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Blumat auto watering

O

overmyhead

Member
Kelly. said:
yeah everything seems to be going fine here.
i tried adding some nutes (old age) to my res and had some problems with the lines getting clogged. i figured i would try it to see if it would work with my setup and it didnt.

so im back to pure water in the res, and hand watering with nutes.
Click to expand...

Right on, I'm going to order some more and wanted everyone's advice. So, I guess I'll skip all of their parts in terms of supply line tube, connections etc and just get the blumats and the 3mm tubing. But, I am interested in using the distribution drippers in bedsand was wondering if you or anyone had any thoughts on that, I see they have end ones and t'swould it not make the most sense to just have everything in loops or are the ends necessary for maintaining pressure? THey give a maximum number of drippers per blumat but would there be limits to how much 3mm line for each one too? It might be better in the long run to just use more blumats I guess.
 
O

overmyhead

Member
sunnydog said:
I may have a solution to these problems.
It seems these issues are caused by a vapor lock issue in the line.
Bubbles accumulate in the hose ,no more water gets past, just like in a car.
Then, cause the medium is drying out, drippers open up fully.
If water ultimately gets past the bubbles, the sensor carrot cannot react fast enough to stop over watering.
:blowbubbles:
So, what seems to have worked for me, is .....

First, feed the system water from BOTH ENDS i.e. a loop.At the res, put a "t" fitting. Connect both ends of your water distribution line to the T. Now you have a water supply loop. This is important.

Second, I put a "T" with a bit of hose and shut off valve somewhere around the middle of the loop,and use this to purge a gallon or two from the line about once a week.
You can see/feel the bubbles leaving.

Hope this helps!
SD :tiphat:
Click to expand...

Great idea, just put an extra t and valve in to do this.
 
H

huntingbb

Member
overmyhead said:
sunnydog said:
I may have a solution to these problems.
It seems these issues are caused by a vapor lock issue in the line.
Bubbles accumulate in the hose ,no more water gets past, just like in a car.
Then, cause the medium is drying out, drippers open up fully.
If water ultimately gets past the bubbles, the sensor carrot cannot react fast enough to stop over watering.
:blowbubbles:
So, what seems to have worked for me, is .....

First, feed the system water from BOTH ENDS i.e. a loop.At the res, put a "t" fitting. Connect both ends of your water distribution line to the T. Now you have a water supply loop. This is important.

Second, I put a "T" with a bit of hose and shut off valve somewhere around the middle of the loop,and use this to purge a gallon or two from the line about once a week.
You can see/feel the bubbles leaving.

Hope this helps!
SD :tiphat:
Click to expand...

Great idea, just put an extra t and valve in to do this.
Click to expand...

Why is it so important to have the loop?

I think i have finally found a safe way to do walkaway watering --

*Rubbermaid 20gal tub
*2 2-gal containers suspended INSIDE Rubbermaid on opposing corners (god i hope they drain similarly LOL)
*4-12 1-2gal buckets inside the rubbermaid - if anything overflows it stays in - volume of medium + all of the water at peak is still less than of Rubbermaid.

Doing my first flowering run now, getting ready to start a second room/setup and am thinking of the above.

I'd welcome some feedback/critique, thx.
 
InducedSerenity

InducedSerenity

Member
huntingbb said:
Why is it so important to have the loop?

I think i have finally found a safe way to do walkaway watering --

*Rubbermaid 20gal tub
*2 2-gal containers suspended INSIDE Rubbermaid on opposing corners (god i hope they drain similarly LOL)
*4-12 1-2gal buckets inside the rubbermaid - if anything overflows it stays in - volume of medium + all of the water at peak is still less than of Rubbermaid.

Doing my first flowering run now, getting ready to start a second room/setup and am thinking of the above.

I'd welcome some feedback/critique, thx.
Click to expand...

The loop is routine maintenance to flush out air bubbles which can cause problems in the system - it's like bleeding your brakes. 2 other maintenance tasks mentioned were to loosen your valves from time to time to flush out any nute chunks, and move the hose slightly to be sure you're not crimping it.

By the way... It's been said many times and I still ignored it - BUY THE $40 BROWN DRIP HOSE! The tiny pieces that come with the system are a joke.

iS
 
Lazyman

Lazyman

Overkill is under-rated.
Veteran
The drip hose is the 3mm brown line that you can buy in rolls, I get it in 30 meter chunks for about $40. That and the actual Blumat valves are the only parts you MUST buy from Tropf BLumat, everything else you can piece together yourself (the barbed nylon 3/32" tees I only found at kentsystems.com) but there are absolutely NO substitutes for the 3mm hose, period.
 
Lazyman

Lazyman

Overkill is under-rated.
Veteran
Here's a couple pics of how I have mine hooked up:

The 3mm lines connecting to the tee in my 3/4" hose manifold:



and the other end of the 3mm line running through the blumat valve:

 
InducedSerenity

InducedSerenity

Member
benzo said:
Hey whats the $40 brown drip hose you speak off?
Click to expand...
Hey benzo!

The blumats come with about a 5"-6" proprietary silicone hose:

Tropf_Blumat_irrigatiesysteem_voeler_1.JPG


It's quite short, and prevents you from moving your plants around. I waited over a week for my ordered kit to come, then kicked myself when I saw the short hoses. Should have listened to the folks above.

Note that it's proprietary - other hoses of the same size will not work as the valves are designed to work with this soft silicone hose.

iS
 
sanjuan

sanjuan

Member
I haven't set up my system yet but I did get a hank of the 3mm line. How long of a length are you folks running from the supply line?--I'm worried about kinking.

I like the idea of the supply line loop but I might just put an on-off valve at the end of the line and bleed the system there.(?)
 
sunnydog

sunnydog

Drip King
Veteran
sanjuan said:
I haven't set up my system yet but I did get a hank of the 3mm line. How long of a length are you folks running from the supply line?--I'm worried about kinking.

I like the idea of the supply line loop but I might just put an on-off valve at the end of the line and bleed the system there.(?)
Click to expand...

I use 3-4 ft. per. pot, makes it real easy to move them.
As far as kinking, it's not a very "kinky" material. Just don't put the pots down on it!

As for the "loop", it makes so if there is an obstruction of any kind, water can go 'round the other way.

SD :tiphat:
 
G

Guywithoutajeep

Hey I need some blumat advice. I want to order the setup for 3, 5 gallon pots. How many drippers does a 5 gallon require? Also I can't find a site to order them from in the USA. Can someone point me in the right direction, thankkkkkkkkkkssssssss
 
G

Guywithoutajeep

If I would have found it on google I wouldn't have posted on here now would I wise ass?
 
InducedSerenity

InducedSerenity

Member
rives said:
Best price I've found for a patio kit -
http://www.phoenixorganics.com/new/node/8341

All the individual parts -
http://www.greenacreshydro.com/prod...age=1&osCsid=fae23e81376aee501b91a4a02d945dcb

http://www.greenacreshydro.com/products_category.php?cPath=29&page=2

http://www.greenacreshydro.com/products_category.php?cPath=29&page=3

Hope this helps. They work damn well.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the Greenacres link!

Phoenix had one pallet they bought 8 years ago, and sold out a few weeks ago. Their website sucks, so I called them to find that out. They don't know if they're reordering but it'll be $70+ if they do.
 
barth

barth

Active member
rives said:
Best price I've found for a patio kit -
http://www.phoenixorganics.com/new/node/8341

All the individual parts -
http://www.greenacreshydro.com/prod...age=1&osCsid=fae23e81376aee501b91a4a02d945dcb

http://www.greenacreshydro.com/products_category.php?cPath=29&page=2

http://www.greenacreshydro.com/products_category.php?cPath=29&page=3

Hope this helps. They work damn well.
Click to expand...

I gotta say thanks too. I have been dreading combing through all 29 pages to find a good source.
 
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