Brand New at this (esp32), a little stuck with power

[blindesp]

hi

I have an idea i want to build and am brand spanking new at this, I am a bit slow, Iam not really an an electrician, i can wire a few sockets but thats about my lot, i can sort of solder, but i can do a bit of code so giving it a whirl, I am after help in location to start and maybe guides to help with similar project with electrics and setups what bit goes where.

I have youtube'd and searched various pieces of my project but everyone is 10, 000 times ahead of me and struggling to actually get going.

- project - garden watering, run ESP32 to provide daily watering by turning on a water pump once a day fed by water butt

- my components: ESP32 WROOM, breadboard + cables, L1 Relay Module, 12 V Battery, 12 water pump, 12v to 5v 3a DC converter ( i have a solenoid water valve also but not sure if i need that yet)

I think my main issue is i don't really understand the power aspect, can i just use one converter output to power esp32 and relay (and possibly other items or do they need to be separate? I have seen some people use some types of resistors between esp32 and relay, others with tails splits? Any diagrams guides to this sport of thing to help me on my way? Thanks

[MicroController]

In principle, you should be able to power your whole system from the same battery. Use the DC converter to supply the ESP32 with 5V. The ESP needs up to about 0,5A, so the 3A the DC converter can deliver should definitely be enough.
Next thing to consider would then be the fact that the ESP32 can only output 3.3V signals, so you'll have to check if 3.3V is enough for the relay.
Then comes the current (A) the relay needs to operate. The ESP32's outputs can only output up to around 20-40mA (0,02-0,04A), which may not be enough for the relay.

[blindesp]

much obliged, i see, so i can then test output via mustimeter to make sure output can actually trigger the input module, ill give that a whirl. I also found i could use a jack with then a tail to split that power also

Seems to be an absolute ton of youtube material out there which i got bogged down in but for anyone else in my basic situation i really found this website super help in getting me going https://esp32io.com/esp32-tutorials from connection to basic code, to wiring, you might even find some setups for use like i did here https://esp32io.com/tutorials/esp32-controls-pump

Another site i also found to help with the whole "how does this fit together" and for my own designs was this design called cirkit, i could search a design, find one and gauge my design how other people have done it to get started and join the dots, here is an example one i used https://app.cirkitdesigner.com/project/ ... a49c776d54 but the most useful thing i found here is that if you click the component documentation it provides a full breakdown, this was like a light bulb moment for me finding details of pins etc https://docs.cirkitdesigner.com/compone ... 60474b0744

Cheers all see you out there