What's new
  • Please note members who been with us for more than 10 years have been upgraded to "Veteran" status and will receive exclusive benefits. If you wish to find out more about this or support IcMag and get same benefits, check this thread here.
  • Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!

IDIOT's GUIDE TO PPK

Res - I used a drain fitting, drilled a hole about and an inch from the bottom an d installed it using Teflon tape...

Control bucket - I installed a float valve that attaches to the res using a 1/2 hose... I installed it approx 3 inches from the bottom and adjusted it so it stopped the water from the res at 3"...
Then I drilled a hole and installed a tire valve at the same height as the tire valve in the ppk...
 

bad gas

Member
Top bucket holds media and has media wick attached to bottom.

Media wick serves two functions: 1] maintains moisture profile in media bucket. 2] acts as a drain during pulse event.

Bottom bucket serves as a reservoir. Tire valve installed in lower side of lower bucket.

Tire valve attached to plastic tubing which is routed to another reservoir. This is the pulse reservoir. In it is a pump connected to a manifold connected to equal length tubing which leads to the top of the media bucket for the pulse feed.

We now have a circular flow setup for nutrients.

The pulse reservoir is supplied from another reservoir with a float valve in it. The float valve adjusts the air gap below the media bucket. Keeps perched water table out of the media bucket.

The float valve reservoir is supplied from a nutrient mixing tank or reservoir.

There are three things to adjust to "tune" your PPK.
1: Float valve. Establishes air gap to keep perched water table out of media bucket.
2: Pulse timing. Currently, they use about once per hour.
3: Pulse duration. Controls pulse volume.

Tire valves and clear plastic tubing are used to connect reservoirs together. Note: Tire valves are drilled out to enlarge i.d.

In the PPK thread we learned that turdface is that stage of inebriation just before shitface.

NAPA floor dry P/N 8822 mixed with rice hulls at a 3:1 ratio will work. You want a "fast" media so the pulse feed freely moves through the media. A topdress of marbles or small pebbles will reduce splashing during pulse.

If you have further questions, either PM me or ask them in the PPK thread. Delta9nxs or imaginaryfriend will answer.

The entire PPK thread should be required reading for us all. Awesome information. Links to scientific papers. It takes a while, but is well worth it.

There are links to PPK summaries in the first post in the PPK thread.

Hope this gets you started. It's really not complex. I call this design "elegant simplicity". If a pump quits, so what? The wick will keep them fed. Compare that concept to the guys whose crop dies within hours if a pump dies. You can sleep at night.

Good luck. bg
 

bad gas

Member
Like jonnyrotten, my first PPK had no pump. I still use it if I have need.

The tailpiece/air gap keeps the perched water table out of the media bucket, so the roots don't rot. That was the problem with the no-air gap wick system. The roots stayed too moist and rotted.

I added this after reading the other posts. bg
 

workman

New member
Thanks for the detailed explanation BG I understand the concept of the system now from reading that I still have a few question but the gaps have def been filled.
 

bloyd

Well-known member
Veteran
I know I'm the laziest DEA agent ever.
Well then the ppk is for you. You just have to put in a little time to get it up and running. There is no shortage of help around here for those that put in a little effort.
 
I am a computer idiot but if I give a couple of details maybe someone can identify what I'm talking about. In January of this year I downloaded a PPK pdf which has a pictorial how-to build. Dude's using buckets from Lowe's and a cat shows up in some pictures..its all happening on an oriental rug. If this is something that has been lost let me know and I'll post what I've got.
I started reading the PPK thread three years or so ago and had to use my imagination until July of this year because I had never registered. The pictures did help a lot but I can't stress how much you'll learn about the science of growing by reading that crazy thread a time or two.
Be sure and heap praise on D9 every time you post.He really craves that stuff.
 
D

DaveTheNewbie

wow have i been waiting for this thread, just as i think i have worked out Blumats too :)
I would like to thank everyone that has posted productively in this thread, or PMed me with destructions for this monstrous machine.

1) how the hell do you attach a tailpiece to a smartpot?
2) isnt there problems recirculating coco : i was always taught that it made EC go up and PH go down. This was my experience when i tried it.
3) there seems to be a wide variety of mediums used from coco (slow draining) to turdface (very fast). Is there an opinion of pros and cons to this?
4) there is mention of tuning the air gap between res water level and medium level. Is there a rough guide as to what this size should be?
5) i take it the control bucket has a float valve to control the air gap / water level and is gravity fed from a secondary res to keep it at level.
6) because we have a recirculating system, do we ever "flush" the nutes and replace them with fresh ones?
7) i believe the volume of pulse is still debated, but what should i be looking at? This is relevant to the size of the return lines.

Being that im in Australia and not the USA, I have a few technical issues with what you may find simple. Supply shops differ.

4) does the tailpiece HAVE to be 1.5 inches diameter? What if i went approx 3 inches? I would imagine that filling a thin tailpiece with certain medium would be tricky.

more to come im sure, but this thread is really what ive been waiting for. It starts at the start with the basics all in one place.
 

DocCrow

Member
I'd be happy to. Do you know how to take a downloaded document and post it on here?

next to the smiles button there is an attachment button. You can use that to attach a PDF just like a picture.

I am in the process of adapting the PPK to a Micro Perpetual SOG in a cabinet. 36 plant sites in 2.5 sq' cabinet. 400 watts of CFLs in 2.5 sq' should yield me a minimum of 360g every 9 weeks. I should have it up and running in a couple of days, and have been taking a bunch of pics so I can put up a thorough how to once I am done.
 

ImaginaryFriend

Fuck Entropy.
Veteran
1) how the hell do you attach a tailpiece to a smartpot? Be clever.


2) isnt there problems recirculating coco : i was always taught that it made EC go up and PH go down. This was my experience when i tried it. No... if you precharge it, you shouldn't see any major swings.

3) there seems to be a wide variety of mediums used from coco (slow draining) to turdface (very fast). Is there an opinion of pros and cons to this? Whatever is available.


4) there is mention of tuning the air gap between res water level and medium level. Is there a rough guide as to what this size should be?

Start at 3-4 inches, adjust at will.

5) i take it the control bucket has a float valve to control the air gap / water level and is gravity fed from a secondary res to keep it at level.

correct.

6) because we have a recirculating system, do we ever "flush" the nutes and replace them with fresh ones?

Depends on your nute regime and your plant demands. Jacks is pretty stable for a lot of folks. If you watch your EC vs. pH levels, they'll tell you if you have buildups.

7) i believe the volume of pulse is still debated, but what should i be looking at? This is relevant to the size of the return lines.

Not so relevant on return lines... three inch air gap should give you just under a gallon of volume before you overflow your lower buckets. WRT pulse volumes, the trend seems to be that 'more is better.'

4) does the tailpiece HAVE to be 1.5 inches diameter? What if i went approx 3 inches? I would imagine that filling a thin tailpiece with certain medium would be tricky.
1.5 inches is pretty substantial. Incidentally, D9 used a piece of plumbing for under the sink called a 'tailpiece'. Any tube jammed with media should be fine.
 
wow have i been waiting for this thread, just as i think i have worked out Blumats too :)
I would like to thank everyone that has posted productively in this thread, or PMed me with destructions for this monstrous machine.

1) how the hell do you attach a tailpiece to a smartpot?
2) isnt there problems recirculating coco : i was always taught that it made EC go up and PH go down. This was my experience when i tried it.
3) there seems to be a wide variety of mediums used from coco (slow draining) to turdface (very fast). Is there an opinion of pros and cons to this?
4) there is mention of tuning the air gap between res water level and medium level. Is there a rough guide as to what this size should be?
5) i take it the control bucket has a float valve to control the air gap / water level and is gravity fed from a secondary res to keep it at level.
6) because we have a recirculating system, do we ever "flush" the nutes and replace them with fresh ones?
7) i believe the volume of pulse is still debated, but what should i be looking at? This is relevant to the size of the return lines.

Being that im in Australia and not the USA, I have a few technical issues with what you may find simple. Supply shops differ.

4) does the tailpiece HAVE to be 1.5 inches diameter? What if i went approx 3 inches? I would imagine that filling a thin tailpiece with certain medium would be tricky.

more to come im sure, but this thread is really what ive been waiting for. It starts at the start with the basics all in one place.

To attach a smart pot, just cut a slit through the bottom with a razor so it fits tight...

I used a 1.5" because its an actual plumbing item with a flange on it that seals good with a smart pot...D9 uses 1.5" and that's fine with me...
 

DocCrow

Member
1) how the hell do you attach a tailpiece to a smartpot?
cut a 1.5" dia hole, instert tailpiece and glue in place with amazing plumbing goop http://www.eclecticproducts.com/plumbing.htm

2) isnt there problems recirculating coco : i was always taught that it made EC go up and PH go down. This was my experience when i tried it.
Jacks Hydro is the answer here. http://www.jrpeters.com/Products/Hydroponics/Buy-Hydroponics.html
get the 5-12-26 hydro and the 15-0-0 Calcium Nitrate. Run a solution of 360PPM Jacks and 240PPM CalNit during all stages. Use RO water and you will never need to worry about PH or EC again.

3) there seems to be a wide variety of mediums used from coco (slow draining) to turdface (very fast). Is there an opinion of pros and cons to this?
I think it is aminly personal preference. Seems to be plenty of variety here, and I don't think one medium will make that much of a difference over another. I use coco

4) there is mention of tuning the air gap between res water level and medium level. Is there a rough guide as to what this size should be?
3" seems to be a good starting place. If your plants seem over watered increase the air gap. If your medium is too dry decrease the air gap.

5) i take it the control bucket has a float valve to control the air gap / water level and is gravity fed from a secondary res to keep it at level.
yes

6) because we have a recirculating system, do we ever "flush" the nutes and replace them with fresh ones?
Not necessary, (at least when using Jacks nutes) just top off the bulk reservoir when it starts to get low. Res changes would make this much less boring

7) i believe the volume of pulse is still debated, but what should i be looking at? This is relevant to the size of the return lines.
to the point of saturation. Think if you were hand watering Coco how much would you need to water to 25% runoff. This will depend on how much meduim you are growing in.

Being that im in Australia and not the USA, I have a few technical issues with what you may find simple. Supply shops differ.
You can try here. These are double ended so you get 2 tailpieces per. http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/p...ce-abs-plastic-1-1-2-x-16-slip-joint-x-spigot


Anyone else can feel free to chime in here, or refute anything I have said if you feel it is incorrect. I have done a TON of research on this, and will have mine running in a couple of days.
 
next to the smiles button there is an attachment button. You can use that to attach a PDF just like a picture.

I am in the process of adapting the PPK to a Micro Perpetual SOG in a cabinet. 36 plant sites in 2.5 sq' cabinet. 400 watts of CFLs in 2.5 sq' should yield me a minimum of 360g every 9 weeks. I should have it up and running in a couple of days, and have been taking a bunch of pics so I can put up a thorough how to once I am done.

Hey DocCrow,
I got a message that my file is 5.09 gigawatts or some shit and all it allows is 1.0...so is theresome way to break the pdf file into say six sections?
 

DocCrow

Member
Hey DocCrow,
I got a message that my file is 5.09 gigawatts or some shit and all it allows is 1.0...so is theresome way to break the pdf file into say six sections?

not without the advanced version of adobe acrobat that I know of. Email it to me and I will give it a go
 

FlowerFarmer

Active member
Veteran
About to get into PPKs myself around the start of the new year. (if we are all still alive of course ;) )

D9 has me hooked! I've been reading through his wicked pulse thread, but its quite the read. Even filtering by D9 I'm still digesting through it.


I'll likely be mimicking his 3.5Gal bucket on top of a another. I pretty much understand the system, but I have a question..

The "tailpiece" that extends down into the lower bucket.. How is the wicking achieved? Is there some type of wicking material within this tailpiece? (Edit - I now see above that it is packed with media)..was posting the same time as the above question/reply.
What are the zipties for on the base of the tailpiece?

Maybe I missed it, but he didnt seem to mention anything when detailing the "module" build? How does solution wick from that lower bucket up that tailpiece and into the media?

//

Also, (I'm sure this info is somewhere)

His "main res" is auto topped by a even larger res. Does this contain his full strength mix that he pumps in after mixing elsewhere? I remember reading that he inputs (does this mean his top res) with a lower pH to achieve a slightly higher pH in his main res "floor level" Is this correct and does his do something similar with his nutrient strength?


I think I've got it right:
It seems as though we have an intermittent pulse top feed that passes through the medium and drains both through the holes on the side of the bucket (and the screened tailpiece opening?) into the lower bucket where water level is controller via a "control box" float in the main res. This has a small hole in the bottom to prevent the res from topping off too much during a pulse feed. This main res is auto topped by a larger res above it. I got that right?
 
About to get into PPKs myself around the start of the new year. (if we are all still alive of course ;) )

D9 has me hooked! I've been reading through his wicked pulse thread, but its quite the read. Even filtering by D9 I'm still digesting through it.


I'll likely be mimicking his 3.5Gal bucket on top of a another. I pretty much understand the system, but I have a question..

The "tailpiece" that extends down into the lower bucket.. How is the wicking achieved? Is there some type of wicking material within this tailpiece?
What are the zipties for on the base of the tailpiece?

Maybe I missed it, but he didnt seem to mention anything when detailing the "module" build? How does solution wick from that lower bucket up that tailpiece and into the media?

//

Also, (I'm sure this info is somewhere)

His "main res" is auto topped by a even larger res. Does this contain his full strength mix that he pumps in after mixing elsewhere?


I think I've got it right:
It seems as though we have an intermittent pulse top feed that passes through the medium and drains both through the holes on the side of the bucket (and the screened tailpiece opening?) into the lower bucket where water level is controller via a "control box" float in the main res. This has a small hole in the bottom to prevent the res from topping off too much during a pulse feed. This main res is auto topped by a larger res above it. I got that right?

It's been a couple of years but I seem to recall that early in the development of the PPK different people including Mistress experimented with traditional wicks like nylon rope. However, it was found that packing the tailpiece with the medium, such as coco or turface, gave better results.
 

TURBD

Member
You could always hire Ashes to build you some. I hear he's looking for work. ��
Too soon?
I am glad this is getting done. I was thinking it was petty difficult sourcing info and pics of the build. If that PDF gets posted that would be sweet. Thanks for all the info.
 

Latest posts

Latest posts

Top