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bobblehead overtakes

bobblehead

Active member
Veteran
and this is where the nute solution goes after it passes through the solenoid...
picture.php


I had to cover the barbed T in silicon to seal it up... I guess now I know why DHF keeps mentioning tophat grommets... lol cause barbed fittings don't work well with PVC.
picture.php


Lava rocks on the bottom, and a slightly elevated drain for a mini-res... I have to say that the PPK guys put this idea in my head... MIway was the first to suggest I use solenoids instead of pumps. Gotta give credit where it's due!
picture.php


and there you have it... bobblebuckets.
picture.php


The buckets are staggered so that each 430w lamp is surrounded by 3 buckets. 4 plants receive light from 2 lamps, so I made sure those were my biggest clones going in. Another thing I think that's worth noting... SRGB has mentioned frequently that the SRBGB's aren't designed to air-prune, but to let the roots grow through the bag... and this always confused me because the air-pruning is always advertised by the other bags. The thing is, pruning causes stress. Pruning is of no benefit to the plant. The roots growing straight out of the bag and not swirling is the benefit. With the buckets and the lava rocks, the roots will be able to continue growing instead of being air-pruned. I'm curious about the potential benefits vs. a SP in a saucer only.

The runoff is collected in a 55 gal drum right now so I can check for how much runoff I have, EC and pH. This system is truly set it and forget it, and I have way more control over what my plants are getting.
 
Last edited:

Ichabod Crane

Well-known member
Veteran
My nutes cost just over a penny a gallon to make. And I feed about a gallon a day during flower per plant. So if I wasted twice what my plants use during flower it would cost only about $1.40 to get about 6 ounces from a ten week strain. Less if you figure in flush.

I would do DTW but have not sat down to figure out how to drain it.
 
G

GMax

fucking awesome bro !!

sometimes it takes a little more effort and setup but the results are pure KISS bliss... automation can be a growers best friend if set up properly and it looks like you got exactly that.. gravity wont fail and and dtw gives you the best control of nutrients..wish i could have acheived dtw with mine i am jealous

i try to stay up to date with this thread so forgive me if i miss something... but do you plan on using the bobblebuckets on your racks (multiple levels)??

looking forward to seeing your results as you constantly improve and update and setting the bar even higher

gl
 

Hundred Gram Oz

Our Work is Never Over
Veteran
Set and Forget FTW!

Set and Forget FTW!

Shit just got Serious bobble, huh? :D Man your always taking it to another level, can't you just do shit basically without going the extra mile LOL? Props to you man, this quote right here speaks so much truth, let it be known!
bobblehead said:
when we're talking about a plant that's worth $300-1800+, I can afford the $5 a plant in runoff to assure that each and every plant becomes all it can be come harvest time

It may be called Drain to Waste but come harvest time NOTHING is wasted.

As for the problem with the suction solenoid, I don't see how you can fix that issue unless you install a ball cock solenoid but maybe someone else can shed some light onto that one. BTW why don't you go with water pumps instead of a gravity fed setup? I'm guessing you just want an extra piece of mind with the set and forget?

I like your manifold, the PVC and siliconed T's will add extra security for ya, something I want to do on my next run for sure, quick question... when the water starts flowing around the manifold have you got it coming in at at T? I'm guessing you already do but can't see the bottom part in the pic.

Best of luck to ya and your new setup my brotha, I'm gonna be over here watching carefully.

Peace
HGO
 

PoopyTeaBags

State Liscensed Care Giver/Patient, Assistant Trai
Veteran
and this is where the nute solution goes after it passes through the solenoid...
View Image

I had to cover the barbed T in silicon to seal it up... I guess now I know why DHF keeps mentioning tophat grommets... lol cause barbed fittings don't work well with PVC.
View Image

Lava rocks on the bottom, and a slightly elevated drain for a mini-res... I have to say that the PPK guys put this idea in my head... MIway was the first to suggest I use solenoids instead of pumps. Gotta give credit where it's due!
View Image

and there you have it... bobblebuckets.
View Image

The buckets are staggered so that each 430w lamp is surrounded by 3 buckets. 4 plants receive light from 2 lamps, so I made sure those were my biggest clones going in. Another thing I think that's worth noting... SRGB has mentioned frequently that the SRBGB's aren't designed to air-prune, but to let the roots grow through the bag... and this always confused me because the air-pruning is always advertised by the other bags. The thing is, pruning causes stress. Pruning is of no benefit to the plant. The roots growing straight out of the bag and not swirling is the benefit. With the buckets and the lava rocks, the roots will be able to continue growing instead of being air-pruned. I'm curious about the potential benefits vs. a SP in a saucer only.

The runoff is collected in a 55 gal drum right now so I can check for how much runoff I have, EC and pH. This system is truly set it and forget it, and I have way more control over what my plants are getting.



FINALLLLYY!!!! There ya go bud.. i have been waiting for you to do something like this, im glad you finally did it... only thing i found with this system is the pump should be oversized to help blow out and chunks that can clog drippoers... you can do a inline filter valve along with the filter bags but if you use a filter bag i recommend putting the pump inside a bucket and then inside the bad so its the filter bag can block the flow of water on the pump.

im really excited for ya buddy.. i know i do very well like this and think youll get great results too...!!


reading alttle more im wondering why you didnt go witha conventional rez pump timer situation??? why the gravity fed solenoid contraption that seems like more work and more money???
 

bobblehead

Active member
Veteran
fucking awesome bro !!

sometimes it takes a little more effort and setup but the results are pure KISS bliss... automation can be a growers best friend if set up properly and it looks like you got exactly that.. gravity wont fail and and dtw gives you the best control of nutrients..wish i could have acheived dtw with mine i am jealous

i try to stay up to date with this thread so forgive me if i miss something... but do you plan on using the bobblebuckets on your racks (multiple levels)??

looking forward to seeing your results as you constantly improve and update and setting the bar even higher

gl

As of right now I'm keeping things on 1 level... but I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm thinking of ways to approach the multi-level setup with more success.

Shit just got Serious bobble, huh? :D Man your always taking it to another level, can't you just do shit basically without going the extra mile LOL? Props to you man, this quote right here speaks so much truth, let it be known!

It may be called Drain to Waste but come harvest time NOTHING is wasted.

As for the problem with the suction solenoid, I don't see how you can fix that issue unless you install a ball cock solenoid but maybe someone else can shed some light onto that one. BTW why don't you go with water pumps instead of a gravity fed setup? I'm guessing you just want an extra piece of mind with the set and forget?

I like your manifold, the PVC and siliconed T's will add extra security for ya, something I want to do on my next run for sure, quick question... when the water starts flowing around the manifold have you got it coming in at at T? I'm guessing you already do but can't see the bottom part in the pic.

Best of luck to ya and your new setup my brotha, I'm gonna be over here watching carefully.

Peace
HGO

FINALLLLYY!!!! There ya go bud.. i have been waiting for you to do something like this, im glad you finally did it... only thing i found with this system is the pump should be oversized to help blow out and chunks that can clog drippoers... you can do a inline filter valve along with the filter bags but if you use a filter bag i recommend putting the pump inside a bucket and then inside the bad so its the filter bag can block the flow of water on the pump.

im really excited for ya buddy.. i know i do very well like this and think youll get great results too...!!


reading alttle more im wondering why you didnt go witha conventional rez pump timer situation??? why the gravity fed solenoid contraption that seems like more work and more money???

It would have been extra work if my reservoirs weren't already elevated... but for my current setup, it was easiest to put in a solenoid rather than empty and lower the 55 gal drums. The solenoid cost $30, cheaper than even a 500gph pump. There is no siphon to be concerned with. A solenoid has fewer moving parts than a water pump, so it's less likely to break. There's actually a lot of advantages to what I'm doing vs. a normal pump and timer combo. If I could have used the battery powered solenoid, the plants would get watered even in a power outage. Still hoping I can make that work...
 

PoopyTeaBags

State Liscensed Care Giver/Patient, Assistant Trai
Veteran
gotchya... good things are coming to ya bro... this system is pretty fail safe as long as you remember to come back and fill the rez lol...
 
and this is where the nute solution goes after it passes through the solenoid...
View Image

I had to cover the barbed T in silicon to seal it up... I guess now I know why DHF keeps mentioning tophat grommets... lol cause barbed fittings don't work well with PVC.
View Image

Lava rocks on the bottom, and a slightly elevated drain for a mini-res... I have to say that the PPK guys put this idea in my head... MIway was the first to suggest I use solenoids instead of pumps. Gotta give credit where it's due!
View Image

and there you have it... bobblebuckets.
View Image

The buckets are staggered so that each 430w lamp is surrounded by 3 buckets. 4 plants receive light from 2 lamps, so I made sure those were my biggest clones going in. Another thing I think that's worth noting... SRGB has mentioned frequently that the SRBGB's aren't designed to air-prune, but to let the roots grow through the bag... and this always confused me because the air-pruning is always advertised by the other bags. The thing is, pruning causes stress. Pruning is of no benefit to the plant. The roots growing straight out of the bag and not swirling is the benefit. With the buckets and the lava rocks, the roots will be able to continue growing instead of being air-pruned. I'm curious about the potential benefits vs. a SP in a saucer only.

The runoff is collected in a 55 gal drum right now so I can check for how much runoff I have, EC and pH. This system is truly set it and forget it, and I have way more control over what my plants are getting.

The best I ever pulled per plant was in that type setup with bales of rockwool. I like your idea a lot better.
 
G

GMax

If anyone is interested... I found what I'm looking for! A timed ball valve solenoid, and they're only $30! YEAH BOI!!! It takes AAA batteries, so I can use rechargeable batteries and change them out regularly. :D

http://www.irrigationdirect.com/cat...519/s/rain-drip-r673-replacement/category/31/
View Image


if thats all your looking for they have these at lowes/hd fyi



Automatic Digital Water Timer
• Fully Programmable. Can program 16 different watering schedules.
• Use to automatically water your plants daily, weekely, even three times a week if desired.
• Inlet: 3/4" female hose thread swivel
• Outlet: 3/4" male hose thread


i bought one when i was gonna run my radiator dtw so it would shut off after lights out..but it couldnt do what i wanted it to do (12hrs On/12hr OFF) the max run time was like 4 hrs... and i scrapped that whole idea anyway..it was a while back but i pretty sure it under $20

believe it ran off 9v battery though
 

Grizz

Active member
Veteran
when you get it all figured out and dialed in come on out west and help me do mine, your fuckin brain just cant stop ticking can it ? innovation rules
 

silver hawaiian

Active member
Veteran
F*CK YEAH - Was looking for one of these for the outside veggies come spring.. For some reason, the ones I was finding were more expensive..

:thank you:
 

MrAwder

Member
this is amazing. since my space is already in a shower, DTW is no problem. so i think i would just need drip stakes, grommets and the valve you already went to the trouble of finding. should be cheaper than buying more blumats. i still really like the blumats and they have done me well. i will probably try to incorporate them into veg instead.

thanks for sharing all this great information
 

FlowerFarmer

Well-known member
Veteran
I like your thinking bobble.

Blumats are awesome, but I hate having to give each site the individual attention they require to setup. I'd like to be able to just reload and anchor a 1/4 line or two... maybe I'm lazy but having to hand-water..relace soaked blumat w/ 3mm..stab into a pot and dial down.. has started to feel like quite a bit of work every time..every plant.

Constant pressure raised res and a simple timed solenoid sounds right up my alley.



Do you plan on adjusting the timer settings as the plants age.. or are you just leaning on the side of having open up more often and not sweating the excess run-off?

More frequent openings for less time throughout the day or just a few lengthy opens to run-off? It seems as though one could run this very similar to blumats no run-off with short bursts throughout the day, but still with the capability of opening it up for longer periods to flush/correct anything (provided run-off side of things has been built).


I'd lose the blumats in favor of this.. but feel like I'd constantly be fucking with it..in regards to how long/how often as the plants age. I'm not always good at finding optimal.

Whats your plan of dead simple bobbling it for biggest bounty? :biggrin:
 

bobblehead

Active member
Veteran
I like your thinking bobble.

Blumats are awesome, but I hate having to give each site the individual attention they require to setup. I'd like to be able to just reload and anchor a 1/4 line or two... maybe I'm lazy but having to hand-water..relace soaked blumat w/ 3mm..stab into a pot and dial down.. has started to feel like quite a bit of work every time..every plant.

Constant pressure raised res and a simple timed solenoid sounds right up my alley.



Do you plan on adjusting the timer settings as the plants age.. or are you just leaning on the side of having open up more often and not sweating the excess run-off?

More frequent openings for less time throughout the day or just a few lengthy opens to run-off? It seems as though one could run this very similar to blumats no run-off with short bursts throughout the day, but still with the capability of opening it up for longer periods to flush/correct anything (provided run-off side of things has been built).


I'd lose the blumats in favor of this.. but feel like I'd constantly be fucking with it..in regards to how long/how often as the plants age. I'm not always good at finding optimal.

Whats your plan of dead simple bobbling it for biggest bounty? :biggrin:


The more blumats, the greater the potential for problems... Like I said, runoff is cheap.

As for how I'm going to judge the watering frequency... I'm collecting the runoff in a 55gal drum. Right now the plants are receiving 1 minute of feed. When I get back, I'll check and see how much runoff I have. I'll keep an eye on the level as the weeks go by, and add another 1 minute watering within the first 6 hours of lights on. I'll keep adding 1 minute feeds evenly spaced over the first 6 hours of lights on to keep a good amount of runoff. If I get too much, I can always recycle the nute solution. By regularly monitoring the runoff, I'll be able to keep track of what the plants are eating, and have a better idea of what the root zone pH is. No feeds the last 6 hours, because I want to try and keep lights off humidity down.
 

FlowerFarmer

Well-known member
Veteran
Keep us posted in your tweakings...

How are you allowing that run-off to accumulate in a 55 res? Do those pvc drain lines lead to a bucket that has a condensate pump or something to send to the 55?
 
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