Blumat auto watering

[ak-51]

I haven't been on IC in forever, but I never stopped running! I have so much catching up to do.

I'm transitioning to a new, bigger place right now. I've still had only one* problem with the blumats, still love them, so I'll be running straight blumats on everything here. I have new setup with the elevated reservoir. I have a bucket hanging from the ceiling by paracord, which is threaded through loops then hooked about 3 feet away so I can drop the bucket pretty easy if I need to look in there or clean it out for any reason. The bottom of the bucket is about at my shoulder level, so it's pretty high up for some good pressure. I'll get some pics up soon.

I'm planning on running 2 blumats per pot (coco). My old setup would last at least 5 days with no intervention. I'm aiming for 7+ this time. Not that I'm really going to spend that much time not doing anything at all, but I like the ability for it to run on autopilot if something happens or if I'm on vacation or whatever.

I need to get a lot more carrots. And I see the discussion here is stuff I was thinking about as well. The best way to expand seems to just be to buy the whole kit (or multiple kits).

The first night I got setup here I had a runaway. I don't know exactly what happened. I'm going to chalk it up to user error since it wasn't even running for 24 hours. Nothing bad happened, besides wasting maybe 20 gallons of nutrient-mixed water. I have a 27 gallon tote on the drain end of things so it just got filled up, nothing got on the floor. I think I'm going to get a sump pump or something to just automatically empty the drain reservoir in case of such a thing happening again.

I've been in the habit of doing preventative maintenance on my blumats ever 2 weeks or so. That usually includes removing all of the drip line, massaging those under hot water in the sink to clear out any gunk that may have built up in them, checking the blumats (if you pull them out and turn them on their side you can see pretty easy through the green plastic if there's any air bubbles in them), and of course flushing the line, but I do that more often then every 2 weeks. When I flush the line I like to flick or hit the black feed line all over, it seems to free up any sediments that have collected in the line when I do that.

I just run a straight configuration and on the end I have the L piece that has the feed line on one part and the drip line attachment on the other; this piece doesn't feed any blumats, it just has a tied off piece of drip line on it. One problem I seemed to have with this setup that I either didn't have or didn't notice in my last setup is that when I pull the L off to flush the line, the flow of water seems to be so strong it begins to suck air in through some of the drip lines. It doesn't really seem possible, but I am pretty sure that's what happened. When I pulled the L off, the flow of water would sputter like there was air, as if I had just started to run liquid through it, but it would never stop. I saw a hanging drip get sucked back into the drip line off one of my blumats. I could see air bubbles coming out of it no matter how long I just let it run. Putting the L back on and just removing the tied drip line seemed to fix the problem, since the flow through that is much slower.

So that's what up with me. Did I miss any stunning revelations?

 

[Red Swan]

Rats

 

[WasntMe]

Red Swan ... I find the system to be VERY easy. The only real issue I have seen, especially with small setups, are with people to lazy to read and follow the directions properly. Use it the way it was designed to work ... and it does.
Over think things and complicate your design to the point of failure ... and it does.
This thread is this huge mostly due to people being to lazy to read so they ask the same basic questions over and over and over ..... and still mess it up ....lol.
Meanwhile I am reading the posts from the Caribbean, drinking a beer, while my plants are 2K miles away being auto watered.
I think more people just needed this program in their community:
http://www.rif.org/
I suggest you open the box and read the directions that came with it, or look at the scanned copy that is posted in this thread, before you decide not to try. Ultimately only you can decide if something works for you in your situation.
Good Luck
-WasntMe

 

[Red Swan]

I have to think about it. My ceiling is 7'. Raising the res to the height required to maintain pressure puts it into the heat zone. My old hydro system would get algae occasionally , but the drip lines were good for months. I never had to wrap them in foil or squeeze them out or worry about air bubbles. A pump at the bottom work as long as the pump is covered.
This thread states that the water level in a Blumat Rez needs to stay at a particular level to maintain the pressure. So its probably going to take a lot of space to automate it.

2 20 gallon rubbermaids with a pump would last 13 days and fit in my room.
I was hoping to have a pump free system , but I would need to set up a pump to keep a Blumat Rez level. At least according to this thread.

I don't think given the confines of my room and the demands of a Blumat Rez, it would free me up.
Organics are great but watering has made me a slave to the grow room.


Not arguing, more thinking out loud.

I went surfing in Indonesia for 2 weeks and came back to healthy plants. Was hoping to do something like that. Maybe with 2 rez's. A 30 gallon bucket

 

[WasntMe]

No argument, you know your layout better then anyone. You know what works for you. Maybe try it with only 2 plants to start so as not to put all your eggs in one basket.

I can only speak on my experience.

I've, so far, never had air bubbles blocking lines. Never had to massage the lines or roll them between my thumb and finger. Never found that I Needed to have the bottom of the Rez over chest high for my situation.
Some of this may be necessary for some that have big sytems or long distances or using stuff other then plain water in the lines or want to make something more convenient due to physical medical issue. Etc etc etc but none of that extra stuff that is useful to some is required by all. The only info that everyone need is already in that pamphlet
I read this whole thread and saw a lot of great info but also a lot of manipulating the concept and over engineering....
The best info on making sure you system is setup correctly and works is ...yup, you guessed it, in that pamphlet that comes in the patio kit. If you set it up the way the engineers who designed it, designed the system to work, surprise it works.
IMO most issues really come down to how much someone payed attention to the details when setting up. Line layout, Soaking carrots, connecting heads while underwater, fully watering before placing carrots, setting drip.....and the most important thing that some stoned people can't seem to do- Stop dicking with the setup once you have running.
So then once you do dick with it you have to reset it up properly again.
It took me about a week and a half of trial and error to get used to not playing with them. Once I realized this and got the feel of the drip setting at startup it was time to find other hobbies to take up my new found time.
Now, even when I'm in town I really only check on my plants once very 3 or 4 days unless I am doing timelapse photography and need to go in to change out my SD cards.


If any of you seriously wanna have a laugh, make it into a drinking or smoking game.... Take out a directions pamphlet and go through this thread from the beginning and drink/smoke every time Sunny or one of the thread regulars answers a question with info that is right in the directions pamphlet.
I give them LOTS of credit, they have been extraordinary in their level of patience when answering the same things page after page.... They deserve a big thank you from lots of people for that, including myself. Thanks again guys!

 

[ItGrowsHerb]

The Blumats do work well... I think once one gets past the initial adoption jitters they probably won't go to another system. They are ingenious and run off natural laws, respect them and they work fine.

I may get rid of my reservoir and go to a pressure reducer. It will free up space in my own unique setup of a growroom. I run straight water anyways, and hand water nutes when needed.

To maintain level in my 20 gallon Rubbermaid tote, I installed a toilet float valve, about $8. It keeps consistent level. No runaways for awhile now. Those happen when erring on the loose side of adjustments. Since my last runaway I have started off tighter on my initial adjustment and loosened after the first 24 hours.

 

[heady blunts]

I run a constant pressure res and I never have any problems.

blumats are the single best addition I've made in my garden, hands down. my plants are happier and I have more freedom.

do yourself a favor and set them up.

 

[cl0ud]

Quick question regarding water pressure, heady. If the res was 3-4' above the blumats and if it was topped off pretty consistently, would one have to worry about declining pressure (considering the feeder tube run is relatively short)?

 

[felderosa]

Thanks for the idea, blunts!

I also had a runaway after setting my blumats up for the first time in Canna cogr slabs, which is a coarser coco than most. It consists of a lot of chips and chunks compared to Canna bagged coco, which is more powdery and stringy. Could this have an effect on the function of the carrots? My res was set up as high in the room as possible (the bottom is around 4' higher than the highest plant), and I thought that I had pre-soaked the slabs well and tightened all the dials until about 3 notches past the point where a drip hangs. Is there some other common mistake I could be making?

 

[Red Swan]

Too many rats

 

[woolybear]

rittenhouse

rittenhouse

has anybody seen these:

http://www.amazon.com/Self-Watering-Probes-Vacation-Plant-Waterers/dp/B0002VAHXC/ref=pd_ybh_8

5 for $16. I bought a set.

The seller is RITTENHOUSE. If you google them, you can buy direct. One of the images they use to sell this product shows the cap, which clearly says BLUMAT. Made in Austria.

Did I find a good deal?

 

[Dave Coulier]

Cloud, keep the Res topped off and you shouldn't have many problems. If you are the type that lets your res drop down before refilling, then you will have to constantly adjust the blumats, which is a bitch, so keep that res filled.

Felderosa, I used Blumats in a bark based media, and did not like it. Media doesn't wick as well through coarse media, and I had uneven coverage. You may have problems since you are using a coarse coco. I hope it'll work out well, if not switch to a media with more finer particles, and they should work better.

 

[rives]

My reservoir is self-replenishing and has a total swing of about 4" inches. This works very well if you have a nearby water source. SpectraPure makes a very nice controller for doing this (part number LLC-S), which has a water control solenoid, a level sensor, and a back-up mechanical float switch.

 

[greenmatter]

has anybody seen these:

http://www.amazon.com/Self-Watering-Probes-Vacation-Plant-Waterers/dp/B0002VAHXC/ref=pd_ybh_8

View Image

5 for $16. I bought a set.

The seller is RITTENHOUSE. If you google them, you can buy direct. One of the images they use to sell this product shows the cap, which clearly says BLUMAT. Made in Austria.

Did I find a good deal?

those are blumats but not what everyone is talking about in the thread. i'm not 100% sure but i think those are called blumat jr. those feed through the clay carrot, what everybody in here is talking about the carrot controls the pressure on a feed line. same company different animal

 

[WasntMe]

Woolybear - regarding Blumat Jrs - see post #1199 on pg60.




:sigh:

 

[woolybear]

Woolybear - regarding Blumat Jrs - see post #1199 on pg60.




:sigh:

Dang, thanks for the link. Guess that's why they don't sell them under the name blumats.

FWIW, I did do a search....

*for those who don't know, these apparently suck.

 

[ak-51]

RedSwan, I would agree with WasntMe and just try them out. They're definitely the easiest system I've used so far.

Part of the reason you see so many problems in this thread is that people don't usually come here when nothing is happening, they come here when something goes wrong, which makes the feedback look disproportionally negative. It should also be noted that despite any problems a lot of people here have with the system, most are probably still running them.

 

[rrog]

Just checking in. Completed my first grow with the blumats. Worked perfectly. I use well water straight from the ground with an emergency shut-off valve and alarm in case of runoff.

Now doing my second grow, two weeks into flower. Again, working great. Perfectly even moisture and I have no watering concerns. I've been able to stay away from the grow for 10 days no problem.

I use 7 gallon pails with the max carrots. One per pail. Two distributors per pail. Works great.

I had better luck with the distributors this round. I also opened up the brown screw to let a good shot of water flow once a week, maybe. Purge some air, perhaps.

 

[moodster]

im loving the blumats maxi in coco i not be going back to handwatering

 

[greenmatter]

i finally got enough of my set up finished that i could get a few blumats in the pots late last night ........ this morning they are doing what they are suppose to, but i am sure there will be a little to adjust over the next few days

a big THANK YOU! to sunny and everyone who has posted their first hand knowledge in this thread! i've been getting my ass kicked (by life in general) trying to get this done, and to be honest without you guys laying down some serious ground work and making me believe it is all doable i probably would have said fuck it at some point

you guys rock!!!