With the continuous flow watering can, you only water the area the water is intended for, with no wastage saving time and money. For commercial application there is no mist drift with all the water going on the ground, and not some being blown away in the wind to somebody else’s field, or lost to evaporation.

Both watering cans and hose sprinklers have their applications, with advantages and disadvantages, the watering can has a rose that distributes the water, without damaging the plants, but requires continual filling up at the tap. While the hose hand held sprinkler has a continual flow of water, the jet of water, even when using the sprinkler setting, will damage seedlings and delicate plants and bore into soft soils. If the mist setting is used, there is a large amount of waste water, the mist does not get to the plants, and it takes much longer to water a pot.

Figure 1 is taken directly from the Ettridge UK patent GB2522605, and illustrates the layouts pursued in the early stages of research. Subsequently a variety of alternative geometrical layouts were developed, optimized for specific applications. The invention consists of a hand held water jet and watering can rose, separated by a piece of tubing, with a dome restrictor dividing the tubing into two chambers. The operation is very simple, the water travels up the handle, and a jet of water is aimed at the dome shape in the centre of the restrictor in the first chamber, where the water is turned back in the direction it came. The water then moves through holes in the circumference of the restrictor, into the second chamber and out through the water can rose. The process causes the water to lose its kinetic energy or forward motion, and behave the same as water in a watering can.

The weight of a filled 9 litre plastic watering can is approximately 8 kg, while the weight of a continuous flow watering can filled with water is 0.35 kg. There is significantly less risk of injury or strain on a person’s back using the continuous flow watering can than having to constantly refill a watering can, especially when you realise a 7 litre watering can empties from full in 34 second.