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Blumat auto watering
- Thread starter sunnydog
- Start date
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- Tags
- blumat drippers irrigation watering
Piece it together off of Amazon. SV will charge you WAY too much. You will need the blumat pressure reducer, but Amazon has those too. I got mine "open package" for half price
LostInEthereal
Member
Yeah it's almost $600 dollars for a complete set with an actual 3-prong plug 'mounted' to a piece of wood at SV.. That had better be some righteous craftsmanship lol.
Now that I'm gearing up to start growing again, I think I want to pressurize my blumat so I'll be looking into this. I thought I had a wishlist saved at Amazon with parts but I must have erased it.
I'll post up my part list when I get around to it for others with links if possible. Probably 4 weeks out before I need it though.
Now that I'm gearing up to start growing again, I think I want to pressurize my blumat so I'll be looking into this. I thought I had a wishlist saved at Amazon with parts but I must have erased it.
I'll post up my part list when I get around to it for others with links if possible. Probably 4 weeks out before I need it though.
This is off topic but thought I'd mention it since it is random useful knowledge. If anyone is on a well with excess sulphur it can completely fuck your grow up. A long time ago i switch to my well at a place and it really screwed up my results for 2 grows until I figured it out. Went back to my tap water and everything was great. if you can smell it it is definitely screwing your garden up.
Bwanabud
Active member
It's not off topic, and very true...along with high iron or calcium being a major problem also. My well is very good quality water, but I'm on top of a mountain in the woods...wells in low elevation or by creeks/swamps can have very bad water.
I had mine tested, it's 30-40 ppm Ca,,,and 170 ppm total. Water quality is very important in growing, and understanding what elements are present in your water allow for common sense nutrient feeding...or lock-out situations can easily occur.
LostInEthereal
Member
The pump and accumulator they use are pictured in enough detail to lookup model number. The accumulator only comes in a few sizes and brands that I've seen, so that one is easy. Pumps are varied and many will work. The trouble for me is the fittings and connections, they are confusing as I'm not really used to them. The air lines at my old job were just push-in connections and that's all I've ever worked with. EDIT: Actually after just barely looking into it I see these NPT threaded connectors are also the same as stuff I have worked with, this should be pretty easy.
I'm also a fairly poor craftsman because I usually work unprepared and try to get things done quickly... It may be better for me to buy the damn complete kit from SV, reluctantly paying the price.. I'm sure it could be done for nearly half the cost though, maybe (likely) even less.
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bigbadbiddy
Active member
Howdy,
so I just spoke with Blumat (or a vendor licensed for them or whatever, someone official) and they told me that at my size a simple submersible pump (as used for ponds etc.) running on a timer that goes on for 6-10 times a day pumping for about 30 minutes should be absolutely fine.
He is confident that the pump won't overheat and made this argument which I found quite convincing:
A run-of-the-mill pond pump costs like 30, maybe 50 bucks.
The cheapest pump with a pressure conduit runs at about 150-200 bucks.
You can burn through 3-6 "ordinary" pumps running on a timer, before you would reach the price of a pump with a pressure conduit which, in his experience, don't last very long, actually. Some not even the full 2 years of warranty (especially the cheaper ones, which I would be looking at), as some parts are considered "wear and tear" parts by the manufacturers and are not covered by the warranty. So you might end up having to cough up another 50 bucks for a spare part within 2, the latest after 3 or 4 years.
He said it is unlikely that I would burn through more than 6 pumps in 4 years so he suggested that route.
He also said that at my dimensions even the smallest pumps should do the trick just fine running 6-10 times a day for about 30, maybe 40 minutes.
The down-time in between should also be fine for the plants.
I tend to agree and am leaning towards following the Blumat guy's advice. (I would probably just buy 2 pumps, keep one as a backup and just fiddle with the amount of cycles and time pumping each cycle till I found the right equilibrium with the least amount of overheating for the pump)
What do you guys think? Sounds reasonable to me.
so I just spoke with Blumat (or a vendor licensed for them or whatever, someone official) and they told me that at my size a simple submersible pump (as used for ponds etc.) running on a timer that goes on for 6-10 times a day pumping for about 30 minutes should be absolutely fine.
He is confident that the pump won't overheat and made this argument which I found quite convincing:
A run-of-the-mill pond pump costs like 30, maybe 50 bucks.
The cheapest pump with a pressure conduit runs at about 150-200 bucks.
You can burn through 3-6 "ordinary" pumps running on a timer, before you would reach the price of a pump with a pressure conduit which, in his experience, don't last very long, actually. Some not even the full 2 years of warranty (especially the cheaper ones, which I would be looking at), as some parts are considered "wear and tear" parts by the manufacturers and are not covered by the warranty. So you might end up having to cough up another 50 bucks for a spare part within 2, the latest after 3 or 4 years.
He said it is unlikely that I would burn through more than 6 pumps in 4 years so he suggested that route.
He also said that at my dimensions even the smallest pumps should do the trick just fine running 6-10 times a day for about 30, maybe 40 minutes.
The down-time in between should also be fine for the plants.
I tend to agree and am leaning towards following the Blumat guy's advice. (I would probably just buy 2 pumps, keep one as a backup and just fiddle with the amount of cycles and time pumping each cycle till I found the right equilibrium with the least amount of overheating for the pump)
What do you guys think? Sounds reasonable to me.
It doesn't sound to me as though this "Blumat guy" has any real experience with Blumats, or understands the way that they work.
In my experience, the spikes are very sensitive to pressure fluctuations. Even the difference in head pressure from a full elevated reservoir to a partially empty one can be enough to create problems (at only .43 psi per foot of water level), which is why so many of us have gone to self-topping reservoirs. Turning the water flow on and off sporadically is going to be even worse - as the media dries out, the pinch valve on the spike is going to open further and further, trying to maintain the same level of moisture in the pot. When the pump does kick on, the water flow at the spike is going to be much higher than the usual drip and will tend to over-saturate (runaway) the media before the spike can react and throttle the flow down.
I think that if you want to go this way, you would be better off without the blumats in the loop - just go with conventional emitters and time the nutrient flow. However, it completely bypasses the thing that the Blumats are best for, which is keeping the moisture content constant.
Good luck.
Bwanabud
Active member
Agreed. Another thing that happens when flow has stopped for a few days is that the carrot dries out somewhat & gets an air bubble inside, throwing it out of whack. I found that out when I pinched a 3mm line under a pot...
bigbadbiddy
Active member
I knew it sounded too "good" to be true.
At some point I was also thinking "wait, if I do it like this, what is the difference to just running regular emitters and watering in cycles or just going directly to hydro then"...
Will continue to talk with the guy or maybe ask someone else.
I initially contacted him to ask if he can suggest a locally available pump with pressure conduit that is known to run well with the blumat system or where I won't need too many additional connectors and such.
At some point I was also thinking "wait, if I do it like this, what is the difference to just running regular emitters and watering in cycles or just going directly to hydro then"...
Will continue to talk with the guy or maybe ask someone else.
I initially contacted him to ask if he can suggest a locally available pump with pressure conduit that is known to run well with the blumat system or where I won't need too many additional connectors and such.
The "Blumat guy"you spoke with is an idiot.
Just read here. No need to reinvent the wheel.
BusinessFactory
Member
How's everyone feeling blumats in coco? I have the maxi spikes already and am going to attempt to use them in 5 gallon pots. 1 per pot.
Should I keep my res filled with nutrients (dynagro for now) or should I just top water them every couple of days? Any recommendations for non-clogging nutrients? I'm coming from organic so this should be an interesting test!
Should I keep my res filled with nutrients (dynagro for now) or should I just top water them every couple of days? Any recommendations for non-clogging nutrients? I'm coming from organic so this should be an interesting test!
I run in coco with jacks and or GH 6/9. Have not had issue with clogs. I do add some h202 1 x week. I also do a weekly top water flush to ensure no build up. I was using drip clean but cannot believe it can bind salts that are never flushed.... I added a filter to my res output but has never clogged. I use 1G pots.
HTHs
C
chris harris
This right here! Spoke on many occasions with Rambridge ( Blumat dealer in Canada). He had no idea what he was talking about.
Best advise came from Rive's here. He suggested after installing these, leave shut off for a couple of hours, to acclimatize them, then adjust according to direction. Thank you sir, best advise ever!
I had nothing but runaways with these. Seemed like the area above the carrot would always dry out, which would cause the valve to open up, and continuously drip out of control. Always thought it was an air bubble, air lock, etc. , even though I made sure when submersing them, I tilted them back and forth to make sure there were none. Nothing worked. Then read Rives comments, tried that, and worked great.
And thank you. That's one thing I seem to have missed in this enormous thread. I'll have to try it. Dunno what it could hurt. Getting fresh setups to work just so might be a little less fiddly.
Planting the carrots deep seems to help, too.
I keep my rez at 500 to 600 ppm, using GH @
Micro 4
Bloom 5
Epsom 1 g
Cannazym 8
SM 90 2
Drip Clean 0.4
My rain water is 12 ppm at 5.3 pH.
And a pH of 5.8 to 6.1 and it works great for me. Not sure what I will change if anything when I go into 12/12 this next week.
Any suggestions? I am thinking of going to a 3/7 micro/bloom w/1 gram Epsom per gallon, nothing else will change. As I get deeper into flower maybe go 2/8 or 9.
bigbadbiddy
Active member
Hello kind folks,
the Blumat guy I spoke with basically conceded (after I asked some more critical questions) that they are not that familiar with the pressurizing of the Blumat system and were currently testing out that kind of stuff in their shop as well but are not at a point where they could give me a recommendation...
Whatever I guess...
Aaaanyway, I did some more research and found a pump with accumulator for around 100 bucks and will just order it.
Question:
I know this was answered before but I can't seem to find the actual way to set it up and I keep getting lost in this huge ass thread we have here.
The way I understand it I connect the intake of the pump to my reservoir, attach the pressure reducer on the exit of the pump and connect the Blumat line/hose to that then set up the Blumat as usual.
Do I have to consider anything else with the pump? Do I have to make any adjustments aside from the usual fine-tuning of the Blumats?
I just turn on the pump once the Blumats are set up and watch it work?
Thanks guys and gals and sorry again if this has been asked and answered several times already. It probably has but this thread is a nightmare to navigate for me.
/Edit
Some specs of the pump:
630W
3300 l/hr
3.6 bar pressure
Accumulator is about 20l
the Blumat guy I spoke with basically conceded (after I asked some more critical questions) that they are not that familiar with the pressurizing of the Blumat system and were currently testing out that kind of stuff in their shop as well but are not at a point where they could give me a recommendation...
Whatever I guess...
Aaaanyway, I did some more research and found a pump with accumulator for around 100 bucks and will just order it.
Question:
I know this was answered before but I can't seem to find the actual way to set it up and I keep getting lost in this huge ass thread we have here.
The way I understand it I connect the intake of the pump to my reservoir, attach the pressure reducer on the exit of the pump and connect the Blumat line/hose to that then set up the Blumat as usual.
Do I have to consider anything else with the pump? Do I have to make any adjustments aside from the usual fine-tuning of the Blumats?
I just turn on the pump once the Blumats are set up and watch it work?
Thanks guys and gals and sorry again if this has been asked and answered several times already. It probably has but this thread is a nightmare to navigate for me.
/Edit
Some specs of the pump:
630W
3300 l/hr
3.6 bar pressure
Accumulator is about 20l
Bwanabud
Active member
Bigbadbiddy,
How large is your grow ?
870 gal. hr pump is very large, as is the 20 liter pressure tank.
I would add a pre-filter cannister, at least 1 pressure gauge to see system output/ or capacity, and a foot valve at the rez to stop backflow and eliminate the need to purge the system if it runs dry/clean filter element/service system. Remember to set the pressure in your tank with a tire gauge, I'm running 55# with a 12-14# outlet pressure to drippers.
The initial system system needs set up and purged, the carrots need adjusted after full saturation of media, then watch for 2-3 days for run-away drippers. Whatever concerns you have can be answered by the members here, hopefully without a pissing battle over techniques
How large is your grow ?
870 gal. hr pump is very large, as is the 20 liter pressure tank.
I would add a pre-filter cannister, at least 1 pressure gauge to see system output/ or capacity, and a foot valve at the rez to stop backflow and eliminate the need to purge the system if it runs dry/clean filter element/service system. Remember to set the pressure in your tank with a tire gauge, I'm running 55# with a 12-14# outlet pressure to drippers.
The initial system system needs set up and purged, the carrots need adjusted after full saturation of media, then watch for 2-3 days for run-away drippers. Whatever concerns you have can be answered by the members here, hopefully without a pissing battle over techniques
