Green Trees multi-flow float valve fail.

[ZinksInk]

Hi IC Mag,
Im experiencing an issue with my green tress multi flow system.
Its an intermittent issue where when the fill is done, some times my float valves fail to shut off and my buckets, not the controller, floods my nutes all over the floor. Ive taken off the float valves cleaned em with some rubbing alcohol as they were dirty and replaced em. Just got down to my grow room this evening 30 mins till lights on and ive got water on my floor again from buckets spilling over. Im going to look carefully when the lights turn on as maby some buckers are lower in the room (sloped basement) and the float valves could have just been too high... I don't think this is the case.

Has any one had a similar issue?
would just replacing the float valve be enough, or do you all think it could be a relay about to go bad or a shot capacitor on the controller?

Arg. Todays project was supose to be installing a door not cleaning up a flood.

 

[ZinksInk]

Float valve got stuck on a bit of mosquito dunk... not sure how that got into the controller bucket. Time to keep em out of the rez for the hydro system.

This has been the 2nd or third time in two weeks i've flooded the room. Wasting those kind of nutes could have been almost enough for another 1/2 run....

Learn from my mistakes you all.

 

[Desert Hydro]

scared me there. i run the same system and i had mosquito dunks in there too lol. glad you got it all worked out and hopefully no more floods.

 

[DHF]

The 2 weak links in the chain with retail manufactured ebb and flow buckets are the dinkyass feed/drainlines that`ll clog and.....

Completely stop flow if yas grow too big a rootmass before end of stretch when the plants stop building roots and begin swellage...and what happens ?.....

Root rot and imminent crop death.......and then....... the worst problem is the bullshit controller buckets built with the absolute cheapest float switches , pumps , and timers.......but....

Keeping the float switch "slides" clean with alcohol will prevent residual salt buildup that causes em to stick open and flood the room , as well as burnin the pump up if left runnin long enough before catchin it......anyways.....

Don`t try ta grow too big a plant in a 2 1/2 gal container , and watch the slides on the float switches , and then it`s a pretty bulletproof setup....

Good luck...DHF.........

 

[Treetroit City]

In the future place your dunks in some pantihose material or cheesecloth. Makes for a clean rez.

 

[DHF]

If you depend on mosquito dunks to control fungus gnat proliferation , know that the older they are having sat on the shelf too long , the active BT degrades within a 1 yr period , and Gnatrol almost lost the market at the hydro whore stores until they developed the "WDG" water dispersion granules that have a 2 yr shelf life but no more.......

Inline filters and lower ppm`s across the board are your friend with ebb and flow buckets.......and.....keepin the slides on the float switches clean is a lot easier.....

Peace....DHF...........

 

[ZinksInk]

SON OF A BITCH, rooms flooded again and the float valves are clean. Just waided though 30 gallons or a few inches of water on the floor. $%^&* float valves. I dont think ill be buying another system that uses float valves.

 

[bullseye]

hey dude ,does your system have a antisython valve on your fead pipe or a small drill hole ? ifso could be blocked causing a syphon efect after the fill pump stops this would overflo buckets

 

[ZinksInk]

Had 4 feeds over night and woke up to no mess. Decided to just run PH'd water, with some Great White Mycorrhizae and Superthrive. I have an anti-syphon valve installed over the rez for both the feed and return lines.

 

[delta9nxs]

it's time for ppknam style!

 

[ZinksInk]

is that like gangnam style? lol?? Well I'm going to get a filter for the controller bucket. Looks like it flooded again last night after i added nutes. Ran for a few days with water, GW mycorrhizae and superthrive and it had no problems. I think ive spent over 70 bucks in wasted nutes and now need to replace a great deal of my product line.... This sucks as i had just enough to finish this run.

 

[Vespatian]

It could be a number of things, I've used this system for years and this does happen. A new controller bucket in my area is $150ish so I'd swap it out test/fix it or just toss it.

 

[ZinksInk]

This control bucket is less than 1.5 years old and has already been replaced one for free from Greentrees after the first one failed within a year... Ive added a 1/2" Inline filter for the controller bucket from Antelco. So far it seems to have fixed this issue. We will see. If I can make it another week with out a flood I'm calling it fixed.

$5 Filter from the local grow shop.

 

[rives]

If I recall correctly, that style of controller uses a relay to hold the pump in the run mode. Take a look at the relay contacts and see if you can see a build up on one side and/or pitting on the other. If so, the contacts can intermittently stick and cause the pump to keep running.