Fully automated growroom runned from other country

[lasthippie]

Anybody done this? What everybodys think about it, in todays world you could rent some apartment/house in other country, and set up all the needed gears for digital automation. I don\t go more into techs-details about it, but just for the start, I would like to hear stories-options about the idea concept. Theoretical and practical aspects are all welcome.

 

[lasthippie]

Perhaps this thread would suit better to some other forums, like advanced cannabis science/growing.

//If some of the moderators is seeing this, please move it to above said forum or any other more suitable forum than this here. Thanks.

 

[mg75]

are you going to have robots inspecting for bugs?
can a camera pick up deficiencies?
can a robot fix a broken branch? pick up dead leaves? clean up?
can robots clean the lower third of the plant? scrog it?
will the robots harvest, trim, dry, cure, bag, and sell the medicine?

is it worth jumping on a plane or losing all of your "digital" automation gear to a mishap... and yes, mishaps do happen... even if we live whee we grow.

 

[olddirtybastard]

well if you did a SOG, then you wouldnt need to trim leaves/branches. However you would still need to plant and harvest.

So you will need a physical presence there at the start of each cycle, during can be automated with computers and sensors.

will you have an assistant to do the harvesting/planting, or will you just travel back every 3 months to do it?

 

[Mr. Bongjangles]

 

[Bobby Stainless]

 

[roots3003]

LMAO..nice pics. I'm skeptical as well.

 

[RobMarley420]

Why would you want your grow in another country??? Seems like more of a hassle than anything.

Why not run your fully-computer-operated grow in another city 1 hour away. That way when you need to do something with the grow you can just drive there.

 

[PoopyTeaBags]

ummm you may be able to automate a grow... but whos gonna check it for bugs, disease tie down anything over grown... and in the end harvest the stuff....

 

[FreedomFightr]

lol, love the pic's. Seems like a logistical nightmare. what happens when you run out of a particular nute?

 

[OjoRojo420]

And quite a "stiff upper lip" if I may add... lol !

 

[ariston]

This would require too many robots, and would need someone to set it up.
I am sure you can get pH, EC, temperature, water level, smoke detector, intrusion alert and camera surveillance into a PC, and have the PC connected to wireless internet, and then have that computer monitored from another computer. However, this still requires setting it all up and would require some infrequent visits.

This is something I have thought of before - create such a growroom leaving no trails (not even fingerprints), and you can probably get away with visiting the grow room once or twice a week. You can have IP cameras inside and outside, so you can even check if someone is waiting for you to enter the place before you get there. You can even control the PC through anonymous networks so that the IP address controlling the PC is untracable (secure proxies).
I am not skilled enough in hydraulics, but someone with the knowledge could set up a PC controllable system which would enable you to fill/empty reservoirs (yes, hydroponics will probably be your only option here), add nutrient solutions and pH regulators, so you can get away with even more infrequent visits. If your water needs RO filtering, you have even more controllers you need to install.

This will be costly though, and would require many failed attempts until it works properly. The question is, why go through all this? Its not like you have the NSA after you. Just dont tell anyone youre growing and youll be fine.

 

[ariston]

http://www.amhydro.com/index.php/In...ller/77-IntelliDose-Complete/flypage.tpl.html

This, and a wireless connection to the laptop it is connected to, in order to control this laptop from another location. I choose laptop in case of a power outage - a PC will need a reboot if this happens. Laptops can go on batteries for a couple of hours.

To answer the OPs question: Id say it is nearly impossible to do this from another country.

 

[CannaBunkerMan]

I'm all about the automation, but anything over 1 week alone, and you're asking for trouble.

 

[One Love 731]

Ill bite, lol.

I think this from another country stuff is a lil ambitious but by automating a dosing system along with an environmental controller one may be able to get away for a few weeks, maybe 3.

You could get a few of these

1

 

[olddirtybastard]

i routinely leave my 3800watt grow for 3 week intervals with just a 100 gallon spare res hooked to a float valve. with full automation you could leave it unattended for 3 months.

there is still the question of planting and harvesting though.

 

[CannaBunkerMan]

You'd need to be able to flip the lighting to 12/12 after veg remotely. Dosing for nutes and pH is do-able. Most gardens transplant from veg to flower. Who would take the clones? As ODB says, who would plant the seeds?

I like to see how long I can leave mine without interaction, and I rarely get beyone a week without the need for manual intervention. I haven't needed to water anything manually for a few months now that I have the auto-topping reservoir working.

Who will raise the lights as the plants grow? What happens when a fuse blows? What if the automation computer crashes? When a ballast shits the bed? When the roots clog a water line? When a chipmunk dismembers itself trying to make it through the ventilation?

Equipment will nearly routinely break down and need replacing. The unforeseen is, well, unforseen. I'm not saying it can't be done, but the costs might be prohibitive.

 

[StealthDragon]

I had a small thought about automated scrog once...having 2 screens, 1 of them 6" above the other..the plants/branches could grow through both screen then somehting would kick on to offset the top screen and move it over about a foot...I'd guess a few branches would break but you could train the whole canopy at once like that....that would be alot of work though.

seems to me that once automation gets to a certain point it's more trouble then it's worth...I think you can't do without the human element unless you want to sacrifice some serious yields and quality.

 

[AGBeer]

You all are such negative nellies.

OP - they have been doing this for decades in Mexico.
We all see what has become of it as well now too.

 

[CannaBunkerMan]

You all are such negative nellies.

Please don't think that I'm being negative. I'd really like to see someone tackle something like this. I think it's a great idea, and I've always dreamed of doing something like this. The last few years, I've been hard at work taking the most boring parts of growing out of the equation like watering and some HVAC.

I've considered things like X-10 drivers to control the electrical, but have always been scared off by things like computer crashes. I'd like to see some sort of modular sensor setup on a chip that won't crash. I have a grow controler by iGS, and that handles CO2, AC, and dehumidification. I'd like to see something that could gracefully handle a power outage without concern for a manual re-initialization.

The tecnology to do most of this is on its way soon. Just keep listening to threads like this, and eventually it will arrive.