2 questions, Oil-Dri and Electrical

[Ghudda]

Hi folks, two questions for ya. I hope to gear up for a passive plant killer system soon. First grow as well (have some outside experience coming in though)

25lb bags of Oil-Dri are sold at Walmart in my area. I wasn't able to find turface, is this the same/similar thing? Most of the info points to it being some kind of clay, I would assume calcined clay? This work for us? Anybody use it before?

An electrician friend will be making some modifications to the grow location. I just need to give him some idea what kind of capacity I'm looking for. I'm not terribly well versed in things of an electrical nature so hopefully some of you can help.

I don't see myself starting anywhere near this, but I could see an expansion making use of 8k lights and if I'd ever go beyond that I'd be coming back here to read about flip flops. It's the rest of the equipment that I'm not sure about. A pump or two and some fans, I'm not entirely sure how much fan power will be needed for circulation and exchange (heat, not sure if Co2 is ambient in the area yet).

I have an 8k wall mount AC that will probably be an emergency/rare use item. It won't be up against much. I'd like to leave open the thought to make it a sealed room with co2 and minisplit later.

Assuming all the bells and whistles that are reasonable for 8k flowering, and I suppose since I've already mentioned it, a flip flop option... what kind of capacity should I tell my electrician?

Room 1's dimensions are around 9' x 12' x 7.5' in height
Room 2 would be similar
Veg area yet to be determined, it might be 9x3 and eat up some of Room 1, or it may be shoehorned into a closet next to room 1.

This all goes into a basement. It's 60F down there right now with nothing going on. (Thought it'd be easier to control heat from down there) The basement's full size is around 900 sqft

 

[VerdantGreen]

the best way to test if the oil dry is ok for growing is to put some in water. if it is still in it's lumps the next day then it should be fine. if it has turned to mud/mush or does so when you press it between your fingers then it's no good.

the cheep stuff is usually the wrong one.

VG

 

[grow_right]

what is the oil-dry used for??

in my 40 years as a gardener, never heard of using it for growing.

 

[Ghudda]

Some folks are using Turface (diatomaceous earth, I think at least) as an inert medium. The stuff that's on baseball fields. Oil-Dri/Floor dry may be calcined clay or the same diato. earth and used as an alternative... I'll stick it in some water.

You spill oil on the floor, cheap way of soaking it up is floor dry. Oil Dri is a brand.

25 lb bags of medium for $4 would work for me. Probably doesn't though I'll chime back whether or not it completely falls apart.

You're supposed to mix the turface with rice hulls or perlite to make a good draining mix.

 

[vonforne]

Napa Floor Dry #8822 is the best. It is Diatomaceous earth.

 

[supermanlives]

damn i knew i forgot something at napa. thanks for remind me

 

[bad gas]

NAPA floor dry + rice hulls or perlite mixed 3:1.

there's a lot of media discussion in the passive plant killer thread in the indoor hydro forum. if you read the entire thread [takes a while], you will see a highly intelligent man totally dial in his garden. Complete with links to scientific papers on the subject matter being discussed.

stay safe. bg

 

[rives]

Regarding your electrical question, if you figure an additional 10% on your lighting load for ballast losses and 1kw for your 8000 btu air conditioner, you have roughly a 10kw load that has the potential to be continuous (in electrical calculations, continuous loads are 3+ hours). For continuous loads, you are only allowed to pull 80% of the breaker rating.

10kw / 240v = 41.7 amps. A 60 amp service at 80% is good for 48 amps, so you could just squeak by with this. However, you haven't figured in fans, pumps, a dehumidifier, possibly a heater, etc, etc, etc. Knowing the way that growrooms tend to go, I would probably suggest a 100 amp service, and certainly not less than 70 amps. You need to check out what a mini-split would pull because you could easily screw yourself on that option.

 

[grow_right]

why not just use perlite then??

 

[Ghudda]

Good question, I'm just trying to use what the pros seemingly are using over in the PPK thread. I found a source for $14/50lb bag of Rice hulls locally, plus they seemed like a bunch of good guys.

I noticed the NAPA 8822 talk after I'd already bought the oil-dri and after running water through it I have to believe it's either the same stuff or pretty similar. Saw a few references to folks using the oil-dri as well. If it's shitty stuff hopefully someone will tell me.

 

[dank.frank]

I seem to have no difference between the oil dri or the NAPA, honestly. Maybe the oil dri seems to have less dust ??? not sure - seems the same stuff for the most part.

All in all - I do not like it as the only thing. I pair it 50/50 with perlite, fwiw.


dank.Frank

 

[high life 45]

Hey ghudda come on over to Delta9s PPK thread to ask any and all PPK related questions.
Even questions about your space and environment.
Its honestly one of the best threads I have seen, and everyone will be glad to help you out.

 

[Ghudda]

I love and hate that thread. It's huge

 

[high life 45]

I hear ya. I read almost the whole thing on an iphone with no 3g. it took me about 3 weeks. I was excited though. its one o the best threads I have ever seen. I skimmed through some of the parts that seemed like banter and missed a few things... Anyway just hop on over to the thread and ask away. That is where you will get experienced ppk advice. You dont have to read the whole thing, everyone will answer your questions as long as your civil.


The ppk is an evolving creature, so be creative and open minded because I have a feeling that the ppk in a year will be slightly different than the ppk of today.