Blumats and Living Soil (my split from main thread)

[mad librettist]

Can I use blumats in a stadium setup with the same res? Plants will be on shelves, so at different levels.

Yes.

have the line end at the lowest point, and it's just water going downhill.

Water can go down, back up and higher than where it started, and down again as long as it eventually winds up lower than where it started, due to siphoning. However, if you set it up this way, and air gets in the line, you will have to suck it out.

so I recommend starting high and going downhill from there.

 

[heady blunts]

yeah, I found found you need to use lots of blumat jr's


but my regular blumats are 3 per pot.

how big are your pots? 15#?

 

[mad librettist]

yup, they are #15

 

[Chris1]

Yes.

have the line end at the lowest point, and it's just water going downhill.

Water can go down, back up and higher than where it started, and down again as long as it eventually winds up lower than where it started, due to siphoning. However, if you set it up this way, and air gets in the line, you will have to suck it out.

so I recommend starting high and going downhill from there.

Nice awesome. So if I plan to run 24 blumats, do I need 2 kits, or can I get the porch kit or w/e and just buy 12 extra???

 

[mad librettist]

get the porch kit, 12 extra, extra "t" and end pieces, and the shutoff valve (or two), and extra 2mm drip line.

you might get away with just the feeder line in the patio kit. If not the feeder line only comes in huge quantities.

 

[GeorgeSmiley]

I run 10-15 gal containers of organic soil (gorsh there's bugs in thar) Do you think I could get away with running 2 per container or will I need 3?

What do you do when you're needing to feed with a tea etc? Shut em off and let them dry out then water it normally and hook them back up? Maybe it's the ganja this morning and I'm missing it. lol

Anyone get a "runaway" where one opens and dumps the whole res through a plant onto the floor?

GS

 

[mugenbao]

...

so I recommend starting high and going downhill from there.

Well, that describes a typical day for me

 

[mad librettist]

nyone get a "runaway" where one opens and dumps the whole res through a plant onto the floor?

YES. You need to be absolutely sure that at least under your plants your cab/tent/whatever can hold the same volume of water or more than you have in the rez.

runaways can happen if it gets warm really fast, and you have to expect them if the water supply has been interrupted. In that case I find it's best to shut them off, fill them up, water until it's nice and watered, and reset them like the first time.

I'm thinking of switching to the long sensors but it's expensive.

 

[portpunk]

Been looking around for these, where do you get them in Portland

 

[heady blunts]

I run 10-15 gal containers of organic soil (gorsh there's bugs in thar) Do you think I could get away with running 2 per container or will I need 3?

i happen to have the little booklet in front of me -- tropf recommends 1 blumat up to 25cm (container diameter), 2 up to 40cm, and 3 up to 50cm. they also say you can use distribution drippers instead of extra units, but from the main blumat thread i can tell you they clog on people using anything other than straight water.

What do you do when you're needing to feed with a tea etc? Shut em off and let them dry out then water it normally and hook them back up? Maybe it's the ganja this morning and I'm missing it. lol

you can water in teas etc any time. the blumat will sense the increased moisture and stop the drip until the medium has had a chance to equalize. aka you don't have to do anything.

Anyone get a "runaway" where one opens and dumps the whole res through a plant onto the floor?

GS

i get this if my res gets too low. i think the pressure drops and fucks with the sensors or something, then the soil draws water out of the cone and i have to reset the whole system. as long as i refill when the water gets to like 25% everything works perfectly without fail.

BTW i use a vent to prevent vaporlock in the style of GDBud.

 

[mad librettist]

BTW i use a vent to prevent vaporlock in the style of GDBud.

what's that?

 

[GeorgeSmiley]

So I would need 8-9 per pot using that formula. Pot is 16 or 17in diameter. 80-100 blumats lol

I think any auto watering should Have a pond liner. I'm waiting till I triple my room space and build around blumats or something. I actually like watering by hand but its 50 gal per watering and I'm sick of that.

Thanks for the help
GS

 

[mad librettist]

So I would need 8-9 per pot using that formula. Pot is 16 or 17in diameter. 80-100 blumats lol

check your math....

3 per pot does a 19.5 incher.

 

[Rumer]

Where are you purchasing these tropf blumats in the state's? (eastcoast)

 

[mad librettist]

online

 

[GeorgeSmiley]

check your math....

3 per pot does a 19.5 incher.

Lol maths fail ha

Thanks

 

[heady blunts]

there's also blumat maxi for bigger containers. i wonder if they cover more area than a regular blumat.

 

[mad librettist]

I have one maxi. It goes way deeper, so I imagine just those would solve the runaway blumat problem and allow for more variation in wet/dry if desired.

part of the runaway thing has to do with the way container media move water. outside, where these are meant to be used, a runaway blumat will fix itself

 

[sunnydog]

Something I have found helpful regarding runaway syndrome is to make a depression where the dripper drips, this helps the water NOT flow down the sides of the pot, which I think is an aggravating factor in runaway syn.

SD

 

[habeeb]

question for you guys

I was reading on another site, that they made it sound like the drippers don't turn off, only you control the seconds in between it dripping ??? I thought they shut off after there is enough moisture?

also I hear the hose is "special" and can't find many places? I read you can split the dripper line, but how can I find splitters for that size tubing?


thanks