill cap

A funnel that plugs into the fill tube. Water pours through five windows; the rod slides up through the middle.

Size
30 × 30 × 14 mm
Print
Upside down (top on the bed), no supports.
Filament
≈ 2 g
STL 0.2 MB: Fill cap

Float

A sealed float with a closed air pocket inside. It rides up and down in the fill tube.

Size
47 × 20 × 20 mm
Print
Standing up, no supports. Keep the infill setting as it is: the air pocket is modelled in.
Filament
≈ 4 g
STL 87 KB: Float

Indicator rod

Presses into the float and shows the level at the cap. Two grooves mark half full and full.

Size
124 × 5 × 2 mm
Print
Flat on the bed, grooves up.
Filament
≈ 2 g
STL 7 KB: Indicator rod
Also needed

Parts you buy

  • Nothing to buy: no screws, no glue and no wick cord. The soil in the slotted basket does the wicking.
  • Potting soil and a plant from a nursery pot of up to 12 cm (about 12 cm across and 10.5 cm tall).
  • Optional: a thin coat of waterproof sealant inside the reservoir, if your printer doesn't print watertight walls.
Print settings

Slicer settings

0.20 mmlayer height
4 wallsand 5 top and bottom layers for a watertight reservoir
15%gyroid infill
PETGbest with water; PLA works indoors

For a 0.4 mm nozzle. Filament amounts are estimates for these settings.

Assembly

How to build it

Print and test

Print the reservoir with 4 walls and 5 top and bottom layers. Fill it with water and leave it on a paper towel for a day: if it weeps, coat the inside with a thin layer of sealant.

Build the float

Press the flat rod into the slot on top of the float, round end up and the grooves facing you. It is a press fit: no glue needed. Float it in a glass of water: if it slowly fills and sinks, print it again a little hotter.

Put it together

Lower the inner pot into the reservoir with the channel at the back over the fill tube; its bevel settles on the rim and centres it. Drop the float into the fill tube, rod up, and press the cap into the tube with the rod through its middle.

Plant

Push the basket through the hole in the floor from inside and pack it firmly with potting soil. Add a layer of soil, set the root ball in a little forward of the centre, fill round it and water from the top the first time, so the soil is wet all the way down.

Fill the reservoir

Pour water into the cap's funnel until the second groove on the rod is level with the top of the cap. That is full: about 0.6 litre. Don't fill past it, or the soil will stand in the water.

Refill

When the rod has sunk back flush with the cap, the reservoir is almost empty. Most plants need a refill every one to three weeks.

PLA softens at about 55 °C: keep a PLA planter out of strong sun behind glass, or print it in PETG. Printed parts are not food safe, so don't use the reservoir for drinking water.

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