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How to make a PVC dripper manifold

P

pico

Active member
Veteran
I usually stay away from drip systems because of problems I have had with them in the past. I recently tried a system out of PVC and it is pretty nice. Very sturdy and even watering all around. Here is how I did it.

Parts list:

3/4" Schedule 40 PVC
3/4" PVC 90 degree elbows
3/4" pvc 3 way T
3/4" pvc slip to 3/4" threaded
3/4" raindrip inline particle filter
3/4" pvc to female garden hose adapter
1/4" top hat grommet
1/4" drip tubing
garden hose
water pump
pvc glue



Alright, I am using 3x6 tables for this setup. 28 plants per table. 7" square pots with coco/perlite. Here is a little graphic of my setup.





Cut PVC to length







Plan out where you want your drip lines and drill 3/8" holes



squeeze the 1/4" top hat grommets in the holes







Place your particle filter in a good location. Use PVC T, some pvc pipe, slip to threaded pvc adapter to attatch filter and then another adapter to go from the filter to the garden hose.






Dry fit and make sure everything is how you like it. Make sure everything is clean and no pvc shavings are inside tubes. Then glue her up.




Cut 1/4" tube to lenght needed. Try to keep all the lengths similar or the same so flow rate is the same. Use a little bit of dish soap to slide the lines in the grommets.








Mine fits perfectly and I just shove the 1/4" lines directly in the coco with no drippers.










I really like the hose connections because it allows me to flush my plants really easily. just unscrew the hose to the nutrient tank and screw in the garden hose.


If you have any questions just ask.

Pico
 
clowntown

clowntown

Active member
Veteran
Another awesome one from pico. :yes:

That's an awesome idea, using those grommets. For some reason I couldn't think of that, when I explored some options on building a drip manifold. I went with 1/2" flexible vinyl black tubing and barbs instead, but would have preferred PVC. (Borrowed the design from Neptune's threads.)



I also saw these at Home Depot, 8-port 1/4" outlet manifolds. Each port is individually adjustable. This is what I'm going to be working with on my upcoming run, with some other sort of drip device than a simple open end or stake.



The dilemma I'm having with even these medium-small containers (like 1-2 gal, square) is that with a single "open end" line (including using stakes), I'm not able to achieve very even watering throughout, with a fairly low water output. I'm interested in keeping the amount of water pumped out to a minimum required for enough runoff; not too much since I'm draining to waste and want to conserve nutes.

Any suggestions? I'm not sure whether this even watering top-down is very important, but something I'm interested in as it naturally helps prevent salt buildups in the medium.
 
P

pico

Active member
Veteran
For some reason I have always had problems with the flexible manifold and barbs. I was always clogging. But then again I wasn't using a particle filter so that was probably my problem. But this new design I really like.

I know what you are talking about with the single drip point and soaking the whole pot. I am going run to waste as well. I am just starting out but I was going to experiment with more frequent short watering times that barely do any runoff. That way I figure the pot will soak up the water more evenly than just a couple heavy waterings with a single drip point that has a lot of runoff before pot is evenly soaked.

I was also thinking about putting 1/4" T's on the ends of my dripper so at least there would be 2 drip points. If you find a nice reliable dripper with an even spread let me know.
 
clowntown

clowntown

Active member
Veteran
Good idea with the tee. I'm going to give the soaker hoses a shot in the next week or two, but my current prediction is that they'll quickly clog up with salt caked all over it.

I saw these 1/4" drip lines with built-in inline drip devices. They claimed to be superior to laser-drilled holes, since they guaranteed a consistent, even output regardless of distance from source. The drip devices also claimed to be self-cleaning and clog-resistant. One brand had 1 GPH holes every 12"; the other brand had 0.5 GPH holes every 6".

I thought about cutting off the drippers, and making my own drip ring with the drippers closer together (like every 2" or so), but that just seems like too much work involved for something not that special.

I'm going to look into the laser-drilled 1/4" drip lines, if I can find any. I don't think the pressure difference from one end to another will matter too much, as you're dealing with such a small difference over a short length.

Are those 4 gal square pots? :yes: I love square pots. :D
 
P

pico

Active member
Veteran
I think they are probably closer to 2 gallons. but yeah I like them. I can barely squeeze 45 per 3x6 tray but I didn't think I need that many with this strain.

Hopefully these straight ends work out for me. The less parts the better.
 
BlindDate

BlindDate

Active member
Veteran
I would suggest that you buy a cheap $10 PVC cutter as it does a much better job than a miter saw. No burrs, no chips, no mess.
 
P

pico

Active member
Veteran
I saw those but seeing as I only needed to make a handfull of cuts I passed.
 
humble1

humble1

crazaer at overgrow 2.0
ICMag Donor
Veteran
hey pico,

looking great as always!

what watering/feed schedule are you running. i run a similar setup with coco bags and have an encore timer. 5 seconds every two hours. in veg you can make it four hours. gnats were initially an issue, what with the consistent moist medium, but i've got a grip on the fuckers now.

plants love it, though. i'm on day 25 and i've got golfballs.

peace, love, and coco
 
RamCTD1027

RamCTD1027

Member
Pico-

What size water pump are you using with that set up? I plan to build something exactly like that to give my plants a quick veg before going into the sealed room. Thanks.

RamCTD
 
B

Brain

Nice write up and pics. I'll be comming back to this thread when I set up mine.
 
P

pico

Active member
Veteran
bobblehead- Damn, thanks man. If you only knew how much time I waste you might say otherwise.

humble1- I don't have my timers hooked up yet. I was thinking of just using some programable digital timers. Either that or hook up my X10 home automation stuff. A cycle stat would be nice, but I am trying to limit my purchases at the old hydro store. I have dropped well over 10 grand this year and I already had a ton of equipment.


RAMCTD- I am still messing around with pumps to see which one I like best. I have a 1000 gallon pump and a 500 gallon pump and they both do the trick. I think I will be sticking with the smaller unit so I can have a bit longer watering time.

Brain- stop on by any time.
 
pumpkin2006

pumpkin2006

Member
Pico the PVC King, man every time you think of sumtin' thats just crazy, yet simple and works. You should be an engineer :biglaugh:

Anyways, all good stuff, one question: where'd you buy the grommets?
 
G

Guest

looks great pico, I am putting together the parts for a drip system right as well. Do you think I could get away with a 350 gph pump on 16 plant, 1/2 gallon pots or would I have to go with the 500?
 
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