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Blumat auto watering

BACKCOUNTRY

Mourning the loss of my dog......
Veteran
I was going to try some of these outdoors this last season, but I couldn't find a good source for them. I have finally found a source, and I am tempted to try some this year for sure, I was sold on the idea a while back.
 

Lazyman

Overkill is under-rated.
Veteran
Yeah, if you dig around on the blumat website, they sell 50 packs of the cones for $214 or so, the exchange rate has probably changed since I last looked, but it's a good thing. Hey if you don't want to use a reservoir, you can use a pressure reducer, and inline fertilizer injectors. PM me if you want more info on how to do this, it's pretty slick and only about $80 per 3 gallon injector setup.
 

BACKCOUNTRY

Mourning the loss of my dog......
Veteran
I'm organic soil, guerrilla outdoor, so my use would be as a automatic watering device for rarely visited plants. They'd be used with a large water rez, with the organic fertilizers mixed in the soil ahead of time.

I found a place in California that sells these by the each, I just want a couple to try for experimental purposes. I looked into ordering from the manufacturer, the postage from Germany is killer!
 

sunnydog

Drip King
Veteran
Hi BC!
These worked pretty well flawlessly for us.
Just be sure to improvise some sort of filter, foam and pantyhose work real well.
Good luck to all!

SD
 

inreplyavalon

breathe deep
Veteran
Hi.
I read the whole thread but still have a question.

I grow in Coco and like to have some runoff with my daily feedings.

Is it possible to dial these in with some consistent runoff?

Thanks and happy new now
 
P

Peat

High ira
Happy New Now 2 U 2 :D

I recently did a quickie Blumat & coco test run.

I'm new to coco, 6/9, maintaining a res, Blumats, ...
(I know there's more I don't know. I just don't know what.)

I did get them to give me regular runoff. :yes:
But I was always dialing them up & down, trying to figure out how much was enough.
(aka, "rubbing the shine off of my new toy")

=========
So far, I've found:

When I dialed in the moisture sensativity, the moisture level is maintained w/ no runoff.


So, I bumped 'em up to have runoff.
= constant drip
= constant runoff
= lots of nute solution & explosive stretchiness.


They quickly outstretched my garden, became unmanagable, & the experiment ended...for now...

(The "explosion" might could be better managed (i.e., less stretch, more production) with a little planning.)

(I'm sure there's middle ground between no run off, & too much...)


=========
If nothing else,

I could set 'em up, per instructions, with no runoff.

Then if (before?) lockout becomes an issue, supplement with periodic manual flushings.

=========
I'll be back at it as soon as I get roots on an "extra" clone, or 2.

:2cents:
 

edub30

Member
drip ring.

drip ring.

Hey guys I was wondering if it would be possible to attach one of the water farm drip rings or make a drip ring to work with the blumat drippers rather than using the remote drips?
 

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wspcolorado

Member
Blumat newbie here...

So I just setup my system, had my first mis-hap... :) I setup 22 plants using a couple Blumat boxes and didnt realize there were specific "ceramic end pieces" - i used the "end piece" shown on the box and in the directions. See below
IG14611.jpg


So Im all excited fill the res, check on the room and the end pieces are spraying water everywhere.. Couple hours later I realize I have the system setup wrong. I find the Blumat Ceramic End Pieces in the box, with only 1 side conected to the hose.

So I think I have the system setup right.. I closed all the blumats and opened 1/4 turn. I havent seen the system actually watering yet. Should I open them more? I just read about the arrows and am around arrow 2. Any suggestions feedback ets would be awesome!
 

Lazyman

Overkill is under-rated.
Veteran
I think guys usually start them around 3-4 arrows if I recall. A catch tray under the pots will give you a good idea if you're overwatering. Wait until you see the trays start to fill, and then crank the valve down a bit so it's not so wet.
 

Lazyman

Overkill is under-rated.
Veteran
Hey guys I was wondering if it would be possible to attach one of the water farm drip rings or make a drip ring to work with the blumat drippers rather than using the remote drips?

Yep, you can, as long as it has no fititings or restrictions. Because they're gravit y fed there isn't much (any) pressure so the lines must be free flowing..
 

sunnydog

Drip King
Veteran
Blumat newbie here...

So I just setup my system, had my first mis-hap... :) I setup 22 plants using a couple Blumat boxes and didnt realize there were specific "ceramic end pieces" - i used the "end piece" shown on the box and in the directions. See below
IG14611.jpg


So Im all excited fill the res, check on the room and the end pieces are spraying water everywhere.. Couple hours later I realize I have the system setup wrong. I find the Blumat Ceramic End Pieces in the box, with only 1 side conected to the hose.

So I think I have the system setup right.. I closed all the blumats and opened 1/4 turn. I havent seen the system actually watering yet. Should I open them more? I just read about the arrows and am around arrow 2. Any suggestions feedback ets would be awesome!

Adjustment is made by giving the plant a good watering, closing the valve till just a drop clings to the hose, then tightening two or three more arrows.
 

sunnydog

Drip King
Veteran
Big Blumat tip!

Big Blumat tip!

I believe I have mentioned elsewhere, occasionally, a blumat can get stuck ON.
Therefore I would NOT recommend using the faucet adapter , as this can potentially deliver a lot of water.
I only PUT AS MUCH water in my res. as I require for approx. two days, thus limiting the potential for a mess.

Just fighting Murphy's Law.

Hope this helps!

SD :joint:
 

weedomat

New member
Hi
I'm new to this board so hello to you all.

I can't really comment on how these Blumats perform on larger scale setups but I've been using them in my small indoor garden (250W, 4 plants SCROG) for several years now without any problems.

I use a 25 liter water tank which is enough to keep feed my plants for about 2 weeks during mid flower and also supply my nutes with this tank.
I wouldn't recommend those to anyone who uses organic nuts (the floating particles in the nutes would probably stuck the dripping hoses over time) but with my mineral products (hesi and guano extract) i have never had any problems.

After each grow i clean the ceramic cones with a brush and let them soake for several hours in fresh water.
I clean the hoses by filling the tank with hot water and some soap and let this run through the hoses 3 - 4 times.
This way i never had to replace a single unit.

EDIT:
The only problem I've had so far is that it's quite easy to change the setting of the blumats accidentally when you touch them. I almost flooded my plants once when i removed some dry leaves from the bottom of the plants and turned one of the blumats on. Since then i pay close attantion when i do anythink near them and never had any problems.
 
Welcome to ICMag, weedomat! :)

Thankyou for your information about the organic nutes blocking the tubes - It's an answer that many on this thread have been looking for!
 

antimatter

Active member
Veteran
I believe I have mentioned elsewhere, occasionally, a blumat can get stuck ON.
Therefore I would NOT recommend using the faucet adapter , as this can potentially deliver a lot of water.
I only PUT AS MUCH water in my res. as I require for approx. two days, thus limiting the potential for a mess.

Just fighting Murphy's Law.

Hope this helps!

SD :joint:

I hope that never happens, I can picture the mess.
 

GrnMtnGrwr

Active member
Veteran
Lots of great info in this thread! Thanks everyone! :wave: :respect:

I'll be setting up my Blumats within the next week or so, I'm using a 1:2 perlite:coco mix. I'll be flowering 5 or 6 C99 in 1.7 gallon square pots under a 400w CMH. :biggrin:
 

Hemphrey Bogart

Active member
Veteran
Ok, you guys sold me on this, lol. I'm a firm believer in handwatering, but I gotta say I'm very intrigued by this product and will have to try them out to see for myself!

Handwatering is great and I like spending time with my plants, but I can't dedicate as much time as I should these days. These things may be my saving grace. I actually heard about these last year from a friend, but ignored the advice. Sounded too good to be true, so I just said "meh" and forgot about it.

Called up the local mega hydro store near me earlier today and they'd never heard of tropf blumats before, lol. I had to explain the whole thing to the guy but he listened and probably took notes. Maybe he'll be smart and do some research (I gave him the website addy for blumat) and get these in stock. I'm ordering mine online so I don't have to wait for them.

I'm hoping to use around 12 3 gallon smart pots, and a 20 gallon rubbermaid tub for my trial run. I liked the smart pots in soil and I can't wait to see what they'll do in coco when paired with this watering system.

Thanks for all the helpful posts everyone. This is a great little thread. :thank you: It's been an eye opener for me.

I'll try to post up my results in a few weeks.
 

GrnMtnGrwr

Active member
Veteran
I'm hoping to use around 12 3 gallon smart pots, and a 20 gallon rubbermaid tub for my trial run. I liked the smart pots in soil and I can't wait to see what they'll do in coco when paired with this watering system.

If all goes as planned with this run I'm hoping to run these with Air Pots... that should be exciting. :biggrin: I also like the idea of a large tub bed grow... :chin:
 
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