Blumat auto watering

[PeopleWish]

Great point, rives thanks man you helped me a lot, props!

 

[PeopleWish]

Damn gotta spread

 

[milehimedi]

Hey guys. I'm part way through my first run with Blumats. Lovin em. Right now I'm in a coco-soil mix. I'm thinking about switching to rockwool grow cubes (croutons, or whatever you call em). Does anybody have experience with Blumats in rockwool??

 

[Dave Coulier]

Hey guys. I'm part way through my first run with Blumats. Lovin em. Right now I'm in a coco-soil mix. I'm thinking about switching to rockwool grow cubes (croutons, or whatever you call em). Does anybody have experience with Blumats in rockwool??

I tried it during flower for a single plant, and it was awful. I could never achieve a nice even moisture. It was either too dry in places, or I had run-offs, quite a few to be honest. Dont use RW with blumats is my advice.

 

[dansbuds]

HELP !!! does anyone have an extra green adjustment cap from a blumat carrot layin around they'd like to part with ??? I got down to my last plant in the tent tonight hooking up the blumats & no signs of the cap anywhere

I'll probably just buy another patio kit cuz i'm gonna need it sooner than later anyways , its just aggrevating as hell that i have to hand feed one plant in the tent till i get another carrot or cap .

 

[B. Self Reliant]

Great thread. I've spent hours reading it.

I have minimal Blumat experience, but am planning on setting up my new bloom room with the maxi's. I have a few questions of anyone is willing to answer. . .

• I'm hoping to setup a 5 gallon reservoir that's elevated 5' off the floor. It'll be filled from/overflow to to my main reservoir on the floor. Is a 5 gallon res 5' off the floor enough pressure to feed a 25' loop of 1/2" line with 24 gallons total worth of coco to feed?
• I want each 3-gallon container to have two drip points. Do I have to use the distributors at the end of the run or can I just use a "T" fitting and have a few inches of 3mm tubing on either end?

I'm hoping to place my orders soon if anyone can help!

 

[rrog]

Can't speak to a reservoir, as I use well water and a pressure reducer. Highly recommended.

Two drip points for 3 gallons is a lot. So is using a Max carrot. I use the Max carrots in 7 gallon pails and two distributors.

Regarding distributors, you could try using open tubing on a Tee. I use the actual distributors and their little stakes also. I like them

 

[B. Self Reliant]

Can't speak to a reservoir, as I use well water and a pressure reducer. Highly recommended.

THanks for the help! If I was doing the no-feed soilless gig I would use the pressure reducer, but I use synthetic notes with coco coir, so a res to mix in is a must.

Two drip points for 3 gallons is a lot. So is using a Max carrot. I use the Max carrots in 7 gallon pails and two distributors. Regarding distributors, you could try using open tubing on a Tee. I use the actual distributors and their little stakes also. I like them

Really. . . if you successfully use that setup with 7 gallons, it probably would be overkill with 3. It would also be cheaper & easier to setup if I just let the Blumat drip out of it's single 3mm line. You sold me! A single drip line it is.

I was going to go with the Maxi's because if anything I see going to larger containers, not smaller ones. Also, I tend to run my pots on the drier side, so I thought the maxi would be easier to dial in. Any thoughts? Would there be a disadvantage to using the Maxi's in 3-gallon containers? I'd love to hear what you think.

 

[greenmatter]

i'm running single blumats in 3 gallon geopots B.

so far everything is working great! if you run the ladies a little on the dry side anyway 1 blumat will do what you need it to do.

i bet you could get the maxi's to work for you.

 

[rrog]

I haven't given this a great deal of thought, but placing the ceramic cone end of the carrot significantly lower than the middle of the pail seems like it might make the top wetter than it should be.

Again, that's a first thought in my head. I'd love to hear other opinions.

 

[B. Self Reliant]

i'm running single blumats in 3 gallon geopots B.

so far everything is working great! if you run the ladies a little on the dry side anyway 1 blumat will do what you need it to do.

i bet you could get the maxi's to work for you.

I haven't given this a great deal of thought, but placing the ceramic cone end of the carrot significantly lower than the middle of the pail seems like it might make the top wetter than it should be.

I already own (4) new Maxi's, so maybe I'll run four & four to see how they each compare. Thanks for the help!

 

[rrog]

In thinking about this for another 10 minutes, I agree with GreenMatter, in that you should be able to get the Maxi's to work. The only issue is the depth you drive them and how long a drop the drip line might be.

A long drip line might create air bubble potential. Will be curious how this works for you, if you'd be so kind as to let us know!

 

[B. Self Reliant]

In thinking about this for another 10 minutes, I agree with GreenMatter, in that you should be able to get the Maxi's to work. The only issue is the depth you drive them and how long a drop the drip line might be.

A long drip line might create air bubble potential. Will be curious how this works for you, if you'd be so kind as to let us know!

Oh, I'll let you know. . . I'm not going anywhere.

I have to go out of town for work & I leave April 30, so this has to be set up by then. All the plants in my current crop are between week 1-3 of bloom. So. . . expect feedback within a couple of months.

Am I stupid to run these without anything but little drip trays under my plants? I'm on a concrete floor but I"d rather not have 30 gallons of water on my floor, swollen sill plates and a burnt out pump when I come home, ya know? I'm a pretty meticulous guy, but all these stories of free-running lines make me nervous. . .

 

[rrog]

I have metal trays 6" deep with water sensors that trigger a valve to shut off water. Works great

 

[greenmatter]

i set up the top tier of my plants so any run off goes back into the rez, and the bottom tier is going to have a lift pump to do the same thing.

i have cleaned up more water than i care to remember or admit over the years and i don't think we will ever 100% eliminate runaway blumats, so i am going with a good dose of overkill and redundant anti flood measures.

are all of your plants on the floor B. ? or will some be on shelves/racks at some point in the grow cycle?

 

[B. Self Reliant]

are all of your plants on the floor B. ? or will some be on shelves/racks at some point in the grow cycle?

My main 3 gallons plants are on the floor. Sometimes I have .5 or 1 gallons sitting on cinder blocks in between. I wasn't sure if I was gonna automate those with Blumats or not.

 

[redbudduckfoot]

ive been running these things with great success for over a year and have NEVER had a runoff, never. just follow the direction on the kit, and thats it man. this is one of those times that a thread with lots of great info can overwhelm a reader and make them second-guess themselves.

seriously, just follow the directions, and you will have no problems. soak the medium, dial back 2 arrows and thats it.

peace.

Rbdf

 

[cyat]

ive been running these things with great success for over a year and have NEVER had a runoff, never. just follow the direction on the kit, and thats it man. this is one of those times that a thread with lots of great info can overwhelm a reader and make them second-guess themselves.

seriously, just follow the directions, and you will have no problems. soak the medium, dial back 2 arrows and thats it.

peace.

Rbdf

ya a little discouraging whole thread seems like problems instead of flourishing plant pics.. wanna try em but seems confusing

 

[FlowerFarmer]

cyat, not at all. Give em a try.. keep a clean res and you'll likely love them.

i set up the top tier of my plants so any run off goes back into the rez, and the bottom tier is going to have a lift pump to do the same thing.

i have cleaned up more water than i care to remember or admit over the years and i don't think we will ever 100% eliminate runaway blumats, so i am going with a good dose of overkill and redundant anti flood measures.

are all of your plants on the floor B. ? or will some be on shelves/racks at some point in the grow cycle?

What medium are you using?

My experience has been the opposite...I've been rocking blumats for some time now and have never had a run away in straight bcuzz coco / 2gal. I might have had one once but attribute it to not properly drenching before dialing that particular plant.

I have however had a hiccup by having roots grow up into the 3mm line thus clogging it. I use a plastic fork now as others here have suggested to prop the drip end from laying on the coco floor.

Other then that I've got to say that blumats have performed flawlessly for me. It doesnt take me a while to "dial them in" so to speak aside from the initial setup (is more laborious that 1 time when compared to other hydro grows), but I no longer tweak after setup. I just drench..dial to cling + .5-1 arrow and that's it. Dont touch em again until harvest.

I run em clean with micro/bloom & bloombastic. No problem so far running 21 to 48 of these things across multiple layouts for a few years now. I've ran em right out of the patio kit and have ran them w/ 1/2" and kent tees. These things just work..

Those having troubles has to be either setup issues (physically or operator error)... or density/retention of medium issues.

I'm itching to get some shots up of my blumat work, but only have the smart phone right now and don't feel comfortable enough to use it for pics.

 

[rrog]

I personally run well water. I like them for this. I don't do a res, and if I did I would probably not use these. My opinion only.