Blumat auto watering

[heady blunts]

@romulus-

are you gonna be mixing nutes in the res or just running straight water? RO or tap?

if you're just doing straight RO water you prob won't need to clean anything during the entire cycle. i like to clean things between cycles because it's convenient.

another good tip to avoid cleaning: use opaque containers. clear containers will contribute to the growth of algae. also a lid is a good idea to keep critters outta there.

 

[rrog]

I believe he said he's watering soil. Good point about the dark res.

 

[greenmatter]

if you are going to hook up to a water line a leak detector like rives and rrog are talking about is really the only safe way to go. i ran a float valve for a swamp cooler for years just so i could keep a barrel full all the time, and never had any problem with it ....... but there is always that one time.

i was looking at my control bucket when i was modifying it and thinking the same thing could be done with the valve for a toilet and a 5 gallon bucket. i have not built one yet, but my math calls it at around $30 for the whole project.

 

[rives]

I think the bubbles are the arch nemesis. Public Enemy #1 in Blumat land. I make an effort to let a bucket of water stand for a couple days, with the BMs soaking in it. A lot of air bubbles will come out of solution during that time. I see that as air bubbles that would have been released inside the carrot.

I use a small plastic syringe and while the carrot parts are underwater I blow the air off them. Waaay down at the bottom of the max carrot, as inside the brown cap, up near the top where the little membrane is... air hides in there. Air that comes out of solution inside the carrot will essentially lower the pressure on the feed line, which is the same as unscrewing the little top valve. Then you get runoff. I make the effort to let that air out of solution.

This is a great tip. After reading this, I tried blowing the air out of the top of the blumat (where the 3 little holes are) and was amazed at how much more air I purged out. Air in there is like air in your brake lines - at best you get spongy performance, at worst you have a runaway.

 

[rrog]

Air in there is like air in your brake lines - at best you get spongy performance, at worst you have a runaway.

That's the way I look at it. Again, why I let a 2 gallon pail of well water stand for a few days with the carrot parts in there.

 

[greenmatter]

i have been using the old drain pump in my res bucket to stir everything for 15 minutes out of every hour

what do you guys think about connecting the stir pump to the loop ?

it's a low volume pump (about 90 gph) and i don't see how it could force any air into the system the way things are set up

what do you think?

 

[rives]

i have been using the old drain pump in my res bucket to stir everything for 15 minutes out of every hour

what do you guys think about connecting the stir pump to the loop ?

it's a low volume pump (about 90 gph) and i don't see how it could force any air into the system the way things are set up

what do you think?

You're talking about connecting the pump to your feed loop? If so, I would be cautious about it. When a pump is trying to pump against a closed line, it will cavitate. Cavitation causes air bubbles to form on the low pressure side of the pump, and can then be forced into the pressure plumbing. I'm not sure how much of an impact there would be from our little pumps, but in water and hydraulic pumps, it is a real problem.

 

[greenmatter]

the pump is only running on a loop. there is zero change in elevation from pump to outlet and the line is open so i am not really pumping against anything. just stirring everything above the main rez

my rez is a modified control bucket from an ebb and flow system. normally in the "on" time the bucket fills to a certain level that is transfered to other buckets through 1/2" lines. in the "off" time a different pump that is controlled by a second set of float switches empties the control bucket and everything connected to it.

enter blumats and i changed things a little

now in the "on" time (which is 45 minutes of every hour) my control bucket/ rez tells a pump in the main rez to keep the water at a certain level in the control bucket/rez and in the "off" time i have been using what would be the drain pump to stir the control bucket /rez itself instead of draining it. both sides of the loop come off the control bucket, so i was thinking about hooking the "drain" pump to one end of the loop and getting that part of the system on the "stir" cycle too.

i really hope that made some sense ........." hard to splane shit sontines lucy"

if anyone is still wondering WTF i'm talking about just yell and i will try again

 

[rives]

Now I think I understand. Your feed line makes a closed loop back to the reservoir, and you want to pump through this line rather than it just being gravity fed? It sounds like it might work well to me - I had problems with air bubbles hiding in every nook and cranny, and eventually building up to the point where they choked everything off even though it looped back to the res. It seems like your way, they would be flushed back to the reservoir. Do you have any problems with the pump heating the water or is it short-duration enough that it's not a problem?

 

[heady blunts]

it's not worth messing with perfection IMO.

 

[greenmatter]

it's not worth messing with perfection IMO.

i can't do exactly what you did brother. my storage rez is 6 feet below my feed rez. i thought i was going to get high D.O. from the drop, but the bigger pump raised the water temp. "messing with perfection" just means plan B in this case

Now I think I understand. Your feed line makes a closed loop back to the reservoir, and you want to pump through this line rather than it just being gravity fed? It sounds like it might work well to me - I had problems with air bubbles hiding in every nook and cranny, and eventually building up to the point where they choked everything off even though it looped back to the res. It seems like your way, they would be flushed back to the reservoir. Do you have any problems with the pump heating the water or is it short-duration enough that it's not a problem?

the feed loop will stay gravity fed, i just thought stirring it might be a plus. pushing water through the loop would probably clean out all those nooks and crannies

i have been playing around with pieces of clear hose to see how bubbles act in different size lines. i can't prove a damn thing , but from what i have seen 1/2" supply line would solve a lot of problems in a lot of set ups. there is room for the bubbles to sort themselves out without messing with the flow

 

[greenmatter]

3 dollars at the hardware store is way better than trying to figure out the math so i did this .....

1 piece of 1/2" ID clear tube and 2 pieces of 1/4" clear tube (1 with blumat T's and one without)

i have been messing around with this thing for a few days in different situations ...... tap water (tiny bubbles), RO, left in the sun, stuck in the fridge and i still cant believe the difference in the way air moves ( or doesn't ) in the different diameter lines. injected 1 cc of air into each line and was amazed at how slowly the bubbles move in the smaller line, add the blumat T's to it and thing STOP moving altogether



^^^^ that pic is in the right position. those bubbles you see are stuck, and won't move unless i tap on them. i can't get that to happen in the larger line at all. small bubbles move easy enough in it and turn into larger bubbles as they gather more air and start to move even faster.

at pressures less than 1 bar i think the bigger line would solve some issues

 

[Dave Coulier]

Thanks for doing that Greenmatter. Interesting info. Who is gonna be the first to run 1/2" lines now and see how it goes?

 

[greenmatter]

Thanks for doing that Greenmatter. Interesting info. Who is gonna be the first to run 1/2" lines now and see how it goes?

already doing it. no bubbles AT ALL when i flush the lines and with the 1/8" barbs hooked into the side of the line i think that "solids" will sit at the bottom of the line instead of getting sucked into and clogging the 3mm

 

[vajra]

already doing it. no bubbles AT ALL when i flush the lines and with the 1/8" barbs hooked into the side of the line i think that "solids" will sit at the bottom of the line instead of getting sucked into and clogging the 3mm

Hi everyone. Happy blumat user here.

greenmatter: did you simply drill little holes in the larger line and then stick the 3mm line barb into it? I am having trouble visualizing it. I have heard people talk about using a much larger diameter line from the reservoir and then doing this, but don't think i have seen pics of it working.

blumats are great, i have used them with gh 3-part for many grows with no clogging. i finally sprung for a coil of the 3mm line and am glad i did so that i can move plants around.

and of course, i have had my share of runnaway drippers emptying my 15gal reservoir. usually my own laziness of not setting them up carefully.

 

[greenmatter]

i used these



the punch is from home depot and the " equal sized barb tube union #NFN 208 NO1 " from kent systems. (just ordered 60 more .... cost 22 cents each)

hook the 3mm to one end of the barb and hook the barb to standard black 1/2" poly tubing (mine says hydrofarm on it and cost $22 for a 100' roll)

the other end of the 3mm goes to the blumat

i'll try to get a pic of the things installed, but i have to wait till sunrise

 

[vajra]

appreciate the quick reply--thx!

 

[PeopleWish]

This thread is amazing, and I think I am ready to take the plunge. First I would like to explain my plans and see if they make sense.

36 plants 10 g of CoCo
2 x 55 g reservoirs
In drain waste trays

The garden will be set up into 4 rows with 1 x 55g res per 2 rows.

I would like to use 4 distributors per pot

Items that I think I need for my blumat system (let me know if I am forget any items)

1. 36 standard blumats
2. 2 x elevated tank adapters (do I need pressure reducers for 55g res?)
3. 100 m 8m tubing
4. 36 m 3mm tubing (should I use more)
5. 108 x distribution drippers
6. 36 x end distributes
7. 4 end connects

I am sure that I am forgetting things, if you can identify the parts that I am missing please point them out.

Would like to get this ordered and set up ASAP.

Thanks

 

[Herbophile]

If you don't mind spending a little more check out posts 1673 + 1677 on page 112. I bought some of this stuff and it's a dream to work with vs the standard 8mm tubing.

 

[PeopleWish]

Ok, will do thanks,

But does it look like I am missing anything from my list above?