DIY Aero Cloner the EZ-Cloner Replica in 10 Easy Steps!

[Shcrews]

AWESOME

AWESOME

I went to Home Depot as soon as I read this thread

made two 60-site cloners a few weeks ago

followed the tutorial exactly

WORKED GREAT!!!! Now i have more clones than i know what to do with.


AFTERTHOUGHTS:

-make cuttings short... I had a few with 6-12" stems and they took much longer to root.

-find a bin that doesn't leak.

those damn Neoprene sleaves cost more than anything else in this project

oh yeah, and fuck the net pots.. you dont need them at all

 

[L420K]

so... where do you get the sprayers like in the picture? Mine are red and I can't find any different ones.

 

[TwinTurboGuy]

I have an EcoPlus 265 running three 360 degree misters on a single t-bar and they're working out great. It's a 24 site setup. I'm sure you'll be fine with either pump. Watch out though, I had to try multiple tubs before I found one that didn't leak.

I had the same problem when I decided to use a few sterilites from Walmart. I wrapped the inside with plastic bubble wrap, but later to find out that its just a pain in the ass when I took the lid off to check on the roots.

What tub are you using and where did you get them? According to your pic, it looks like its something from homedepot. Any algae problems with em? Leaks?

 

[postmaster]

twinturboguy:

The tub is actually one I stole from a roommate, he has maybe 5 of them. They split at the top, I was just in Target last night and they use the exact same tub spray painted black for overstock. It might be from Home Depot, I dunno. The cool thing is that it's hinged on the sides and not a drop of water leaks out.

Here's a pic of part of the top so you can see what I mean by "it splits"

 

[tequila_sunrise]

you should check out the Black star collars from fogponics.com I use em and they are badass! They have more slits so that it will let your clones get bigger and they don't have a coating on the top which lets them breath much better.

 

[LiLWaynE]

update from LiL WayNe

update from LiL WayNe










ok i did a lil repair to my first aerocloner - i ended up buying some kneeling pads and just cutt out some collars- the pads were 4 bux and I think i was able to get 18 - 2-3/4" holes per pad. these things fit snug and do not allow any water to shoot thru the lid... fuck pipe insulation, yeah it works, but its just a big pain in the cock.

after fixing that one, i decided to make another one. I am clone happy these days for something big is about to happen in my life. I have 11+ different strains of clones that I have been obtaining and saving throughout the past 3 months. They are some sweet strains- ill list them later in my thread... but anyways, here is another idea i tried out. I used some pool noodle floats to cut out collars. I used a 29 gallon rubbermaid container and was able to squeeze in 70- 2inch sites. I also used 18 mister heads. Oh, and I used a TAP. the green cloner i used just a regular drill bit. the blue cloner i used a tap. if you use a tap, the mister heads screw right the fuck in, and stay snug. no need for glue. I just pieced this biatch together, and voila... check it out...



















keep the overhead low, and profits high!

 

[cornflake]

And now one from A Land Down Under

And now one from A Land Down Under

Thank you King Ralph, and all you most excellent people who've contributed to this brilliant thread

In Australia we have no Rubbermaid storage bins, and the only ones I've seen are POS $2 shop ones, which having now read the thread I won't be using

In Australia we have Eskies, probably what you guys call a cooler.

Eskies don't leak

Also, check your local pool shop for these neoprene "noodle" thingies, and bought for only $2 AUD from K-Mart for the whole big piece






@ Lil Wayne - why didn't you just slice the neoprene like you are slicing a salami? That's what I'll be doing.

I should be able to get 28 sites easy, and enough for me

 

[the_dungeon]

Wow this is another reason why I LOVE this site.

I just spent $55 Bucks and made myself a cloner!

heres what i used








It was pretty simple to make. the holes for the misters were the only problem i had.

I would use a drill to drill a hole like so:



Then used this bit with my hand to make the hole a lil wider like so:






then used some plyers and a screw to thread the hole like so:





then i would just screw in the mister. I didnt use glue or tape at all for the whole project.

i messed up the first time and made the middle uneven.. so it sat at an angle. I fixed it tho



and this is the final product










Thanks to everyone who contributed to this tread. I read EVERYTHING..

 

[tree top flyer]

Total nube to this aerocloning, I've come to understand the setup and benifits but I dont understand the removal of the neoprene or foam... Any help would be appriciated.

 

[LiLWaynE]

@ Lil Wayne - why didn't you just slice the neoprene like you are slicing a salami? That's what I'll be doing.

I should be able to get 28 sites easy, and enough for me

i did it the other way for a more precise fit. you are going to have a huge hole in the middle if you slice it like salami. huge hole means that water is going to be spraying out- you dont want that. i dont know how your noodle is constructed, but my noodle is hollow. see what im sayin now?

Total nube to this aerocloning, I've come to understand the setup and benifits but I dont understand the removal of the neoprene or foam... Any help would be appriciated.

what dont you understand? i am confused by your question....

 

[tree top flyer]

Sorry, poorly phrased. Transplanting the clones to say hydroton, just leave the styrafoam or neoprene on the clone?

 

[LiLWaynE]

you make a slit in the styrofoam/neoprene puck so that you can slide the rooted clone out, then stick the puck back into the cloner.

once you have the clone with the roots dangling, you just transplant them into the medium of your choice.

 

[George W Kush]

Nice work, everyone.

What brand, size and type of pumps are you all using? Any problems with heat?

Just picked up a 250gph Active Aqua submersible pump for $10. Looking like a $35-$40 finish.

10' - 1/2" PVC pipe - $1.79
3 - 1/2" PVC tee - $0.20 ($0.60)
4 - 1/2" PVC elbow - $0.16 ($0.64)
2 - 10pk sprayer heads - $?.??
1 - 18gal Rubbermaid - $6.99
1 - 250gph submersible pump - $10.00

So far $20 before taxes, and still need collar material, sprayer heads (I'm anticipating roughly $5-$6 per 10pk).

May also get some weather strip if necessary to prevent leaks around the edges. Anyone have issues with this?

Here's what I have so far. Inside of 1/2" PVC sanded down a little bit with a Dremel to make it fit a smooth pump fitting.



So far looks like PVC cementing won't be necessary. Still need to tap the holes but need to first find out what type of threading, I think 10/32? Right now drilled for 8/32.

14 sprayer sites. Hoping to accommodate 48-50 cuts, but realistically will only get 35-40. (??)

 

[tree top flyer]

That just seemed too easy, I thought I was going to kill the little ones. Thanks again for the clearup LiL WaynE.

 

[George W Kush]

Any of you use gels, K-L-N, root stimulators, or anything else? Or just plain water (pH'd?)?

 

[George W Kush]

Home Depot only had 5pk's of adjustable flow sprayers for $4.19. I think I'll check out the hydro shop tomorrow just in case and see if they have any better ones, possibly cheaper. Uses 10/32 threads. Broke one by accident by trying to screw it in one too many turns. Still need collars and some sort of leak-proofing system.

 

[George W Kush]

I was able to find better (IMO) non-adjustable sprayers for less at the hydro shop as I suspected, $0.60/ea, little better than the $0.84 which shoots out streaming jets.



The solid red one is similar in design to the green, except that it has a slightly larger hole for a faster flow rate. It also seems to have a 10/24 thread instead of a 10/32. I believe these red ones are the exact types used in real EZ Clone's.

I chose to go with the green, lower flow rate version, for now as I'm using a 250gph pump for 15 sites. May need to play with the # of sites to "dial in" the correct pressure & coverage. Got one red one just to test out, but I can't screw it into the 10/32 threaded holes so it'll just have to wait for another day unless the green ones don't work well.

Looks like I'll be able to squeeze in 40 sites if I'm real efficient, or 28 otherwise, using 2" neoprene collars ($0.41/ea).

So far it's looking like:

15 - sprayer / mister nozzles @ $0.60/ea = $9.00
35 - neoprene collars @ 0.41/ea = $14.35
1 - 250gph pump = $10.00
1 - 18gal Rubbermaid = $6.99
1 - 10' 1/2" PVC pipe = $1.79
3 - 1/2" PVC tee - $0.20 = $0.60
4 - 1/2" PVC elbow - $0.16 = $0.64

Total $43.37 pre-tax so far, plus need some weather strip or some method to keep water from leaking from the edges of the lid. Looking at a ~$55 finish cost, slightly more than I had originally anticipated. Primarily due to the cost of the neoprene collars / plugs, rather than the pool noodles I had originally planned on using.

 

[George W Kush]

Here it is, 35 sites. Need a few more collars.



The green misters produce a decent mist of sprinkles, different than that of the EZ Clone's red nozzles that produce an "umbrella" of spray, if you've ever seen a clear store model.

If this works well, I think I'll build another one (35 sites isn't enough) with red nozzles to see how it compares. I have a feeling the green ones will be better, but each manifold costs only about $10 to build so no big deal either way.

I'm thinking two of these will fit perfectly under a 4ft fluorescent fixture.

 

[George W Kush]

LiLWaynE, where did you get those colored kneeling pads?

What type of foam? Neoprene by chance?

Maybe 30 of 35 of my holes were cut well and holds the collars in securely, but on a few holes they barely cling on and I'm afraid one day the vibration & weight will knock it loose, sending the cut down into the tub below.

I think my next one I'll try to find a slightly smaller hole saw bit, and taper the edges of the collars so that they're cork shaped sorta.

Also thinking about getting a $15-$20 lock-together neoprene exercise mats (roughly 15-20sq ft) and cutting 'em out myself next time around; didn't know these collars were so damned expensive. A single 2' x 2' piece should easily net me 80-100 collars.

 

[LiLWaynE]

LiLWaynE, where did you get those colored kneeling pads?

What type of foam? Neoprene by chance?

i got them from a local hardware store- its a mom and pop shop, so i doubt youll be able to find one around you. i suggest checking out any garden center- now is the time where they will be liquidating their gardening inventory.

the foam is a thick thick form of neoprene i believe. its excellent for this cloner.


and by the way, use straight un-ph'd water.