Indoor automatic watering with drip system

[StinkyGreen]

I recently built an automatic watering system using a submersible pump, digital timer, and drip tubes. It works well, consistently pumping out ~ 150mL/minute through six drip lines. I would to use this to water 6 flowering plants growing in soil during a week that I will be out of town. I have a couple of questions for anyone that has successfully used a setup like this:

1) I notice that when watering with drip tubes, only the soil directly under the drip tube appears to get wet. The rest of the soil (at least at the top of the pot) remains dry. Something to worry about? Should I put a coffee filter on top of the soil to try to spread the moisture out? Or build some kind of ring system?

2) When watering by hand, I give each of my plants about 1.5L of water every 2 days, right after the lights come on. Should I aim to water the same way with a drip system? i.e. run the drip system for 10 mins to get the same volume of water? Or am I better off watering smaller amounts more frequently?

I know I'll eventually get this figured out, but I figured I'd ask as the first time I tried to use my system I started getting signs of overwatering, so I went back to watering by hand so I could figure out exactly what I was doing. I'm ready to try my automatic system again, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask for advice before making any more mistakes.

 

[Dank Demon]

1. Google a halo irrigation ring which is plastic pipe in circles drilled so the water forms a ring around the plant saturating it properly and evenly.

2. Smaller amounts more frequently during lights on is the way forward.

Its good to ask questions as it gets answes before sometimes finding out the hard way.

Look forward to seeing pics.

 

[StinkyGreen]

Just what I was looking for - thanks!

 

[Dank Demon]

Just what I was looking for - thanks!

No worries glad I could help. Its cheaper to get some 13mm hose and a T piece barbed connector and make your own by drilling a series of 2mm holes around the circle made using the T, then attach to the main supply feed using a pump on a timer.

 

[StinkyGreen]

You read my mind (or I read yours.) I'm going to use 1/4" hose instead though. I have all the parts I need sitting in my grow room ... I'm just waiting for my lights to come on so I can get started Will post pics when I'm done.

 

[StinkyGreen]

Pics

Pics

As promised, here are some pics. I made the rings by drilling holes in 1/4" tubing, plugging 1 end with a goof-plug, and connecting the other to the irrigation line using an elbow connector. The elbow connector turned out to be a better idea than using a T connector as it allows for an opening in the ring which makes it much easier to put around a mature plant. The natural curl of the tubing made a perfect ring, which I held in place with 3 tubing stakes. Note that I made each ring the same size with identical holes so that the flow would be the same for each one.

And here it is in place around my Satori. Note that I was able to remove the annoying curl in the lines that run to the manifold by dipping them in boiling water for a few seconds and straightening them out.

 

[Dank Demon]

Hey,

Lol maybe I am missing something but won't the water just now run out the end of the open pipe? Therefore making the holes you have so carefully drilled useless, as water takes the easiest route and only pressure in the ring by sealing it will cause the water to come out of the holes.

 

[StinkyGreen]

No, that's a "goof plug" on the end of the ring. It's used to stub out the end of a 1/4" line. It looks like a connector but it's not. The other side is used to plug holes in 1/2 pipe. (Which is why they are called 'goof plugs'.) The water comes out of the tiny holes in the ring as intended

 

[Zen Medz]

StinkyG, lol, anyhow how are the drip lines working out for ya? I'm getting ready to set up something similar and like your idea. I've got a 3x6 table with 12 plants and was thinking of using 1/2" line off the pump and then 1/4" drip line like you got going. What size holes did you drill and are they flowing freely after a few months? Cheers!

 

[hvac guy]

looks like 1/16" or 3/32" inch drill bit. You can make another halo by using 5 Ts, one T is from the 1/4" feed line, then make a halo and cut 4 sections and insert a T and have those Ts face towards the plant or lay flat on the soil. As the first T feeds nutrients or water, it will flow out the other 4 Ts, you could even use 9 Ts, and have flow from 8 of the Ts.

 

[StinkyGreen]

The setup worked great. I only ran it for a couple of months (to finish my grow) and never had any problems with clogging that I could tell. I don't remember what size holes I drilled - I would guess 3/32" - but it doesn't really matter as you need to measure the flow rate so you know how long to set the timer for. I'll definitely use it again for my next grow.

 

[unregistered190]

Stinky,
What type of pump did you use with this? A mag-pump? Diaphram? Curious as I want to do the same thing.
Thanks

 

[StinkyGreen]

I used an Ecoplus submersible waterpump:
website: w w w . g r e n e r s . c o m/i/pumps-irrigation/water-pumps/ecoplus-sumbersible-water-pump.html